The Easiest Goodbye

People often ask me if its hard to say goodbye to foster dogs. Sometimes it is very difficult, like in the case of Camille, who was a sweet, potty-trained dog that Bill adored. Other times the parting is much easier because a)I found the dog annoying for whatever reason, c) Bill and the dog didn't really hit it off, or c)the dog seems so happy to be going along to his or her new parents.

The latter is the case with Charlie, a rescue return who I only had for a few days. Charlie was adopted out to an elderly man, and within a year, the man felt he could no longer care for Charlie. (I wasn't the one who facilitated this adoption, but lesson learned - young, energetic foster dogs should not go to elderly people. There are plenty of older dogs needing homes who would have been a better fit.)

Bill didn't like Charlie because Charlie, like JayJay before him, made crazy growling noises while playing. Although Charlie is fairly dog-aggressive, Bill was the aggressor in our home this time! I had to break them up multiple times.

Even if Bill doesn't like Charlie, we do. He's potty trained, smart, and loving toward people. I was contacted by a man who had never had a dog before but felt he was ready for one now. He seemed like the perfect fit for Charlie, since he lives in an apartment, has no other dogs, and would be walking Charlie on a leash, so after a home inspection, this man was approved and ready to pick Charlie up.

We met last night, and Charlie jumped into his lap and licked his face immediately. After filling out the adoption contract, all he did was stand up, start walking, and say, "Charlie, come." Side by side, no leash necessary (we were in a large, safe field), Charlie and his new dog walked into the sunset, got in the car, and drove off to their new life together. It couldn't have been a more peaceful and happy transition.

Jay Jay Takes a Dip

Jay Jay is toy-obsessed, to put it lightly. You could get that dog to serve you his dinner if you hold a toy over your plate. The other night he proved just how toy-obsessed he was when we were in the hot tub. As we sat there, enjoying a "relaxing" evening, Jay Jay continuously threw his toy into the hot tub (it's above ground, mind you, and on his tippie-toes he can just put his head over the edge to look in). My husband finally balanced it on the edge of the turned up cover, so what did Jay Jay do? He jumped up, balanced on the edge of the slippery hot tub, and grabbed the toy off the cover.

From there it was a free-for-all. Jay Jay kept throwing the toy into the hot tub, and finally we decided that if he wanted to throw it in, he had to get it out himself. And...guess what? He did! Occasionally he could jump up and get his mouth around it, but more than once he actually dove right in! Check out the video below (it's hard to see, but if you tilt your screen right, you should be able to get the picture!).



Oh, Jay Jay! You are one funny dog! We'll miss you now that you've gone on to your new home, but at least all of our river rocks are now back where they belong - in the yard - and our guest bed is safe from your "inappropriate advances." :)

The Stand-Off Ends

Foster #29, Buster, made quite a first impression. He was surrendered, along with his mom and dad, to our rescue yesterday. A woman who, to put it politely, seemed to be a little "off," left him and his dad with one of our new fosters and left the female with another. The new foster then brought him to me.

During our phone conversation, the new foster told me that he took a while to get out of the car and introduce himself to her, but other than that he seemed fine. Uh...so I figured, he sounds okay, I guess I don't need to bring a crate when I meet her to get him. I had Bill, my mom, and my husband in the car with me.

When the new foster pulled in, she opened the car door, and I saw a snarling, chattering, barking, growling Boston Terrier looking back at me. He didn't yet have a harness or collar on, so I asked her if she could put it on him. I really didn't think she could. He allowed her to, however, without ever taking his eyes off me. Boy, was I in for an adventure!

The new foster put my leash on him, and I was able to walk him over to the car. I put him in the car, and he seemed okay with Bill - not really noticing him. However, now I had a new problem. I couldn't go near my car!

Luckily a nearby friend had a crate, and I had some thick garden gloves, so I put the gloves on, carefully got his leash, and pulled him out of the car. We sat on the ground for a while, and I tried to calm him, to no avail. I kept inching my way up the leash until I was at the back of his harness, and while he continued to growl, I got my hand around his chest and quickly shoved him into the crate. Door shut...success!

He growled and cried the whole way home. I had never seen such a distressed dog! At home, Dylan and I weren't really sure what to do with him, but eventually we decided to try to let him sleep in the crate in our room. After hours of listening to him rustle around, I finally couldn't take it anymore, and I put him in the yard. I left the crate door open so he could pee if he had to, but every time I checked on him, he was still cowering in there. He looked SO scared.

This morning, when I got up to let Bill out to pee, Buster was standing outside of his crate, shaking uncontrollably. I got some cheese, sat down, and somehow got brave enough to try and pet him. He just melted into my hands, and at that point, I knew our stand-off was over. Since then he hasn't left my side, although he's still very nervous and distressed.

I actually think he's a great dog now - he even licked me, and now he's sleeping with his head on my leg. Poor little guy, I have no idea what happened to him to make him so distressed, but I think there's hope. Oh, and he's adorable!

Cracking Jack's Shell

We're not always so lucky to turn around a puppy mill dog in a week, but boy, is Jack resilient! I may not be an animal expert, but after 28 foster dogs I feel like I've come up with a pretty good methodology for rehabilitating these guys (I know, a lot of you out there have me beat, but I still no longer consider myself a rookie). The trick?

a) Give them time to settle in and let them come to you
b) Keep their world small at first (thank you, Lisa from MLAR) and take every precaution that they don't bolt
c) Slowly give them more and more freedom to make decisions
d) Set them up for success

As a practical example, Jack was very fearful when he came to us last week. I have a very difficult time putting his harness and leash on him, and he wouldn't go outside if I was standing by the door. We had to do a little bit of "dancing" to herd him around the house, but it was okay - I knew he would come around. One thing Jack did want to do was sit next to me on the couch. He was terrified if I picked him up or went to him, but he would come to me. Great! We just went with that for a while.

To get him more comfortable with being approached, I always went to him with a treat. After a while, I think he saw me as one giant hot dog. Again, great! Now we can put the harness on him easily, and I can even pick him up.

As far as keeping his world small, I crate him when I'm not home, and for the most part he hangs out in two rooms in my house and my very small yard. He was definitely a flight risk when I first got him, so any time we went outside he was on leash, which I was constantly gripping tightly to make sure I didn't lose him. He did try to bolt several times.

We went to the dogpark at times when it wasn't very crowded to acclimate him to other dogs and work on recall. He caught on to "come" very quickly, and while he's not bombproof yet, he is much less of a flight risk now and he does come when called. He'd much more comfortable with other dogs, too.

I've been slowly giving Jack more freedom, and it is working out well. Now, when I take him to my trapeze rig (yes, I said that), he gets to run around in the field with the other dogs. He spends his time between where we sit and running back into the car with Bill (it's just a few feet away, and Bill loves to just sit on the floor of the car). If he starts wandering, we call him and he comes back. He's doing great!

In terms of setting him up for success, I still crate him when I'm not home to reinforce that we don't potty in the house. The potty training has been coming along well, but I see any accidents as major setbacks, so I try to avoid them at all costs. He doesn't love being crated, but I think he likes it much better than getting yelled at. At night, as I mentioned, Bill cuddles in the crate with him (weirdo!).

Jack is an awesome dog who turns heads everywhere he goes with his cuteness. I hope he finds the perfect forever home soon. Anyone would be lucky to have him.

The Stork

All week we had been trying to fly Harleigh to her new home in Canon City, CO, which is a 2.5 hour drive (1.25 hour flight) away. After being thwarted by the weather for several days, we finally made it! Her new family is wonderful - an older couple who lost their dog a few months ago. They have a wonderful home with a dog door that goes through a cabinet in the kitchen out to a ramp that Harleigh can mosey down to get into the yard. She got it first try!


Harleigh was a great passenger in the plane, spending most of the time sitting on the floor in the back. I, on the other hand, wasn't feeling so hot. The flight was really turbulent, and the bumps were wreaking havoc on my stomach. I was actually kind of pleased when weather rolled in, and we couldn't go home for a few hours because I didn't think I could hack it in the bumpy plane for another hour and a half.


After waiting out the nearby thunderstorms, we again took flight, but this time to a wonderfully smooth sky. We even saw an awesome rainbow:



One of the biggest struggles of this trip were that we had Bill and a new foster dog, Jack, at home, and nobody to let them out (my parents were out of town). We hadn't made arrangements for anyone to stop by because we thought we would be home quickly, but when we couldn't get back, I had to scramble to find someone to let them out. Our friend Gary came over, and as I expected, called me 10 minutes into hanging out at our house to tell me that neither dog would get off our bed. Big surprise! Bill's glued to that thing. Anyway, Gary ended up chasing them around the house to shoo them outside but finally was successful. Thanks, Gary!

So I was telling someone at the airport about how we took some puppies up to Rock Springs, WY to be adopted a few weeks ago, and the said, "You fly the "babies" to their new homes? You're like a stork!" I thought that was really cute. If only we had our own plane, we could paint a stork on it!

Oops!

So it's been a bit of a circus at our house. Bill and Max have had their friends, Lucy and Madeline, over. We've never had four dogs (plus two cats) in the house before, and it was wild! These guys just never stopped playing.

Anyway, we were on our way out to dinner, and I thought to crate the girls because Madeline is unreliable with potty-training, and Lucy wouldn't stop playing with Max if I didn't crate her. I wanted them to calm down. I put the girls in their crates and then turned to walk out the door, when I heard a quiet, "Meow." I turned around to see:



Uh, oops! What's Chewie doing in there? When I crated the girls, I forgot that Chewie has taken up the habit of sleeping in their crates when they aren't "home." We laughed so hard and couldn't help but snap a few photos before letting Chewie run free. It's a good he was stuck in there with Lucy and not Max because, well, let's just say Max is a little "too interested" in him. In Lucy's case, she actually looked grateful for the company, but by the way Chewie took off as soon as I opened the door, I could tell that he was equally grateful for his freedom.

An Enlarged Heart

It's been a rough week. I was excited to welcome Madeline, a previous foster, back to our house for dogsitting. The timing seemed perfect because Max was just about to hit the one-month mark after his heartworm treatment, meaning that he could begin to do a bit more activity. I thought everyone would have a great time playing together, and they did...for the first three days.

Then Max got sick again. His breathing was labored and he became lethargic. Back at the vet for examination and X-rays, it was reaffirmed that Max's right ventricle was enlarged. X-rays from the previous month showed the same thing, but not being a vet myself, I thought that was a temporary condition from the worms. This time around the vet told me that it is permanent. They watched Max for the day and then sent him home to me, stating that he was doing much better. (Note: Look carefully in the X-ray image and you can also see his dislocated shoulder - it turns out it's his shoulder and his elbow. So sad.)



That night, I noticed again that Max was breathing loudly with quick, shallow breaths. I stayed up with him all night (because I was concerned about him and I had caught a nasty cold that wouldn't let me sleep anyway), and then again took him to the vet the next morning. That whole day was scary, as new X-rays revealed fluid in his lungs and I just didn't know if he would make it. The second time the vet called I almost lost it, thinking that she was calling to deliver bad news. But to my pleasant surprise, she was just calling to say that she gave him Lasix (a diuretic) and that he responded to it very well.

Max came home, and he's been happy with the limited activity I've allow him. He plays bitey-face with Bill and Madeline for short spurts and I allow him to walk around at the dog park for short periods (he's got to be fenced in because he doesn't yet know recall and he's VERY fast for a three-legged, uncoordinated dog!). He does have congestive heart failure, as the vet said his heart valves are not opening and closing correctly. He'll be visiting Colorado State University in a week to meet with a specialist.

I'm so glad he made it through those rocky few days. I feel completely responsible for his relapse, as he just seemed to be feeling so good, and I let him do too much activity. I would have been devastated to lose him. He's such a loving, special, little guy, and he deserves the best life possible.

Juno What, I Could Have Kept Her!

I never need to worry that we'll be long without a foster dog for Bill to play with because MidAmerica Boston Terrier Rescue is just so darn busy! Juno, like Madeline (one of our last fosters), was a puppy mill breeder. However, unlike strangely well-adjusted Madeline, Juno did NOT want to be touched. She was inquisitive and wanted to be near, even taking cheese out of our hands, but as soon as we went to grab her, she was across the room. Poor girl - I had never seen a dog's toenails cut (or broken?) back so far past the quick. She didn't seem to be in pain but I can imagine her paws hurt her.

Juno was tiny for a Boston - maybe 14 lbs. (my fosters average about 20 lbs.). She was an easy dog, catching onto potty training and never grumbling about staying in her crate. I received her after she had been adopted out to the WRONG person, which I'm still confused about. He was a single, retired man who was frustrated that Juno's previous foster didn't properly prepare him for adopting a puppy mill dog (which I don't believe) and he said he didn't have time to help her get over her issues. Uh, didn't he just say he was retired? he seemed like someone who just wanted to complain. BUT - these situations are exactly why I wrote the Mill Dog Manifesto a few months ago, a free eBook to help people socialize and understand their distressed, ex-mill dogs (check it out!).

The other thing that struck me as strange about the man adopting her was that Juno obviously needed to be in a home with another dog. When she came into my home, she went NUTS playing with Bill. For the four days I had her, Bill was her anchor - nothing was too bad when he was around. She even started getting brave with us petting her.



A few families applied for Juno, but the perfect one turned out to be only about 20 minutes away. The had adopted another distressed dog a year ago who had been tied to a tree for the first year of his life and had only eaten hay (yes, his stomach was full of hay when we got him). They brought him over to meet Juno and the two really hit it off. The only hitch was that I had forgotten to mention my cats, and their dog, Skippy, got a little too excited when he entered my home. Of course, instead of jumping up on something high, my one sassy cat decided to give him a piece of his mind, which only complicated things. But after a few minutes we had everybody rounded up and all was well.

The day after Juno went to her new home, I got Madeline back but this time only as a guest. Her new mom was going out of town for a week and asked me to dogsit. Madeline is a gem and we were more than happy to invite her back. But I wonder, did her mom really leave town or did she just want some cheap training for her? Just kidding, but I'm planning on giving her back with at least potty training and the words "come," "sit," and "stay."

What a great end to the week.

Foster Updates

If you read my last post, you'll know that I was told I'd be getting a Boston-Chi mix who was hit by a car as my next foster. I never got her because it turns out that there are good people in this world, and the pup had so many applications on her that my rescue decided there was no point in sending her all the way up to me. Go Tilly!

Marley: Funny story about Marley, the pudgy, humpy foster I had a few weeks ago. I left for vacation so Marley went to live with another foster. At first she said she would hang on to him, but then after he nipped her year-old grandson, she decided it would be better if I took him back. We met one morning at our usual spot, made the transfer, and then I stopped at a dog-loving friend's house on the way home. Well, that's where Marley stayed! He was having so much fun with her and her kids (age 7 and 10) that they decided to foster my foster. But are they really fostering? I think not, though only time will tell. I've heard the kids are mounting a campaign to keep the little guy, and my money is on him staying there for good.







Madeline: I received a great email from "Madeline" yesterday, so I thought I would share. She went to her new home last week, and though we miss her, it's clear that she's already become quite an important part of her new family. Here's her note:



Yes, I am adjusting quite well. I had a great weekend. I got to meet lots of new friends and some family. We went shopping at Pet's Mart on Saturday. It was really busy in there with lots of people and dogs. So a got a little nervous in there. Daddy took me out to the car and I felt a lot better. Mommy came out with a pretty new pink collar with a new bling tag on it with my name on it. I think I'm going to be very spoiled in my new forever home. I like my evening walks and I think Im more comfortable sleeping in my crate at night. But, early in the mornings Daddy gets up and takes me out to go poddy. I'm really trying to bond with him, but Im still a little afraid of him. Then I get to sleep some more on his lap while he reads for about an hour. Then he takes me to Mommy and lets me sleep with her on the bed until she gets up. Boy, do I LIKE that. Its so soft and comfy and warm that I drift right to sleep and snore right into Mommy's ear.

Today was my first whole day with Mommy and Me. We went to PetCo today to look for more chew toys that I can't eat. The others I've had I gobble them up and get real stinky gas! Pardon me! I also had a bath today. That went ok. I'm not sure that I like it a whole lot, but Mommy was real gentle and my skin is not as itchy. I also love playing outside. My next door neighbor, Ralphie ,and I like playing chase along the fence line. That's her in a picture below.

Gotta go now and take a nap before Daddy gets home. Will write again next week or two.

Boston Going on Boxer

Recently I was asked if I would take a new foster from a Missouri puppy mill that was closed down. Our rescue knew nothing about her, which I'm usually a little sketchy about because I've got my cats and dog to think of first, but I said I would help.

There were probably 20 people involved with getting this dog, Layla, from Kansas City, MO, to Boulder, CO. Our rescue arranged for her to get on a CARE transport (an organization that rents Enterprise vans and transports the dogs between several states regularly). There's at least 6-10 people involved in that. From there a nice lady picked her up at the drop-off point and drove her another half hour to Westminster. From Westminster I picked her up and took her to Boulder.

Everything went smoothly except that I was depending on my GPS to get me to where I had to pick her up. I was already down in Westminster, and when I reached in my glove box to get it, it wasn't there! Turns out my husband took it to California with him and "forgot" to tell me-apparently I was supposed to assume he had it because he had my car right before he left. Right...thanks, hon!

Anyway, Layla must have been waiting to get transported in a foster home, because somehow she is miraculously potty trained, knows just what to do when the car door is opened, and has been a wonderful house guest thus far. She's not afraid of anything and has really kept Bill and the cats on their toes.



This Boston is truly a miniature "Boxer," as she's spunky, loving, devoted, and even does the "Boxer Kidney Beans" (their signature wiggle). She gallops around the house like a horse and just doesn't ever stop moving. She bounces off the back of the couch onto the floor and loves to play "bitey-face" with Bill. This is not your typical mill momma...except for the mange, strange lumps, and udder-like nipples she's got hanging down. (She's on antibiotics and special shampoo, so I'm sure we'll have most of her fixed up shortly).



What a great dog! I just wish she'd settle down a little because her spay stitches are not doing so well (she's got a lump under her stitches that I've learn from the internet is probably an allergic reaction to the stitches or the area is filled with fluid because she WON'T CALM DOWN... And you can forget crating her because she goes crazy with mill flashbacks).

Another Cancer Dog!

This is a very bad month, but I guess we need "bad" sometimes to put the "good" in perspective. For example, I've been stressed out with Happy Tails Books because I switched our shopping cart to Amazon.com, which means people have to sign in to Amazon to check out now, and I have no idea if people don't make it through the process (with our old cart I did know). On the upside, the fees are much lower so I can donate more. Any ideas? What do you think about checking out with Amazon?

Anyway, all of these stresses pale in comparison to the fact that my latest four-hour foster (I was really just holding her for the day) needs to have her leg removed on Tuesday. I've never actually seen a bad mast cell tumor in person before, and I'd hoped I never would. Unfortunately, little Daisy was dumped at the Boulder Humane Society with a huge tumor. There's not much else to do but remove her leg because it's malignant.



I hear it hasn't spread to her lungs yet, and I hope that by removing her leg they can save her from future cancer trouble. She's a really sweet nine-year-old who is a little "too interested" in cats. (That what her paperwork said and it's so true! She bit my cat and made him throw up! He's fine but it was gross.) Please keep Daisy in your thoughts along with Zoye, who is with a great family now, but I still haven't heard the results from her cancer biopsy.

It's been a rough month but we're almost out of it. The Boxer book is about ready for pre-sale, and the German Shepherd book is well on its way. I'm looking forward to receiving stories for our next books which are maybe going to be about Pugs and cats. Yup... February is going to be much better.

An Oldie but Goodie

So I got my old dog, but it wasn't the one I thought I was getting. The emergency fostered turned out to possibly be dog/cat aggressive so I requested he go to a different home (not fair to my 2 cats and Bill). Instead, I was asked to take a seven-year-old ex-puppy mill breeder who had been adopted and then returned.

The family who adopted her said they couldn't keep her because she bit their daughter. They found they couldn't potty train her so for six months, they kept her quarantined to the kitchen with their other dog. They were "so sad" that they couldn't bond with her because she had to stay in the kitchen all the time. They said she was becoming aggressive with their dog over food and bones, and that she must be blind and deaf because she walks into things all the time.

So I went into this thinking I was getting a very broken dog. Turns out, however, that there is nothing wrong with this dog. Zoye has not stopped licking me since we got her, and she's just a little cuddle bug! They said they had tried to use a diaper on her and she just walked around in circles, but I think they tried once and thought it was too hard to put the diaper on. I wasn't going to diaper her until she peed on my bed (ground for diapering), and it has been a good thing. Each time she lifts her leg (yes, she pees like a boy!), I give her a firm "no," rip off the diaper, and put her outside. I think she'll get it in time. Unless, of course, she's peeing because she just can't hold it after having about thirteen litters! I'd be peeing all over the place, too!

She's getting along great with Bill and doesn't even notice the cats. Oh, and they told me she eats and drinks so fast that she throws up everything. Uh...no, she doesn't. I hate to jump to conclusions, but I'm wondering if the dog in that house was terrorizing her, causing her to eat and drink fast and pee everywhere because she was so uncomfortable.

I hope we can find her a great new family who will throw her favorite squeaky cheeseburger for her all day and understand if she needs a little extra understanding about pottying. It's sad she was adopted and then returned (after six months!) but I'm glad our family will be able to give her a Merry Christmas.

Boudicca the Celtic Warrior Pooper

This last Boston Terrier foster was another quickie, but we were not without adventure! Here's the background:

I received a call asking if I would take a seven-month-old Boston Terrier who had been dumped at the shelter with her brother and sister. Did you know shelters have night drop boxes? Well that's where these dogs landed. I can't imagine what the night was like for them because the two sisters are constantly at each other's throats... literally. Because of their mutual aggression, the shelter deemed them unadoptable. So the boy went off to his new life and the girls were sent to us at MidAmerica Boston Terrier Rescue (instead of being euthanized - yay!).

I met Jami, our Colorado rescue coordinator, at a gas station to do the hand-off. Little did I know she was going to give me a choice. Which sister would I like? Ugh. One was emaciated with poop hanging off her butt. The other was stocky and healthy-looking. Both were a little sketchy around Bill - unsure if they should play or attack. I guess can't blame them; if I spent my whole life fighting for resources, I would probably be leery, too.

I usually go for the most needy dogs, but this time I took the healthier one. The reason was that the other one needed knee surgery in Denver, which is about a half hour drive for me, so it just made more sense for her to go to a foster in Denver. It turns out I chose wisely...

It wasn't three hours later when Jami called to say she had been bit! Luna, the skinny sister, continuously attacked Jami's dogs and finally turned on Jami. Luckily she had baby teeth, but Jami sure had her hands full.

I hung up the phone thinking I was lucky that Maya, the stocky sister, was totally normal. It only took a few more minutes for her to prove me wrong, though, when she lunged at Bill. This happened four times in the few days I had her, and it was always over a bone or a person.

Maya was also slightly sketchy at the dog park, but it became easy to predict if she was going to get "toothy." When the energy at the park escalated and she started barking, I knew it was time to get her leashed and refocused, which seemed to work well.

I thought I would have to rehome her to a place where she would be the only dog, but I got an application from the perfect family with an adult Boxer who could put her in her place. The mom, Susan, automatically noticed Maya's bossiness (now Boudicca, the Celtic Warrior Queen), and is working with her accordingly. From what I hear, everything is going swimmingly.

Ah, puppies.I think Boudicca left about 12 reminders of why I prefer older dogs and not puppies, but thanks to my carpet shampooer, the only place that is forever stained is my mind. With the carpets cleaned and the toys put away, Bill and I are ready for a new challenge, which we hope will involve a nine-year-old in need. Stay tuned...

Watch out for Steroids

After putting my most recent foster, Toby, on steroids, I've learned they can definitely be a doubled-edged sword. After two days his itching stopped but shaking and fearful behavior began.

There are two kinds of steroids - anabolic and anti-inflammatory - the latter of which is most common for pet use. According to Vet4Pets.com, steroids are prescribed for: allergies, spinal inflammation, brain swelling and inflammation, immune mediated diseases, inflammation from arthritis, stomach and intestinal inflammation.

Toby had a very bad yeast infection on his skin. We tried to manage it with Cephalexin and Benedryl, but found that the antibiotic and antihistamine weren't enough. We bathed him with Pyoben, and although it's more for bacteria than yeast, it seemed to offer some relief. Then we changed his medication to Prednisone and Clavamox, a steroid and a stronger antibiotic.

The switch seemed to work well, and the itching finally subsided. However, I started noticing that Toby would cower after getting about 20 feet from my house on a walk. If we drove somewhere to go walking, he would immediately want to get back in the car. He would lay in his bed and shake, and his nervous tail-wagging turned into just nervousness without the wag. I was having the hardest time figuring out what was going on until I remembered his change in meds.

Needless to say we cut his dosage back immediately. With steroids it's important not to stop them cold turkey (at least that's my understanding), so we reduced him from two per day to one per day for five days, and then we cut him back to one every other day. The shaking subsided, and while he was still fearful, our walks became more successful.

Toby is now on to his new family. His "dad" is a vet student and will surely do a good job handling his meds. Oh, and he's got a nine-month-old little "brother" now, too! This family is perfect for Toby and I wish them all well - he deserves the best home with no other dogs sitting on his head (yes - believe it or not, Bill was not the one getting his head sat on this time around!). The family who adopted Toby also deserves a great dog. I'm excited they found each other...

...And now Bill and I are off to our next adventure! We'll be picking up Foster #17 (don't know her name) tomorrow! She's a seven-month-old Boston who was dumped at a shelter. I swore I'd never take a puppy, so this is going to be a real challenge. I'll let you know how it goes. Pray for me!

Snow Cute!

People often say, "Wow! You've really done a great job with him. It must have been hard." Honestly, over the last year-and-a-half that we've been rehabilitating our ex-mill dog, Bill, there have been times when I thought he was never going to become a "dog." When he sat in his bed for three months and cowered each time I tried to walk him, I thought, "Maybe Bill would be happier with an older person who isn't active."

I'm so glad I persevered. Days like today make it all worthwhile. Toby, our foster, opted to stay in the car when we arrived at the dog park. But Bill had a blast! (photo credits: Dennis Duffy. Bill's got a fan club. I wish my parent's liked me as much as they like him!).


One tough cookie!


I never thought my professional career would lead to "Dog Tilt-A-Whirl Operator"

Fostering a Love for Snow

Bill and his buddy, Lucy, playing in the snow

Depending on the breed you foster and where you live, taking in dogs during the winter can be hard. With Bostons, it can go either way, but for a small breed they are pretty darn tough so the winter weather is usually not too challenging.

Luckily my new foster, Toby, doesn't mind the snow in the yard. In fact, he marches right in and does his thing. Bill, on the other hand, has taken to peeing on his feet on our patio (when is he going to learn!).

On the downside, Toby's got a skin and ear infection. I hope the mail trucks get out today - oh, back up, the fact that we got two feet of snow over the last day is integral to this story - Toby's ear medicine is in the mail from rescue and he really needs it. If you've never had a dog with an ear infection, it's pretty miserable. He's trying to stuff his whole paw in his ear and he keeps shaking his head vigorously. Curing it is easy, though, just a week or two of ear drops twice a day.

On the other hand, his skin will take much longer. We don't really know what caused the infection, but a cocktail of Benedryl and Cephilixin (sp?) twice daily should clear it up in a few months. He's also getting a weekly medicated bath, and luckily he's not too bad in the tub.

The point of all this is that I feel bad for Toby that he's not feeling well and has to go for walks in such cold weather. I feel bad for Bill, too, because he would spend the whole day at the dogpark, running in the snow, given the opportunity. I guess we'll leave Toby at home for that one today.

The Bug Who Squashed Our Hearts

I rehomed Penny, who we lovingly call "Bug," faster than any other foster we have ever had. It wasn't that I didn't like her (because she instantly stole our hearts and was a great playmate for Bill). Instead, I wanted to find her a new home quickly because I was concerned that if I didn't, she would never leave.

The extent of our roommate's attachment to her wasn't apparent until he came home to her absence and looked like he was about to cry! Here's a guy who thrives on irresponsibility - no tie-downs and lots of time out with friends. But - it seems he was bit by the Love Bug! A week later he's still fawning over her memory, often mentioning that she's the latest girl to break his heart.

I'm sorry he's sad, but I'm not remorseful about her new digs - he's never home enough to have a dog and I would have ended up caring for her. Additionally, as is often the problem with "foster failure," if we kept her we could no longer foster (too many animals at the zoo!). Instead Bug will be living the rest of her life with very conscientious parents and a spunky Chi brother. I think she'll be happy, and if she's not, they know our door is always open for her.

This one was hard to let go of - fond memories of this nine-pound "Little Bug" have left a hundred-pound impact on our hearts.

But now we're on to Rocky, number 15...