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!