a year of foster dogs, in a nutshell

After Ruffy was adopted, Pet Rescue needed a place for Lola the Jack Russel Terrier. She wanted to kill my parrot, and could jump 5 feet high in place, no problem. Needless to say, this match was not made in heaven, and Lola spent only a few days here before she moved to another foster home. It turned out all right in the end because my bird survived, and Lola's new foster family fell completely in love with her and adopted her.

My friend at Pet Rescue, and foster care coordinator, Lee Ann, was right. There's a dog for everyone.

Then came Bruno. Ah, what shall we say about dear Bruno? Perhaps my cousin Mary would like to chime in here. I went to Pennsylvania to pick up Bruno from STAR because I fell in love with his cute little picture and could not stand to imagine this little guy in the kennel. I had him less than 12 hours and I knew it was not a good match, but I sucked it up and took him home to take care of him. In retrospect, this is one of those situations where I really should have listened to my instincts from the get-go. Anyway, taking care of Bruno was very stressful because he was not even kinda sorta crate or house trained and he would pee and poo anywhere all day and night. It was also winter, so working on potty skills was difficult when the snow drifts outside the door several feet taller than little Bruno. I took nice pictures of him and posted him constantly and fortunately he was adopted, and is now on STAR's 'happy tails' page, so I guess Lee Ann was right again.


Another Lola came after that and I have to post two pictures of her so you can see how a nice grooming can alter a dog's appearance so dramatically. This poor girl was so matted. Also from STAR in PA, my cousin Mary and I worked on brushing and cutting out mats on Lola for almost two hours but the mats on her legs and feet were so severe, I had to take her to get professionally groomed. Bruno, my friend who runs the rescue, agreed to pay the cost, which was a big relief - for my wallet ... and especially for little Lola. Look how pretty she is with her new haircut and pink bows!



I drove Lola back to PA to be adopted, and came home with this apricot poodle named Lucky. He was so sweet, I just had to take him home from the kennel. You know how it is ... heartstrings. I can't recall any noteworthy stories about him. He was a nice doggie. oh. I do remember that Kiyoshi was perplexed by Lucky's inability to play. He just didn't get it.






Sweet Pea. She was a Sweet Pea. Lee Ann, from Pet Rescue NY, brought her to me. She just couldn't leave her at the kennel, and thought she might be a good match for us. Turned out she was the perfect foster dog. She was so great, and was here for quite awhile, so she's going to get her very own post, filled with lots photographs!





Pookie was a short term foster, as he was adopted from STAR - Second Time Around Rescue in PA, by my teacher friend, Odalys, and her wonderful family. Bruno, (the person not the dog) drove this little yorkie to NY on Easter weekend and I had this little guy waiting for the family when they came home from church. They were all thrilled, and loved him immediately. His name is now Titus, and he's a blessed part of the family.


This is Max, a gorgeous and sweet cocker spaniel who was surrendered to STAR when his owner died. I knew that I had a lot on my plate at the time but went ahead and made the trip to PA to foster this dog. He is a beautiful boy. He's also sweet, and sidles up to you for rubs. Unfortunately, I felt I needed to return him to rescue before his adoption because he was not a good match here. He was not good with children. He nipped and snapped at Nicholas and barked at children in the neighborhood. Max is a nice dog. Young children made him nervous I think. Anyway, I did not feel comfortable taking care of him any longer, so he is still available for adoption and would make a wonderful pet dog for a family without young children.


And now, from Luv a Chin Rescue, we have the cute, playful, loving Leo! Wednesday, I met Judy in Roscoe NY for the chin transfer, so Leo has been here five days. So far, so good. As you can see from this picture, Nicholas and Leo were fast friends. Leo is quiet (which I like a lot, I'll admit). He is good with Nicholas and Kiyoshi. He likes to run in the yard, wrestle with Kiyoshi in the office, and he really loves to play with toys! It is nice to be off for the summer to have plenty of time to tend to a foster dog. Leo is young and adorable, so he may be adopted quickly. Whether he is or not, I am enjoying this time with him, and when his time comes to be adopted into his loving and forever home, I will sad to see him go, but also so very happy for him too!

Meet Leo

Here is Leo just after his bath. He sure is cute!

Leo is a 9 month old, 8 pound Japanese Chin from Luv A Chin Rescue. I picked him up to foster on Wednesday.

Last summer I began fostering dogs, and started my first ever blog to document my new endeavor. Shortly after returning to work in the fall, I abandoned my foster dog blog, and here in cyberspace it sat with no updates the entire school year.

Now that it's summer once again, I have returned. I am pleased to introduce my current foster, Leo. He is little and sweet. He loves to wrestle with Kiyoshi and play with toys.

I adopted Kiyoshi, and he is absolutely the best dog ever in the whole world, and Nicholas and I love him so much!

My first ever foster dog was from Second Time Around Rescue and his name was Johnny. It was a great experience to take care of him, and he was happily adopted by a girl named Molly who named him Frankie and loves him lots. All together I have had 12 dogs in foster care, and my next post will chronicle the adventure of those dogs who missed out on getting into my blog because ... a single working mother just can't find time for everything, I guess.

Boys in the backyard

It is fun to watch Ruffy, Kiyoshi, and Nicholas run and play together in the backyard. Ruffy has become more playful the past two days, but he needs to sharpen his play skills. He's like the annoying kid on the playground; Whatever toy you have, I want it, and I'm taking it, and I'm not sharing it with you.

He has no idea how to play fetch, which neither Nicholas nor Kiyoshi understand.


Ruffy and Kiyoshi play together sometimes, but other times I think they just harass each other. At least it's not all one sided. They seem to take turns bothering one another. However, Ruffy is most definitely the one more likely to bully my little Kiyoshi, and that behavior gets nipped in the bud right quick. Kiyoshi usually just tries to entice Ruffy to play with him, and doesn't really understand that Ruffy doesn't yet know how to play well. It is so funny when Kiyoshi prompts Ruffy to play and whether he gets a response or not, he starts running around the yard in big super fast circles! It is quite as sight! And it's good exercise, as he's out of breath from all the sprinting. Today Ruffy joined in the chase, and Nicholas and I cheered them both on, clapping and calling, "Go, Kiyoshi, Go! ~ Run, Ruffy, Run!" It was so exhilarating, Nicholas just had to join in! " Go, Nicholas! Run! Run! Run!"

Beginnings ... With Ruffy

Ruffy came up from the south on a pet rescue transport. Apparently, he was filthy and matted. Since two prominent rescue volunteers described him to me as 'disgusting', I imagine he was quite a site. Thankfully though, he got into the groomer before I took him home, and now look how nice he looks.

Ruffy is some kind of poodle spaniel mix, I guess. He's about one or two years old, and even though he has only been here for two days, I can vouch for him being a good dog. He's housebroken, good with other dogs, and good with kids. He hardly ever barks. These things, and more, make him highly adoptable, and I bet soon he will be loved by his furever family.

For the first night and morning he was here, I was doubtful that it would work out. When I introduced Ruffy to Kiyoshi, I did it outside, and then went for a walk. I quickly learned that taking care of two dogs is harder than taking care of one. And Kiyoshi was very uneasy about this new guy busting in on things. When I could not be right there to supervise closely, I had to separate the two. By day two things had improved significantly, and Kiyoshi and Ruffy were fine together.

Ruffy is good with Nicholas, and Nicholas instantly loved Ruffy. So much so, in fact, that he asked me, "Could we keep him instead?" I think Nicholas really enjoys dogs, but to tell you the truth, when he said that, my heart hurt... for me ... for Kiyoshi.
Silly. I know. But that's what I felt.

Peas and Carrots

Nicholas and Kiyoshi ~ like peas and carrots.

Nicholas and Kiyoshi became fast friends, and 'brothers'. Nicholas brings out the playful side of Kiyoshi. They are both fun loving but gentle together. Nicholas coos over this dog unlike any other; calls him 'so sweet and nice' and "I love you, Kiyoshi, and so does Mommy."

Nicholas helps take him for walks, feeds him, and brushes him. He gives him lots of hugs and cuddles too. He laughs when he acts silly and does 'chin spins'.

Kiyoshi is the perfect dog for Nicholas because he is there when he needs him, but also gives him plenty of space, and does not steal the show. He is a content and undemanding dog, and I am quite sure Nicholas unknowingly appreciates that this dog does not cramp his style at all by acting needy, and competing for my attention.

Last night, he slept part of the night beside my bed, part beside Nicholas' bed, and part of the night he slept between our two rooms.

In the morning, if the dog and I are up before Nicholas, I always shut his door so he is not disturbed. Kiyoshi often sits quietly outside his door, and patiently waits for him to come out and play.

I love him!

I love him!

He's the best dog ever and I feel so lucky to have him here, and even though it's not even been a week, I already can't imagine not having him here!

I've been changing my mind a hundred times a day about whether to foster or adopt Kiyoshi. I know I've done this back and forth thing before, especially with Johnny, so I'm trying to sort myself out here before I get word that an application has come in for him. I guess I'm kinda hoping no one asks for him for at least a couple weeks. That could give me the time I need to know.

I've been sharing my thoughts with others, mostly to just get my thoughts in order and 'out there', but also to get valuable feedback from friends and family who know me well.

If I adopt him, he will be very loved and well cared for, happily ever after. If I foster and he is adopted out, there will be tears saying good-bye to this one; big, fat, sad, love tears.

Beginnings ... with Kiyoshi

I drove to PA yesterday to pick up my new foster dog from Second Time Around Rescue. I'm so glad this Japanese Chin was vetted and ready to go because I like him. I like him a lot.
When I first got into the car to take Gizzy home, I had this sudden feeling of ~ this is the dog I'm keeping!
Caught me off guard a little, but ... the feeling passed.

Anyway, so far so good with this little guy. When I saw this picture on petfinder I described him as so-ugly-he's-cute, but now I don't think he's so ugly at all. His fur is so soft, long, and lovely. (I went out and bought a brush and comb for him.) Sure, he still has that 'mashed' face that I always find to be ugly/cute, but he really is a nice doggie.
He's very quiet, which I really like. And he doesn't seem so needy like the previous two I fostered, which is also a nice sort of break from that constant 'giving' of affection. I read that Japanese Chins are the most cat-like dogs, so I guess maybe that's where some of his independence comes from.
Last night he had dinner and we went for a nice walk. He walks on a leash like a dream.
I decided the name Gizzy was too ghetto for this fluffy beaut, so I've renamed him Kiyoshi, which means 'the quiet one'.