BellaOnline Forums News and Politics Animal Life Foster dog news and this & that

Yesterday morning we took Zuess (our one-eyed foster dog) to the shelter. He went on a rescue run to Tales of Hope, a foster organization in Maryland that takes dogs with special needs. I have gotten a bit attached to this dog in the last 2 1/2 weeks. We took long morning and evening walks up and down our country road every day. He became very attached to me and we spend a lot of time together. I was very worried about sending him on a rescue run, because he did so poorly at our shelter. But when I found out he'd be going directly to a foster home, I was happy to send him.

When we got to the shelter I put Zuess in an outdoor run and went inside to give them his rabies certificate and a long letter I had typed describing all I knew and loved about Zuess. I also took a few minutes to walk through the shelter and look at the dogs they had in the "big dog room". I went outside to say good-bye to Zuess and the van had already left! I didn't get to hug and kiss him good-bye. I felt horrible and I even cried. I felt so horrible for Zuess, he's so insecure and he probably thought "Hey who are these people putting me in this van and taking me away?! Where's my mommy?" If I had been able to say good-bye and kiss his head, I would have had closure and would have been OK. But I didn't get that opportunity, so I worried all day. I'm hoping to get an e-mail from his new foster family soon, since I included my address in the letter.

Today I went to the shelter and picked up a little collie mix boy named Bela. He 9 months old and only weighs about 25 pounds. He's adorable and won't get much bigger. So he is very adoptable and probably won't be here long.

We had someone inquire about our two old foster girls, Milo and Star. So please say a prayer for them to get adopted. We thought they'd be ours forever, since they're so old.

Oscar has been a VERY bad boy. Wednesday he killed a gosling. I had just been on the front porch and looked down at the geese and ducks. Everyone was present and accounted for. Then I walked through the house to the back deck and heard honking and carrying on. I walked back through the house and went down and saw there were only 4 goslings. I thought what could have gotten one this close to the house and in the middle of the day?! So I walked all around the pond, looking for some sign of the gosling. Nothing. Five dogs were out of the yards - Milo and Star were asleep on the front porch (too old and fat to chase geese), Smiley was asleep under the car (also too old to want to move in this heat), Dexter has never even acknowledged that there are geese and ducks on this farm. Oscar however, came running up from the garage (so I thought) when I walked back out. Later that evening when Zuess and I were going for our evening walk, I found the gosling laying across the drive from the garage. I picked it up and turned it over. It had a huge bite mark on it. Oscar had a huge mouth. So he wasn't running up from the garage earlier, he was running up from where he dropped the gosling.

So now we don't trust Oscar out when the geese are resting up near the house. So he spends a lot more time in the fenced in yard and cries to go out into the great outdoors of freedom. Sorry, bud, you loose.

Poor Oscar, I'm sure he'll be a very nice pet for someone who wants to lavish love and attention on only him and doesn't have any other animals around. It's so great that you are able to give many of these animals a "trial run" to get an idea of where their strengths and weaknesses lie.
Not every animal is cut out to be part of a family or herd or flock. But that doesn't have to be the end for them. Kudos to you!!
~~~ruth~~~

Willow (I changed her name. Slinky can be her middle name, LOL) is in the doghouse, too. She chewed a hole in my area rug in the living room (thankfully, it was just a $49.99 rug from Wal-Mart). She knows she's been bad and has been licking my elbow as I type. I'm going to have to go get her a nice chew toy tomorrow!

Marian

Oh, Oscar's not going anywhere. We love him too much to let him go. He just won't have the freedom he used to have. He won't be let out of the fenced in yard without supervision. As long as we're out there with him, he's right by our sides. But I guess he doesn't behave as well as we thought he did when we're inside the house and he's out by himself.

Oscar is sharing a yard with our newest foster, Bela. Oscar weighs 58 lbs and Bela weighs about 20-25. Well, Bela is unneutered and has been (excuse my choice of words) humping poor Oscar all evening. Oscar doesn't like it one bit, but was very patient and put up with it for a couple of hours. Then finally he started snapping and snarling at the little guy. He still didn't let up. We decided that Oscar will eventually let him know that is not acceptable behavior. Right now they are fine. They are laying side by side on the deck. I'm just surprised that the little guy is trying so hard to assert his dominance on a dog so much bigger than he is. I guess dogs can spot a big whimp when they meet one.

I am meeting the lady that wants to adopt Milo and Star Monday afternoon. I spoke to her on the phone and she seems very excited. He application has already been approved, but she still has to meet and interact with the dogs to see if they are the right dogs for her. Say a prayer that it's love at first sight and they live happily ever after.

Our two old ladies, Star and Milo, got adopted today! A young woman and her son drove two hours from Dover, Oh, to meet them and take them home. I am just so thrilled that our 9 and 8 year old girls found a home together!!! They are such good dogs, I know they'll make their new mommy very happy.

After those two went to their new home, I went by the shelter today. I brought home a 10 year old german shepherd named Princess. If we can find a home for Star and Milo, surely we can find one for this old girl. She's a little insecure right now and needs groomed in a terrible way. So tomorrow I'll get to work on her. Today I groomed Bela and he looks great.

You are the best, my friend!!!!! Your passion and compassion are truly inspiring! You give new meaning to the phrase: those "LUCKY DOGS"!!! <img src="/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" /> :love: :love:

Yay, Lois!!


(Ohhhhh, Marian.....?! <img src="/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

Lois, your dedication to these dogs is truly inspiring. You keep this up and you will be able to wallpaper your walls with these things:

[imageBellaOnline ALERT: Raw URLs are not allowed in these forums for security reasons. Please use UBB code. If you don't know how to do UBB code just post here for help - we will help out!

Well, Thank you once again. I blush as I write it. I do appreciate the recognition, but I don't foster dogs for recognition. And I don't write about it for pats on the back either. I just want to make that clear. I write because I'm happy about the successes and enjoy sharing my joy with you all. But thank you all the same; I am honored to be a two-time recipient.

Princess had her first beauty session yesterday afternoon. I brushed her for about 45 min whiel my husband was out running errands. I didn't get the large pile of dog hair picked up before he got home. You know how a german shepherd's undercoat is kind of blondish? Well, when my husband did get home he saw the dog hair pile and asked if Princess had killed a sheep while he was gone. It did look like a dead sheep laying there. That's a lot of hair!

I had dinner with a friend and he brought a good friend who is a vet. We got to talking about dogs and he asked what kind I had. I told him about Simba, the German shepherd, and Willow, the bassett/lab mix. He laughed about Willow and said, "you got a mix of two of the worst shedders there!" It's true. I thought Simba shed a lot until I got Willow. Good grief!! The vet also said that they see a lot of mixes with bassett hounds. He said, "those must be some really [amorous] dogs." Heheheheheheh......

Marian