Joys and Sorrows of Fostering; Photos of Cat Fosters

These are all the good and bad things I've felt about fostering, just in the past 72 hours!

Joys
- Snuggling with my foster puppy Boo, and laughing as she once again climbs under the covers to sleep next to me.
- Laughing as three white dogs come running into the house, all having turned brown from mud!
- Volunteering at a shelter and seeing the gratitude in the dogs' eyes as they each receive pets and affection.
- Watching as my foster cat Shiro starts to trust me and comes to greet me at the door.
- Smiling as Noelle, Remi, Lucy and Boo all try to play tug of war together with a little tiny dog toy.
- Hearing how well Keebler, another of my previous foster dogs, is doing in his new home.
- Watching Lucy playing in the sprinkler and having a blast getting wet.
- Seeing Petey, a beagle and FiFi, a lab mix puppy, finding their new permanent homes during the Adoption Event at PetSmart.

Sorrows

- Cleaning up the mud left all over the house after it rains and four dogs track it in.
- Trying to give Noelle a bath before adoptions on Saturday - the dog doesn't like water!

- Trying to give ear drops to two cats who really don't like having their ears touched.

- Walking away from the dogs at the shelter; leaving them behind because I don't have room for more.
- Leaving PetSmart on Saturday knowing that the many dogs that were there and weren't adopted will have to wait another week to try again for their very own home.

I'm sad that Noelle, Boo or Lucy wasn't adopted this weekend. But it is kind of nice to have another week with these three foster dogs. I'm falling more in love with Boo every day - it's going to be really difficult to give her up. Of course Noelle is going to also break my heart when she's adopted - I'm more attached to her than any other dog I've ever fostered. And Lucy hasn't been around as long as the other two, but she's such a good dog - very obedient, and always happy. I love having the three of them around because they know the house rules, and they know the schedule, and it makes it a lot easier on me that way. Still, I'm sad they weren't adopted because there are so many other dogs who need me, and I can't help them until one of my foster dogs is adopted.

I realized I never posted pictures of my foster cats Una, Shiro and Princess Rana, so here they are. My friend Rhonda took these pictures. I'm pretty sure I've captured all three cats in these four photos - sometimes they are hard to tell apart!

Zeke, Princess Rana and Kiwi were adopted!

Three of my fosters found homes on Saturday! Kiwi, my foster cat, was adopted first - a family fell in love with her affectionate personality and adopted her first thing on Saturday morning. They are prepared to keep her on her special diet if needed, and they seem like a really good home. Next, Princess Rana, went home. She is the first of the three Desert Lynx/Pixie Bob cats that I took in several weeks ago to find a home. It was her first time up at PetSmart, and her new family was there shopping, and when they saw her, the kids promised to give up their allowance if they could only take her home. She'll have kids and a small dog to play with, and as long as her family is patient and gives her time to settle in, I think she'll also do great in her new home. And last but definitely not least, my foster puppy Zeke was adopted. He is so adorable, I knew he would go quick, and I'm very sad to see him go, but I was very happy that he went to such a great home. I was very fortunate that even though I lost three much-loved foster animals this week, they all went home with people that I felt really good about. The family who adopted Zeke has adopted from us before, and they are one of those families that will do anything for their pets - the kind that treat them as family members, not just animals. I've already talked to Zeke's family and heard how well he is doing, and that makes giving him up so much easier.

We had a lot of dogs available for adoption this weekend, and it was surprising that only Zeke and Shiloh, a beagle, were adopted. There were four other adorable puppies, and several adults including two bichons, a lab, a beagle, a cattle dog mix, an australian shepherd mix, a border collie mix, and of course Boo and Noelle as well. I think there were other dogs there that I am forgetting also! Hopefully next week more dogs will be adopted.

Since I was busy running back and forth with the dogs most of the day, a few of the cat foster volunteers helped me with my adoptions for Kiwi and Princess Rana. I am very grateful for their help - Heartland has such a great group of people - if you're looking to make new friends and find a place where you can make a difference, consider volunteering!

Also don't forget our Heartland Spring Trivia Night is coming up on April 4th!

Introducing Shiro, Una, Princess Rana and Zeke

Please don't tell my husband, but I brought home three more fosters last night, and am getting one more tonight! I'm thinking I can go awhile without him noticing the three new cats. The little hound-dog puppy might be a bit harder to hide though.

Shiro, Una and Princess Rana came from a lady who rescued their pregnant mom from a backyard breeder in Arkansas two years ago. The kittens were born in her care, and they are now a little over two years old. She's not able to keep them anymore so I offered to take them and find good homes for them. The cats are 1/2 Desert Lynx and 1/2 Pixie Bob. For those of you who aren't familiar with cat breeds, they basically just look like large gray tabby cats, and are supposed to act more like dogs than cats. Right now they are all three hiding in the spare bedroom, and they are much better at hiding than most cats I bring home. The room is not that big, and while there is a lot of stuff in there, it's not easy to find a good hiding place, so most cats end up just hiding under the futon. These cats are more inventive though. Two of them have hollowed out little cubbies behind the books on the bookshelf and it took me a very long time to locate them. The third one is even better at hiding - I have no idea where she's at! I am trying to entice them out with some canned food but so far they've only come out when no one is around to use the litter box and go right back to their hiding places. I am hoping they start to feel safer soon and come out to see me!

In addition to the three cats, I am bringing home a little hound-mix puppy tonight. I saw him when I was there last week, and he wasn't ready to go yet when I got Lucy, but today is his final day and the shelter called to see if I could come get him tonight, so I'm heading there right after work. I think I'm going to name him Zeke, and I will post pictures of him soon!