Goodbye Choco

This past Saturday, Choco the Wonder Foster went home with his forever family.  I'll admit it.  I cried like a baby.  In front of everyone at Petco.  And I spent the rest of the weekend moping around.

I started fostering with eyes wide open about how difficult it would be to give these dogs up, or so I thought.  Choco caught me a little off-guard.  The whole reason why I started with puppies was that they get adopted quickly and I've less time to bond.  It'll be easier with puppies, right?  But that's the thing about love.  In my experience, it's instantaneous.  I pretty much immediately fell in love with my husband, the one and only real love of my life.  Likewise, Choco stole my heart immediately.  From the second I brought him home, he just "fit" with our family.  The girls loved him - Sadie was more cuddly with him than any of the other puppies and Maggie...well, Maggie was as in love as I was.  Finally, she had a playmate for tug-o-war!  They would lay on a dog bed play-mouthing each other for hours every morning.  Even the hubbie mentioned adopting him...we all considered him part and parcel of our family, even if it was only for two weeks.  If I were a couple years down the road with fostering and the girls just a bit older, I probably would have kept him.  I keep telling myself that he won't be the last one that I feel this way about.  In all likelihood, the majority of fosters will elicit this type of response.  Next foster and adoption event?  I'm bringing tissues!

So it was hard when that last family of the day on Saturday came in to look at the puppies.  I understood how they felt though when they made their decision a few short moments after meeting him.  'Cause that's how I felt and how I believe everyone who meets Choco will feel.  He is one of those special dogs that just draws people in.  As selfish as my own emotions about him being adopted are, I know he is in the right place.  At the adoption event, he shined around all the kids, especially the little girls.   And he went home with HIS little girl.   The moment I knew he would be all right with his new family?  He woke up from his nap and started crawling all over his little girl.  I told her to tell him "off" and to turn away when he does that.  So she raised one finger up in the air, yelled "Off, Taco".  And kept repeating it.  Mom, Dad and I were in stitches.  Choco got off of her, for two seconds, and then his wiggly butt and tongue were back all over her.  He's gonna need some work on that one!

All in all, I think Choco showed me the most difficult part of fostering - letting them go.  Trusting that their new family will shower them with as much love as I gave them.  Trust is a funny thing.  It's absolutely a necessary part of being involved in animal rescue.   You ask the right questions, do your best to get a read on the adoptive family, accept that not every family is as dog-loving crazy as you are and may not shower them with quite as many treats, training and pampering as you do, but at the end of the day you have to trust that these people will treat them well.  I think I was hyper-sensitive to the trust part with Choco due to his breed.  As a pitbull owner, lover and developing advocate, I am all too aware of the awful things that people do to this breed.  And because of that, I find it harder to trust.  A big part of my mopey weekend was worrying that he would be treated well.  I never would have let him be adopted to this family if I had any inkling that he wouldn't but I still worry.

Enough of the mopey stuff.  Choco-photo montage!

The Choco-Sandwich

 I only caught them all sleeping on the same bed a couple of times.  Choco mostly cuddled with Sadie, who is hands-down the best cuddler in the house.

That's more like it!

Surely about to pounce on something.  Probably a sock.

This Is What It's All About

Remember Josephine and Gena?  The lab puppies we had over Christmas?  This week I had the pleasure of getting updates on both of them.  Seeing how they are doing, receiving pictures and updates from new parents.  Now THIS is what it's all about.  I think they call this the Reward part of fostering.  Tastes much better than a biscuit!

I'm right at home!

This past weekend, I heard from Tammy, who adopted Gena.  Tammy's up near Seattle so I got to spend an extra week with Ms. Gena...now known as Riley...so that the rescue could spay her before she traveled to her forever home, which was a treat for me. Riley is doing awesome in her new home, progressing well on her basic training and is getting to do lots of cool things like meeting cats and going to puppy classes.  She's obviously a much beloved puppy, surrounded by toys.


The update on Josephine was completely unexpected.  I had stopped in at the rescue to drop off a few extra supplies I had and pick up some more food for Choco.  Out comes a woman holding a black lab.  I ask who this sweet girl is and she tells me Emma, well, she used to be Josephine.  My heart stopped for a nano-second as I thought they might be returning her but the woman wasn't the young woman who was part of the couple adopting her.  Turns out she had her spay surgery that day and Grandma was helping take her home.  She is sooo big!  I didn't have my camera on me to take a picture but she's about 20 lbs now.   I wish I could say she remembered me...maybe she did...or maybe it was just the anesthesia.  Either way, it was a treat getting to see her again - something I never thought would happen.  Her name is now Emma and she too is living large with her new mom & dad.  Dad was there and you could tell he was absolutely in love with her.

So as I inevitably move closer to losing Choco to his forever home, today I feel uplifted and re-energized.  It's not about how much I adore these puppies - it's about finding them all forever homes to love them even more. 

Choco-dile, Wonder Foster

I knew this day would come.  The day when I seriously considered adopting one of my fosters.  Proud to say that I made it past Foster #1...ashamed that it's only Foster #4.

Maybe it's because he's a pitbull, a breed that I adore and am committed to rescuing.

Is it already time for breakfast? 

Maybe it's because he actually sleeps through the night, doesn't whine when I put him in his x-pen at night, and rarely whines in the morning to wake me up.

Maybe it's because Sadie adores him and he's brought out a playfulness in her that I haven't seen in ages.


It's probably not because he's already started to destroy things around the house.  Or that he has a habit of barking at toys, my girls with toys, bones, etc (which Maggie officially stopped putting up with last night).  Or that every time I take my eyes off him for more than 10 seconds, he has managed to get his hands on a shoe, sock, plant, etc.  But it is probably because none of these things faze me in the slightest.  Our previous foster puppies challenged my patience - he totally understands what I mean when I tell him to leave it, drop it, no, good god puppy where did you get that???  And he runs away from whatever is getting him in trouble now to the next thing that will get him in trouble...with the bounciest, goofiest puppy prance.  I am totally in love!

But strong I stand.  Adopting any foster means no more fostering - 3 dogs is maximum capacity at our house.  It is inevitable, I know.  There will be one that I just can't let go.  But two months in, with a highly adoptable (even if he is a pitbull) puppy?  TJ told me last night to remember the good we are doing - the socialization, the wee bit of training.  To take comfort in knowing that his time with us prepares him to be a better pet to his forever family.  So I cherish the moments I have, know that I will cry like a baby when he goes, and commit to finding him the best home that I can.  Sniff, Sniff.

My First Rescue Operation

I've been busy the last couple days helping OFOSA intake 45+ dogs from high-kill shelters in CA.  This is about a once monthly deal for the rescue, my first time helping them out and the first time that I felt I could define myself as a dog rescuer.  It was amazing.  Even though I've volunteered in shelters, at adoption events and fostered, these past few days were different.  These dogs were on the brink of euthanasia down in CA and now they are safe!

Seeing the condition that these dogs came in opened my eyes to how terrible conditions must be in those high-kill shelters.  Medical issues go untreated, dogs arrive with little or no paperwork and the rescue scrambles to unload, walk, feed, water, document, vaccinate and care for a great number of dogs in as short of a period of time as possible.  I was assigned to the picture-taking team and helped with all the other tasks, including naming Piper the Pitbull puppy and Wilson the poodle mix.

When all was said and done, over 80 dogs were transported from northern CA.  They spent almost 24 hours in a van the size of an airport shuttle.  OFOSA took in about 45 of them with the rest going to several area shelters, including Columbia County Humane Society and Southwest Washington Humane Society.  About 35 of the dogs we took in were puppies and after seeing that they only had foster families lined up for a small fraction of those dogs, I was worrying about whether I could stick with our decision to take a few weeks off from fostering...and our decision to try out a couple adult dogs next.  It doesn't take much to forget about sleepless puppy nights.  Especially when you have this guy needing a home.  Meet Choco, our newest foster. He's a 4-5 month old Pitbull and Sadie's new BFF. I love Love LOVE the freckles on his nose!

I didn't even have to finish the question when I asked TJ if we could take him in.  Didn't even need to fully explain why our home was needed.  One look at my face and he said yes without hesitation.  I have the best hubbie in the world!

Great Debates: Allowing Dogs on the Furniture

TJ asked me this weekend - "When should we stop letting the foster puppy on the couch?"  It's a question we had to cover ourselves with Maggie back in the day.  And I honestly don't remember when exactly we stopped allowing her to cuddle on the couch with us but I'm pretty sure it happened when she both started demanding to be allowed up and was able to jump up herself.

When puppies are tiny babies, they often end up snuggled on your chest as you try to get just a few more winks in before starting your day.  After all, you've been up all night with them, right? Which turns into the puppy being lifted onto your lap every time its activity level starts to wind down and is ready for a nap.  Pretty soon, the puppy starts demanding to be allowed up.  This happened in my house this morning.  I was checking email, FB, the usual morning routine.  Gena hasn't figured out how to jump up on the couch yet so she placed her front paws up and barked.  And barked.  And bark-growled.  And barked again.  I think it's time to stop allowing the puppy on the couch, TJ.

To let the dogs up on the furniture or not?  It's a question that each new pet parent has to ask themselves and one for which there are two distinctly strong opinions in my own home.  For several years, I agreed to my husband's no dogs on the furniture rule.  I occasionally broke said rule, much to the consternation of my husband.  You are causing behavior issues with them, confusing them.  To which I replied, It gives us the opportunity for more advanced training.  Teaching them to ask permission, which pieces of furniture are strictly off-limits and which they can ask to come up.  Allows us to utilize cuddling with us on the furniture as a reward.  But when Maggie's incontinence problem started to rear its ugly head, keeping them off the furniture was a necessity.  So for several years, they were only occasionally allowed up on the bed for a quick nap.  I never allowed Maggie to be up for very long due to her pee issues.  But now that those medical issues are firmly under control and accidents are but a memory of the past, we are back to having differing positions on the issue of our girls and our furniture. 

Bottom line?  This is a personal decision for any doggie parent.  There's no right answer and used properly, can strengthen bonds and become an avenue for training and reward (in my opinion).  I will respect TJ's position when it comes to the couch...which I must admit I did break with the fosters - at 3am, it was nice to have Maggie agree to amuse the puppy and give me some sleep if I allowed them to cuddle & play on the couch.  She is very talented at this type of negotiation.  But when I'm blog-writing in bed, watching a movie or TJ is out of town, the dogs may be allowed up on the bed with me.  The key here is that it's not an always.  Generally, if he's out of town for a couple days, I'll allow them to sleep with me some of the nights but not all.  When they start to demand it or Sadie "misunderstands" me talking to her as permission to jump aboard, they get the reward less often.  I make them sit politely before asking them to come up.  In the event that they jump up without my permission, I make them get off immediately.  Sometimes, I allow access after proper permission-seeking behavior.  Sometimes, I tell them to go lay down on their own beds.  I hope to someday convince TJ that it won't be the end of the world, the beginning of major behavior issues and the destruction of all of our belongings to allow them this reward.   But I have a feeling this is an area where we will continue to agree to disagree and compromise somewhere in the middle...no couch...sometimes, and sparingly, bed access. 

Puppy Fever

Two puppies will be easier...they play together...comfort each other at night...less crying and whining.  That's what they told me at the rescue so I plucked two puppies up and took them home.  "They" were wrong.  Two puppies are exponentially more evil active.  This is how things go in the Fullone Home:

Gena wakes up from her nap first.  I can usually distract her from biting me with a bone, Sadie, or the myriad other toys.  For about 5 seconds.  Then Maggie clues in to the puppy being awake and gets psyched for her favorite new game - Steal the Toy.  It goes something like this. 

Puppy bites the crap out of Mommy...Mommy grabs nearest toy in desperate attempt to distract the puppy from the yumminess of her socks and waves toy in front of puppy's mouth.  Puppy takes the bait and pounces on the new toy.  Maggie, who has been lurking over the puppy the entire time, promptly snatches toy from puppy's mouth...Puppy returns to biting, tugging, pulling and otherwise terrorizing Mom.  Repeat. It's a really awesome game.  The game can be fun for all involved....by which I mean me...until JoJo wakes up.  Then it becomes a circus and I'm pretty sure I've been cast as the clown.  When two puppies are involved, Steal the Toy becomes a juggling match.  Juggling to keep a toy in all 3 dogs' mouths while keeping myself, my clothes and especially my toes out of the reach of sharp puppy teeth.  Like I said, a truly awesome game.

But then moments like this happen.  When the pups tire of Steal the Toy game, they curl up on the nearest body...most times this is my lap but sometimes Sadie gets the tired puppy action too.  She loves it.  So does Maggie.  I mean, who doesn't love puppies when they're all tired and snuggly??

TJ has been spectacular with the two puppy thing.  I kind of forgot to officially clear the more than one foster dog scenario with him but he takes a few nights with them to give me sleep and sometimes naps with them himself.

It hasn't been all fun torment Mom games...the puppies have been busy growing - they've nearly doubled in size in the two weeks we've had them.  They can now successfully navigate the stairs though Gena usually demands requests a little help going down them.  They are starting to learn not to bite hard on flesh though all bets are off when said flesh is covered by yummy socks or sweaters.  And Gena is starting to signal when she needs to go potty by whining at the bottom of the stairs.  But JoJo has her beat - she actually tackles the stairs and does her whining at the back door.  Sometimes...okay...like once in five accidents.  Hey, that's progress!

Puppies are definitely going to stay in the foster rotation.  Even with all the work they are, there is still nothing sweeter than puppy cuddling.  They were a good way to enter the world of fostering and I've enjoyed seeing them grow and start to develop their personalities.  But I'm looking forward to helping a less adoptable adult dog next time around.  Just need to get these rambunctious sweeties adopted out first! 

Happy Holidays

 

We've got 2 new fosters just in time for Christmas!  These sweeties (Gena & Josephine) are 8 week old labs.  Two puppies = much more cleaning up after messes.  But they keep each company, during playtime and overnight.  No sleeping on the couch for me!

Licorice

She sat apart from her littermates at OFOSA.  Always calm and sitting patiently.  I spent that entire day walking past her periodically.  I think I might take that fluffy one home.   The other volunteer showing me the ropes kept commenting on how sweet she seemed to be.  Yeah, I think I'm going to take her home with me.  She's adorable, well-behaved and sure to be adopted quickly - the perfect first foster.  And so she went home.

I both did not know what to expect and had some firm expectations.  I expected Maggie to lose patience with a puppy.  I expected Sadie to mother her from the get-go.  I expected both of them to show some jealousy - Sadie because of attention, Maggie due to toys.  I had no idea how I would give her up to her new family.  I had also forgotten how much work puppies were.

Maggie showed an amazing amount of patience, even letting the puppy steal her ball.  Let me repeat...my ball-obsessed girl let a 20 lb puppy steal her ball....over and over again.   Both of them gave up their bones....over and over again.  Have I mentioned what amazingly awesome dogs I have?  They exceeded my wildest expectations.   It's one thing for TJ to consciously consider and consent to becoming a foster family; it was another thing altogether for my girls, who have no idea what is going on, to accept and adapt so quickly and effortlessly.  I know it will not always be like this.  Mostly because I won't always pick the easiest dog there ever was to foster.  But my girls shined.  I expect to love each and every one of my fosters.  I had never considered how this experience deepens my love for my own girls.  A truly unexpected benefit!

So Sadie doesn't have many mothering instincts.  I totally had that one wrong.  Or maybe it was because the puppy took to Maggie like a shadow.  When she wasn't trying to steal shoes.

I apologize for a lack of pictures.  I will someday master the art of perfectly timing photography of these wiggly perpetual motion machines while not allowing them to destroy my house.  Maybe.  I had forgotten how puppies get into everything...chew everything....get into places you forgot small puppies could get into...cry....whine....nibble...bite.  I hadn't forgotten how sweet puppy kisses are though.  There's definitely a reason for that.

She woke me up at 3:30am this morning.  Was curled up on my chest by 4am giving me gentle kisses and then thankfully napping for several more hours.  By noon, I was watching her cuddle up to her new family.

It was a bit easier giving her up than I had thought.  Part of it was because it was a short four days.   But also because I knew she was never really mine.  Someone asked me this week how I could ever give her away.  I told her it was because I was just borrowing her.  OK...mostly it was easier because it was so short.  I know this is going to get harder with longer term fosters.  We were just getting into our groove-thang.

She now has a little girl and boy to love her to death.  And I have an empty space in my house - one that belongs to my next foster.

Our First Foster Pup

I went into OFOSA's clinic (Oregon Friends of Shelter Animals) this morning for day one as a volunteer.  Learn the ropes, undoubtedly clean up some dog poo, you know, good times.  I came home with this bundle of joy.  Her name is Licorice and she's a 2 month old Australian Shepherd.  Our first foster pup. 

The ladies of the house were extremely confused.  They will likely be even more confused come Saturday when we head out to Petco for adoption day and, cross my fingers, come back home without her.  But I think they've decided this new pup is quite all right.  Maggie came running to get me when...there is no way to shorten Licorice into an adorable puppy name - Lic? Or?  Rice?...when the puppy started whining in her kennel.  She was very concerned.  As I type, Sadie is forgoing both dog beds to nap right next to the kennel.  I don't think they mind at all.

So...if you know anyone who's thinking about a puppy for Christmas...all the deets are on her petfinder page. 

It took no time at all for her personality to start showing through.  She romped around the living room with Sadie, sneaking her quick kisses while they were playing.  Tackled the stairs once the big girls showed her how to do it and got a hold of some socks and one of TJ's shoes.  Right, I had forgotten puppies did that! 
Back at the clinic, she had been the shyer of the bunch but I'm pretty sure she's going to be running circles around my girls for the next few days.

Top 5 Ways To Convince Your Hubbie You Need to Foster a Dog

5.  Start casually mentioning all of the cute puppies you are seeing on various rescue sites.  Show him pictures.  Utterly convince him that you want to adopt a new dog without ever saying those words.

 OK.  This may have backfired.  I just perused the Oregon Humane Society website for an appropriately adorable picture.  They have mini-Aussies - which are extremely rare to find in a shelter (3 of them in fact!).  Pictured above is Lulu (#98820).  You get the intelligence and agility of an Australian shepherd in the most adorable miniature form.  Can someone please take this sweetie home before I do??? 

4.  Mention that dogs replace any urge for babies for you.  Locate fun facts like the hormone manufactured by nursing mothers (oxytocin) is also produced by people when they pet their dogs.  Get him starting to think that no new puppy = maybe Sarah starting to think about having kids.  Put the fear of babies in him!

3.  Discuss with him how you would love your current fur-babies to be able to go to work with you every day in your new store but that their behavior issues make them unlikely candidates for managing to be well-behaved in a public retail setting.  Lament that you really wish you had a "shop dog".

2.  When the above 3 have worked like a charm and he graciously tells you that you can get a new dog when your store is up and running, reveal to him that you really feel the need to begin rescuing.  Offer up your new adorable puppy to the Gods of Altruism and request to foster dogs in need instead.

1.  Write a blog post describing said nefarious methods of gentling easing the hubbie into the idea of fostering, point out that it makes zero sense to wait to foster until you are so busy with the new store that you don't have the time, and that fostering now would mean that you take on the brunt of the training and care a foster dog would need.  Cross your fingers, tell your hubbie how much you love him and wait with bated breath...

Shit!  I'm still thinking about that mini-Aussie.