Three New Dogs!

I know what you're thinking.  After yesterday's post, you're thinking that I don't NEED any more dogs, and if I really brought in three more, I'm probably going to need professional help.  And if that's what you're thinking, you're absolutely right.  But wait until you meet them, and then you'll understand.  Plus, one of them wasn't my fault.  And in fact that one has already moved on to another foster home.  So I'm not as crazy as it seems. Really.

Let's start with the one who has been and gone.  Now that I live in a rural area with no animal control, a few of my neighbors are starting to learn that I do dog rescue.  A few months ago one of them brought me a blind Boston Terrier, and fortunately we located his owners after just a few days.  Then last week the owners of the Boston Terrier called me and told me a stray dog had shown up at their house and she was very skinny - could I help?  I went to their house and found an emaciated Blue Tick Coonhound wearing a faded hunting collar and no tags.  So in spite of the eight foster dogs waiting at home, I put her in the car and brought her back home too.

I named her Shiloh.  The veterinarian checked her out, and she weighs 36 pounds when she should weigh 55-60 pounds.  She's about a year old, extremely friendly, and with the loudest baying bark I have ever heard.  It's quite impressive (although I'm not sure everyone agrees).  She doesn't have a microchip and the Lost Dog signs put up by the people who found her have produced no owners, so Shiloh has become an All Paws Rescue dog.  After she was here for a few days, another foster home had an opening and was able to take her, so now Shiloh is at her new foster home where she'll be able to enjoy the good life while she gains some much-needed weight before she can be spayed and listed for adoption.  I'd like to thank Casey Jones' mom for helping with Shiloh's vet bills, and Bev for giving Shiloh a great place to recuperate.  Thanks!

And then there's this girl - her name is Skittles.

Skittles is a three year old Papillon who weighs all of twelve pounds.  But don't let her fool you - she can hold her own with Jefferson and the other big dogs!  She is very playful and affectionate.  Skittles was at another rescue for over a year, and spent six months of that year with a trainer to help her overcome her fear of strangers.  She originally came from a hoarding situation where she didn't get much attention or socialization, so she had a lot to overcome.  But she's come a long way in the past year and when another rescue lost one of their main foster homes, I was happy to help by taking this very sweet dog.  She will be holding out for an active home with no kids so that she can have the perfect situation for her, but I'm pretty sure it won't take her long to find it!  In the meantime she doesn't leave my side - she sleeps on my pillow and scares the bigger dogs off the couch so she can sit next to me when I'm on the computer.  She's always happy, and I love having her here.

And then there's one more dog.  She's another one I was not expecting to keep for long.  But the reason I still have her is totally my fault.

This is Shelby.  She is a deaf pit bull with one blue eye and one brown eye.  I took her with the plan to evaluate her and then send her to a new foster home.  But something unexpected happened.  I fell in love.  I know, I fall in love with all of them.  But she's extra special, and I can't bear to let her go just yet.  She reminds me so much of my dog Noelle, who I really miss (she's still living with my husband at our old house).  Shelby is the most laid back, lazy dog I've had since Noelle.  She is easy-going and gets along with everyone.  She has perfect manners, except in the car when she likes to bark at the other cars going by.  She sleeps a lot!  Since the first hour I brought her home, I've been thinking about what it would be like if I could keep her.  But I can't adopt her until I find a job, and at this point she hasn't even been here long enough for me to be sure that she would be happy here.  So for now I'm just enjoying having her around, and trying not to fall any more in love than I already am.

She always has this serious and slightly concerned look on her face!

So those are my new dogs - there are eight here right now, but fortunately they all get along except of course Ziggy, so that makes it much easier.  I'm pretty sure that I'll have to cut back on fostering quite a bit once I find a job, but for now, I love having them all here.  Most of them, anyway.  If you'd like to foster or adopt any of these wonderful dogs (except Shelby!), please visit www.allpawsrescue.info.

And Then There Were Ten

Ten Adult Dogs.  All living here.  With me.  In this house.  At the same time.  Along with six cats.  Yesterday there were only six dogs here, and life was easy.  Now there are ten, and life is a little bit crazy right now.  Happy, fulfilling, even fun.  But also crazy.

It helps that several of the dogs and cats are short-term fosters.  Three of the cats are going back to their regular foster home by the end of the weekend.  And one of the dogs is pending adoption and should be gone in another week.  Another of the dogs is only staying through this weekend - I hope.  But in the meantime, my life involves a lot of rotating dogs in and out, and even rotating cats.  Here's what happened:

I was down to only six dogs, and all six were doing well.  I received the many e-mails that I always receive, with pictures and bios of dogs that are scheduled to be euthanized.  So I picked out one dog and offered to save her.  Then, I received a good application on Lindsay.  I figured she'd be adopted, and I could save another one, so I offered to take two of the eleven dogs on the e-mail.  I couldn't save them all, but I could save two.  This is how I ended up with Amber and Sox.

This is Amber.  She is a one year old Pointer mix.  She is house-trained and good with everyone.

And this is Sox.  She is also a year old, a Border Collie mix, and the happiest, most playful dog!

 



After agreeing to take these two, a friend told me about a Boxer mix at the local shelter.  He had been there for several months and since he wasn't yet adopted, he was scheduled to be euthanized.  My friend was upset because she really liked this dog.  I wanted so much to help her, but I was up to seven fosters (eight until Lindsay went to her new home).  I couldn't take another one - especially another large male dog who didn't have very good manners with other dogs.  So I talked to the shelter and offered to take the dog for just a few days to do a home evaluation.  This would give me a good idea of what he was like in a home, and help to network him to find a rescue or a foster home for him.  They were happy with this idea and this is why after picking up Amber and Sox from the volunteer who transported them from their animal control facility, I went to the shelter and picked up Sarge.

Sarge is a very large Boxer mix, who was turned in by his original owners because he was too big.  He's very sweet and lovable, and he's already house-trained.  He's okay with other dogs, but he does have some poor manners with them and tends to annoy them because he doesn't know how to interact properly.  He also seems to want to eat the cats.  I think with some training, and a home with no cats, he'll be a great dog. I'm hoping we can find someone willing to foster him or a rescue to take him so he doesn't have to go back to the shelter in a few days and then be euthanized.  If you're interested in helping, please spread the word - interested rescues or foster homes (foster homes must be local but rescues can be anywhere) can contact me at dogfostermom@aol..com for more information.

So at this point I've picked up three new dogs and I take Lindsay to her home visit with her potential adopters.  They want to adopt her, but need to wait another week before taking her.  So she comes back home with me and the three new dogs.  Back to the five other dogs waiting at home for me.  And then as I pull into the driveway and start unloading the car, this uninvited visitor showed up.

"I didn't know I needed an invitation!"

I've seen this dog hanging around for a couple of weeks, but he would never come to me before.  He waited until I filled up my house with new fosters and then decided it would be an excellent time to let me catch him.  So as I'm taking Lindsay out of the car and into the house, he walks right up to me and lets me pet him.  He was getting pretty skinny at this point and I didn't want to just turn him away, so he came in too.  I talked to the neighbors and they thought he'd been abandoned, and since he had no tags or microchip, that seems quite likely.  I live in an area with no animal control, so there was nowhere to take the dog even if I wanted to.  Dogs like him are often just left to starve or be killed by a car or a predator or sometimes they are shot by farmers and ranchers.  I am still looking for his owners, but chances are that this uninvited guest is staying for awhile.

"Can I live with you?"

Fortunately he's a sweet dog and gets along well with everyone.  I named him Oreo, and I've kind of already fallen in love with him.

Still, that puts me up to ten dogs, and lately I feel more like I'm living in a kennel than a home.  Some of the dogs can't be around each other so I have to do a lot of rotating outside for playtime and in their crates for meal-time/'sleeping.  Here's the list of "rules":

Chloe the pit bull can be out with anyone but must be supervised to make sure she keeps calm since she's undergoing heartworm treatment.
Jefferson the Shepherd mix can be out with anyone - he is very playful and gets along well with everyone
Lindsay the Aussie mix can be out with anyone except Ziggy and Sarge
Charlie the Terrier mix can be out with any girls or with Bogey or Jefferson.  He tries to push other dogs around so have to watch him around certain dogs.
Bogey the Shar-Pei mix can be out with anyone.
Ziggy the pit bull can be out with Jefferson, Bogey, or Chloe
Sox the Border Collie mix can be out with anyone except Ziggy - she's very playful and gets along well with everyone
Amber the Pointer mix can be out with anyone except Sarge, Oreo and Ziggy, but she's kind of shy so need to make sure she doesn't get overwhelmed by the other dogs.
Sarge the Boxer mix can be out with anyone except Ziggy and Charlie, but must be closely supervised to make sure he acts appropriately
Oreo the American Bulldog can be out with anyone except Amber because she's not spayed yet and he's not neutered yet.  Haven't tried him with Charlie or Ziggy because of potential conflict.


So as you can imagine, it's a bit of a challenge to keep everyone happy, and give them all the attention and play time that they want.  If the dog challenge isn't enough, I also have to rotate Murphy the cat out with Midnight and Merlin.  Murphy is being mean to the other cats, and I'm thinking he might need to be an only cat.  So in the meantime he has to stay in a separate room, or I have to make sure if he's out he can't get to Midnight or Merlin to attack them.  Hopefully he will find a permanent home soon, or even another foster home that has no other cats, and he'll get all the people attention that he wants.

At times like this, when I have so many fosters, I feel more like a "halfway house" than a foster home.  With the exception of Lindsay and Chloe who are never crated, the rest of the dogs are living a life where they get more attention and training and playtime than at a shelter, but less than they would in a regular foster home with just one or two fosters.  When I choose to save more, it comes at a price for the dogs I already have, and that is the tough choice.  If I didn't have these dogs though, they would be in a shelter or be euthanized, so I tell myself that they are all better off here even if I can't give them all the freedom they desire.  Still I want so much for them to go to an adoptive home or even a foster home where they can be totally spoiled.  Tomorrow is Adoption Day, so hopefully at least one of my fosters will find their forever home!

Molly, Pepsi & Ginger were adopted!

It was a very good adoption day for me on Saturday - three of my four foster dogs were adopted! Molly went to a family with kids, who decided they were ready for a dog. She seemed very happy with them! Ginger's new family also has two kids, and a mom who had a hard time deciding whether to adopt Ginger or Pepsi. They're both such good puppies, but she finally decided Ginger would be a better fit with her family. That actually worked out well, because shortly after that my cousin came by, and fell in love with Pepsi. So I'm so glad they adopted her - now I'll be able to hear how she's doing in the future! We also had several other foster dogs adopted this weekend - it was a good week for everyone.

That leaves me with just Noelle at home. Oh, and my foster cat Doobie. He decided to hide just before it was time to leave for PetSmart, and even though I searched the house for 20 minutes, and checked all the usual cat hiding spots, I couldn't find him. So he got to skip adoption day this week. After I got home on Saturday night, he was in his usual spot on the bed, pretending like he'd been there all along - so I still don't know what new hiding spot he discovered!

One of the nice things about fostering is that I can take a break in between fostering dogs whenever I want to. So that's what I'm doing now... at least for a few weeks probably. I will still have lots of news to report on other Heartland foster dogs though! And of course I'll keep fostering Noelle, too. I've enrolled her in some private dog training classes, and the trainer is coming out on Thursday night to my home for her first class. If I foster Noelle long enough, I'd like to get her CGC Certification. That is a Canine Good Citizen award - it is given by the AKC for any dog who passes a 10-part test that shows they can perform basic obedience and are well-behaved in various social situations. For more information, go to http://www.akc.org/events/cgc/index.cfm. I plan to learn to train Noelle through these private lessons, and then be able to train other fosters to earn their CGC on my own in the future. I hope it will help some of the hard-to-adopt dogs to be adopted more quickly. Oh, and for those of you who support Heartland, I just want you to know that I'm paying for the classes myself. So if you think its a waste of money to train a foster dog, now you know it's my money and not any that you have donated to Heartland. :-) I have arranged with the trainer to allow me to take these classes, working toward the CGC, with whatever foster dog I have at the time. So while I plan to especially work with the harder to adopt dogs (like Noelle, since she's deaf), I also won't let it interfere with them being adopted if a perfect home comes along - I'll just get another hard-to-adopt dog to train and pick up with the classes where I left off! I'm still going to school for a Dog Training diploma, and a Shelter & Rescue Work diploma, but that will still take me a few years before I'm done, so in the meantime I want to get some extra hands-on help with training. Remember, i've only been a dog owner for a couple of years, and have NEVER taken a dog training class! My own dog Remi came to us already having attended several levels of obedience classes before we adopted him, so there was never really a need. I'm self-taught - having read every book I can get my hands on - and I've developed a lot of confidence in working with several of the dogs I've fostered over the past year. But sometimes it just makes a huge difference to see certain training techniques demonstrated, or to watch how someone solves a particular problem that a dog has. So I'm really looking forward to these classes.

My latest news - yesterday I went with another HHS foster volunteer to pick up some puppies. The owners dogs had two unplanned litters of puppies - 12 of them altogether! So we went and got them and took them back to the foster volunteer's house. On the way home, we saw two dogs running loose on highway 61. They looked like they were going to get hit by a car, so of course we stopped and tried to help. One of the dogs ran back up the embankment, and even though we went after it, we weren't able to find it. We were able to rescue the other dog, and since we knocked on doors of homes in the area but couldn't find her owners, she came home with me last night. This morning I was able to call the vet where her rabies tag was registered, and contact the owner. They came and picked her up, and they were very happy to get her back. Their other dog, the one who ran away from us, also made it back home safely, so it was a happy ending all-around!

Someone finally claimed Max

Turns out that Max's name is actually "Blue", and his owners finally called and said they saw the signs and they want their dog back. I am so sad for him. They didn't say why they didn't bother calling before now (the signs were removed two days ago). Even after I talked to them earlier this evening, they wanted to wait until tomorrow night to come get him - obviously they aren't dying to have him back. They live on the street where the signs were posted, and where he was found, so its not like he wandered far from home and they were looking in the wrong place. I don't want to give him back. I almost never cry when my fosters get adopted because I know they're going to a good family and I'm happy for them - but I've been crying half the day because Max is leaving and I don't think he's going somewhere that he'll be happy or well cared for. I know there are so many dogs out there that have much worse owners than Blue does, but those dogs haven't been living at my house for the past 7 days, sharing my life, sleeping on my bed, and entertaining me with their antics. I think I shouldn't have invested so much in him - I shouldn't have taught him his new name or taught him to sit or spent hours playing with him and walking him and giving him treats - after all, he was never my dog. Next time someone finds a stray I should just send them to animal control and not have to worry about getting attached. But the last seven days for Blue have hopefully been very happy ones, and they wouldn't have been in a shelter. So its the least I could do for such a great dog - I just wish his future was more hopeful. I'm off to let him sleep on my bed one last night, and his owners will be here to get him in the morning.

Nothing much to share...

I'm going out of town soon, so I went up to PetSmart on Saturday and Sunday, hoping some of my fosters would find homes before I left. However, none of my dogs or cats were adopted, so I was sad about that. I guess they're stuck with me for at least a couple more weeks until they get back to PetSmart to try again! I was also sad that none of Kiya's puppies were adopted. They didn't get put up for adoption as soon as most puppies because they had to be treated for ringworm, so now they're older and bigger and I am sad that they are missing so many puppy moments without their own families. Everyone wants young puppies (don't they realize they grow up?) or little purebred dogs. Most of our dog adoptions this weekend were for purebreds -- two Pomeranians, a basset hound, and a Shih Tzu. I'm happy for those dogs that they found homes - I just feel bad for the big mixed-breed dogs. Derby, Lilly, and Jade were all at PetSmart this week (check out http://heartlandhumanemo.homestead.com/adoptions2.html if you don't know who I'm talking about) and no one even considered them for adoption. They are all three very good dogs with no issues, but they got passed over for cute little purebred dogs who are much more likely to have issues due to their history! Sorry, I'm being negative and I usually try not to be. I just feel so sorry for the dogs and cats that are so good but through no fault of their own they still don't have their own families.

I took Max to the vet this morning - turns out he has hookworms and whipworms - poor guy. His previous owners apparently didn't care much about him. The person who found him put up several "Found Dog" signs in the area - we sent his picture and a "Found Dog" flyer to the area animal shelters - I've checked all the classifieds in St. Charles, St. Louis and Lincoln County, along with websites like Craigslist and Lost/Found dog websites. If these people had been trying to find their dog, they would have - but I'm glad they didn't! Now he'll get the veterinary care that he needs, and he'll get adopted and live in a much better home. In the meantime, he's doing great at my house. He's a little cuddlebug - he likes to sleep right next to me. He sits in my lap whenever we are in the car. In fact, on the way to the vet this morning, even though my car was actually clean for once, instead of sitting in the empty back seat or the empty passenger seat, both Max and Reese sat on my lap for the entire 20 minute drive to the vet. Silly dogs! Fortunately they both sit relatively still, so it doesn't make driving difficult. Now if I could just teach Reese to stop barking at every motorcycle that goes by, I'd be set.

I'm off to Florida for 5 days - no kids, no cats, no dogs, and no husband! My aunt and uncle invited my parents and me and my sisters down, and even though our spouses were also invited, my sister and I decided that *someone* had to stay home and take care of the kids/pets. So my husband will be home to care for the dogs while I'm gone. He's afraid of kittens though (at least that's what I keep saying - he just says he doesn't like them) so the kittens are going on their own vacation to another foster mom's house. I'm really going to miss my dogs and kittens while I'm gone (and maybe even my husband), but I'm looking forward to the break.

Update on Max

Just in case you were wondering, no one has called to claim Max yet. I am going to wait through the weekend, and if no one claims him by Monday he's going to get to visit the veterinarian to get checked out. Heartland dogs get wonderful medical care - they are all dewormed, treated for fleas/ticks, tested for heartworms and treated if needed, spayed or neutered, given several vaccinations (rabies, DHLPP, bordetella), and given monthly flea/tick and heartworm preventative. And this all happens before they are made available for adoption! So I want to get Max started by making his first vet visit and getting his first round of vaccinations.

I also couldn't bear to leave him in the basement by himself for any longer, so I let him out of quarantine early. All of my other fosters and my own dog are up-to-date on their vaccinations, and it was a relatively low-risk decision. He gets along great with the other dogs - especially Reese. He and Reese are the same size, and they're both young, which might be why they play together so well. Unfortunately, this also means I once again have three foster dogs who are not yet house-trained. Sigh. In order to successfully housetrain a dog, you have to watch him every second when he's loose in the house - and that's hard enough with one dog - not to mention three at once. Its definitely a challenge! My husband is gone with his Army Reserve unit for a five-day trip to Minnesota, so that will make it harder because he won't be around to help, but I'm hoping it will make it easier to get the house cleaned while he's gone. I'm sure some of you out there can understand that. :-)

I'm looking forward to going to PetSmart tomorrow. Kiya's puppies will be there for their first adoption event, and I think altogether we're going to have 15 - 20 dogs there available for adoption! I would love it if Reese, Jade or Elvis found a home, or even one of my foster kittens. But either way, I just enjoy going up to spend time with all the dogs and cats, and helping them to find new homes of their own.

Found a Dog!

One of my neighbors found a dog running loose. She had heard from another neighbor (who adopted Samantha from us) that I volunteer for a dog rescue, so she brought him to me. Here are some pictures of him.





He reminds me of Buster - another Heartland dog who is available for adoption. In fact, I keep calling him Buster by mistake. I temporarily named him Max, and hopefully we can find his owners soon. Well - honestly I almost hope we DON'T find them! My neighbor found him dragging a long metal chain behind him. She walked him around the area for over an hour and no one ever came looking for him. He is such a sweet dog, and I hate that someone had him tied up outside on a chain, in the heat, and never looked for him. He had a tick in his ear (yuck!) and didn't have tags or a microchip. So I am not sure if he was well taken care of in his home. But the neighbor who found him is going to post some signs, and I've contacted some shelters in case someone does come looking for him. In the meantime, he's hanging out in my basement. He is still a puppy - very playful and very sweet. Hopefully if no one claims him, I will be able to keep him and make him a Heartland dog and find him a good home. In the meantime, he has to stay quarantined from my dogs, so he's kind of lonely all by himself in the basement. He's been very well behaved though, and just seems happy to be inside in the air conditioning.

Dog and Cat Update

First, an update on the cats. Since I'm new to fostering cats, I am turning into an overprotective mom who always thinks they're about to "kick the bucket". :-) I've heard a lot about the dangers facing kittens, and naturally assume that my kittens are facing all of those dangers! So this morning I took the kittens and Ella (mother cat) up to the vet to get them checked out. They didn't have an appointment for another week, but I was concerned about them having something called "coccidia" which can potentially be fatal for kittens. The vets office fit me in right away and did some tests to make sure my cats were healthy. They didn't have any deadly parasites, although they did find ear mites and are now on medicine for that. So I'm glad I took them in, and relieved they're going to survive. :-) The kittens are glad to be back home, and although they aren't crazy about the medicine they're getting, I am sure they'll feel much better once those icky ear mites are gone. Yet another reason to get your cat from a rescue group instead of a "free to good home" ad -- the rescue volunteers already take care of all the icky and dangerous problems that many kittens start out with!

On to the dogs - well, dog, in this case. I didn't bring home another foster last week - I decided it would be nice to have a week off. It has nothing to do with the cats I'm fostering, but I've been planning to get back down to only one dog foster at a time for awhile. My own dog Remi has had some behavioral issues lately and I want to focus more on working with him. Also, Selena is such a high energy dog, she requires more exercise and attention, which is harder to provide with another foster in the house. So since I promised her a long walk last night, and was feeling lazy, I decided to compromise with a trip to the dog park instead. I was surprised there were not more people there, but it was probably a good thing since Selena decided she wanted to be "dominant dog" at the dog park. Maybe she is starting to gain confidence from being at our house - I'm not sure why - but when another dog tried to dominate her, she refused to put up with it. So, to prevent any fights from breaking out, we left the park and went for a hike instead. She still got the long walk I promised her, and I got an opportunity to enjoy the beautiful weather and work a lot on her "sit-stay" commands during the walk.

When I left my house this morning to go to work, I saw a dog trotting along the sidewalk. I expected a person to be following close behind, but there was no one there! I walked out to the sidewalk and called the dog, but he didn't seem to hear me and just kept right on going. He was a beautiful dog - probably a Chow Chow mix - and looked a little like a bear. He also looked in bad shape - his tail looked mangled and he looked as though he may have been in a fight or been abused. I tried to circle around in front of him to see if he just couldn't hear and didn't know I was there. He looked at me then but didn't slow down or come over to me. So, since I couldn't just let him go, I tried to circle around widely in front of him to see if he'd come to me. He just headed off in another direction, so I gave up. I briefly considered trying to catch him - he seemed hurt and I hated to let him go - but even though he didn't appear aggressive, I knew that could turn out to be a very bad idea, so I didn't try. I went in and called the police Animal Control unit, then grabbed some treats and went back out in my car to try to find him. I didn't have any luck finding him though, and I doubt Animal Control did either. I finally gave up and headed to work, after leaving out a water dish and some treats in case he happened to come back. I have been worried about him all day. I checked for lost pet ads online and looked for posted signs on my way to work but haven't found anyone who is looking for him. I hope someone is able to find him and help him.

Introducing Koda

That's right, we now have another foster dog, at least temporarily. My husband went up to PetSmart a few days ago and some people found a puppy across the street that they didn't know what to do with so they took it to PetSmart. My husband volunteered to bring her home - just for one night. So yesterday he took her back to PetSmart to check for a micro-chip and hopefully find the puppy's owners. No luck - no tags and no microchip! He didn't want her to get sent to a shelter and possibly put to sleep if no one ever wanted her, so he brought her back home. We've posted ads online and sent the dog's picture to area shelters, hoping to find out who she belongs to. However, if this puppy was an unwanted dog that someone just dumped, then we may be keeping her until she can be adopted out! She is a very sweet puppy - gets along great with all three of our current dogs and appears to be house-trained as well! We've named her Koda. I just hope that either Selena or Tulsa finds a new home soon, since I'm afraid four dogs will be too much for both me and my husband to handle. Anyone out there interested in fostering a puppy for a few weeks?! :-)

Here are a few pictures of Koda:

Lost Dog!

I have heard of many people losing a dog, and occasionally have seen loose dogs wandering around, but now that I’m getting so much braver around dogs, I’ve actually rescued a lost dog! On my way home from work last night I saw a chocolate lab wandering down a busy street. He seemed unaware of the cars or the danger, so I pulled over. I asked some people nearby if he belonged to them, but they said no, and they thought he was lost because he’d been out there for awhile. I then proceeded to follow him around for 15 minutes since he had no interest in coming to me. Finally, since I was so close to home, I left him and went home and got some dog treats. When I got back to where I left him, he was still there, still playing in traffic! I coaxed him into my car with the dog treats and took him home. He had no tags, so we made a quick trip up to PetSmart to check for a micro-chip. It was registered to a vet clinic, but they were closed for the evening, so the lab got to spend the night in our garage. We did introduce him to Remi, and I was relieved that Remi did so well with him. I was a little worried about fostering dogs because I wasn’t sure how Remi would react to sharing his home with strange dogs. This morning, I called the vet clinic before work, and they got a hold of the dog’s owners. Apparently the dog (named Rocco) got away through a gate that was left open, and had left a very worried family behind. They were very happy to get him back. Lesson learned: If you have a pet, PLEASE make sure he has tags on with your phone number on them!