What A Foster Home Intake Coordinator Does (aka Why I Love My Job)

Many animal rescue groups are made up of only foster homes.  This means they don't have a shelter, and every time they rescue an animal, they have to find a place for it to stay until it is adopted.  The group I volunteer with, All Paws Rescue, currently has around 30 active foster homes for dogs.  This means that we constantly have dogs coming into our rescue, being fostered, being adopted out, and then new ones coming in.  Coordinating all of the dogs coming in and going out can be a lot of work, but everyone cooperates to make it go smoothly.  A couple of years ago I volunteered to be the Dog Intake Coordinator (there is also a Cat Intake Coordinator who handles all of the cat intakes and cat foster homes).  Like everything else in our rescue, this is a volunteer position - no one in our group gets paid!  We just do this because we love to help animals.  So the way I help as the dog intake coordinator is to make sure our dog foster homes have what they need in the form of paperwork, supplies, and dogs. When a volunteer tells me they are ready to take on a foster dog, I try to match one to them that is a good fit.  Some of our foster homes can only take in hypoallergenic dogs, or small dogs, or female dogs, or other special requirements, so whenever possible I try to match up a dog in need with the available foster home to make sure it works out for everyone.  However often the dogs that need rescue don't come with information like if they are house-trained, or if they get along with small dogs, or if they like cats.  That is why many foster animals come to my house or another experienced volunteer's house for a short time for an evaluation.  Then when another foster home opens up that is a good fit for that dog, the dog goes to that home and that opens up a space for us to take in another dog to evaluate.  The down side is I end up having to give most of the "easy" dogs to other foster homes, and the only ones that stay with me are those with issues.  But the up side is I get to foster a lot of awesome dogs. 

 

For example, tonight after work I am picking up this dog:

 

His name was Prince and then it was recently changed to Baxter, so at the moment I'm calling him Prince Baxter, until I find out which one he answers to.  He looks so adorable, I'm thinking he'll probably be a very short-term foster dog.  But then again, he could turn out to have issues and be stuck with me for awhile!  I can only hope!

Pandora

According to Wikipedia, the phrase "to open Pandora's box" means to perform an action that may seem small or innocuous, but that turns out to have severe and far-reaching consequences.

A few weeks ago I was contacted by someone about a deaf Boxer named Luna who needed rescue. I already had several deaf foster dogs and a few more waiting to come in, so my first inclination was to say that I was unable to help. However the dog was a three-year-old purebred Boxer who sounded perfect. We have several people in our rescue group who love Boxers, and she sounded like a very easy dog to place into a home (already being perfect) so I decided I would go ahead and take her and then maybe find another foster home for her with one of the foster parents who love Boxers, or just keep her until she was adopted. She was said to already be spayed so she wouldn’t have to wait several weeks until our vet could spay her, and she was supposed to be dog, cat and kid friendly. She was also supposed to be well-socialized meaning she should adjust to a new situation easily because she’d been exposed to lots of new situations as a puppy. So I made arrangements with the person to have her brought to an adoption event where I would be that Saturday.

Two days later, I received an e-mail from a rescue friend asking me to help with a four-year-old female Boxer who needed a new home. I often receive requests for help with deaf dogs, but the requests are usually spaced weeks or months apart. I’ve also only received one request for a purebred Boxer ever – most requests are for mixed breeds or pit bull breeds -- so it seemed like a very strange coincidence to get two requests within the same week for a female purebred Boxer. The deaf Boxer named Luna who I had already agreed to take had also been posted all over Facebook asking for someone to rescue or adopt her, so it seemed likely it was the same dog. However I explained to my rescue friend that I had already committed to another deaf Boxer and explained the situation. I said I couldn’t take her if it was a different Boxer but if it was the same Boxer and there were just multiple people trying to help this dog then I could take her. She confirmed with the person she’d been talking to that it was the same dog, named Luna, and I made arrangements to pick her up on Sunday. When no one showed up at the adoption event on Saturday with a Boxer, I figured it was definitely the same dog and the plans to get her to me had just changed based on the rescuers involved.

The plan was for the owners to turn in Luna to their vet on Saturday, and then I’d drive out to the vet’s house and pick her up on Sunday. The veterinarian and her husband also did animal rescue, so I was a bit surprised to receive a call from them on Saturday asking what time I could get there on Sunday. I spoke with the vet’s husband and he sounded a bit anxious to get her out of the house and said he wasn’t used to deaf dogs and couldn’t communicate with her well. I thought that was a bit odd, because deaf dogs are really no different than hearing dogs and shouldn’t be any harder to communicate with, but I thought perhaps he just wasn’t used to big dogs. So I drove to his house with a friend to get Luna and was surprised to hear the report from the vet and his wife. They said that the dog was a bit cage aggressive and a bit out of control. That didn’t sound like the dog that I was expecting. Then they said the dog was named Valentine, not Luna. And that she wasn’t spayed. That also surprised me. But there are always mix-ups when communicating through three or four different people so I didn’t worry too much. I figured the dog was deaf and doesn’t care whether I call her Luna or Valentine. Then we began the long drive home.

Luna/Valentine started out just fine in the car. She was very sweet. She let me put a seat-belt harness on her. She sat quietly. Then I started the car. And suddenly Luna was in the front seat sitting on my friend’s lap and the seatbelt harness was still in the back seat. After trying to tighten it and keep it on her several times we gave up on that. She was quiet and happy to sit on my friend’s lap until we hit the main road where we encountered other vehicles on the road. Then she jumped in the back seat and began barking. And if you’ve never heard a deaf dog bark, be happy. Because they usually have a high-pitched and extremely loud bark, and Luna/Valentine was no exception. She barked at every car that came up behind us on the road. So I tried to drive faster. Then she barked at every car we passed. It was a busy highway and it was not a fun trip. We had to make a stop at a dog training facility and she continued her excited barking and lunging and aggressive behavior on leash with every dog and person that she met there.

By the time we got home, we were all exhausted. I gave her some time to calm down and after a nap she seemed to be feeling better. I took her outside and since I remembered how the vet said she had jumped their four-foot fence, I put her in the side yard where I could stay close and watch her to make sure she didn’t try to jump the wire fence. She did okay for a few minutes, then walked over to the side of the house where the fence meets a five-foot concrete wall. And from a standing position (no running start) she jumped directly up in the air and over the concrete wall. She seemed very happy then, running all over exploring and inviting me to chase her. And since chasing a dog who loves to be chased is not the fastest or easiest way to catch them, I went into the house and left the door open. She then did some more exploring. I then went back out and hid from her. I waited until she noticed me hiding and then I turned around and ran away, acting like I was trying to keep her from noticing me. Her curiosity got the better of her and she chased me right into the house and I quickly slammed the door. Whew. Next step – contact those other Boxer-loving foster homes at once!

Over the next few days I learned a few things about Pandora. Because by this time neither Luna or Valentine seemed appropriate, but Pandora seemed quite fitting as a name. She got very anxious when in a crate. She marked in the house several times. During brief introductions with several other friendly dogs, she jumped on most of them and held them down to show them that she was boss. She chased the cat. She jumped over the six-foot wooden privacy fence (this time I had to lure her into the car with the offer of a car ride to catch her). She believed she was Queen of the Universe and couldn’t understand why no one treated her that way. I finally contacted the first rescuer I had talked to – the one who was friends of the family who turned her in – and asked if this was really the same dog she’d claimed to know was such a perfect dog. That’s when she told me that the dog I had wasn’t Luna, and Luna had been re-homed directly to an adopter so didn’t need rescue. And suddenly it all made sense. There were two deaf Boxers and nothing I had been told matched up because I had been expecting Luna not Pandora.

Pandora has come a long way in the past week. She now is feeling so comfortable that although another foster home offered to take her, I decided not to move her because she is doing so well. She’s getting along with all the other dogs now and even is doing okay with the cat. She has not had any more accidents or tried to mark in the house, and I’ve been leaving her loose in the house when I’m at work and overnight with no problems. Well she did eat my windowsill and doorframe when I tried to put her in a room by herself, but as long as the Queen of the Universe is allowed to roam the house at will she has not destroyed anything else. And she’s even stopped jumping the fence! So while she may not be the easy adoption that I had hoped for, I do think she’ll be easy enough to foster until she does find the right home. And in the meantime, she’s made herself quite comfortable:

Why Didn't Someone Save This Dog?? The Answer...

Today my Facebook page was covered with pictures of this dog:

Dog #251018

Dog #251018 was found as a stray and held by a Good Samaritan for three days, then after getting into a fight with another dog in the home, was turned into the local animal control facility.  A plea quickly went out to local rescue groups to find someone to pull her.  Various people offered to donate to any rescue that pulled her to help with her vet fees, and she ended up with over $100 in sponsorship money.  Her picture was shared over 220 times and more and more people begged someone to please save this dog. 

Today there was even someone who offered to keep the dog until the end of June when she moves out of state, and someone else offered to board the dog if a foster home had not been found by then. However the dog could only be released from the shelter if a certified rescue took her.  And in spite of everyone's best efforts and good intentions, still no rescue had stepped up for this dog by the deadline, and she will now be euthanized. 

At this point, many people begin looking for someone to blame.  Why won't the shelter keep this dog longer?  Why won't any rescues step up?  The vetting cost is covered and there is a temporary foster home, so why will no rescue put their name on this dog and take responsibility for it?  Whose fault is it??

Dog #251018

Do we blame the shelter - an animal control facility who is not known for giving dogs any more time than required by law to find a home?  If the shelter gave her until Saturday could a rescue be found by then?  It's possible.  But if they waited until Saturday and still no rescue stepped up, should they give her another week?  And what should they do with the dogs who come in between now and Saturday?  If all the cages are full, where do they go with the new dogs? 

What about the dozens of rescues who routinely pull from this shelter?  Why did none of them step up?  There were so many people willing to help this dog, so the rescues didn't have to find funds for vetting or a foster home or anything - they just had to be willing to put their name on the dog to have her pulled and save her life!

As one of those rescuers who saw the pleas and still said no, I'd like to tell you why.  When the dog is only days or hours from being euthanized, everyone wants to save her life.  But then the excitement dies down, another dog comes along, and all of a sudden everyone is clamoring for someone to save that dog.  In the meantime, the first dog is sitting in a shelter or a foster home, waiting patiently to be adopted.  And waiting, and waiting, and waiting.  Several of my foster dogs, such as Juno and Annie B, were pulled from this same animal control facility (I don't always say no!)  They also had sponsorship money and people begging a rescue to save them.  So now they're saved, but because of their issues, they haven't been adopted.  They take months or years to find permanent homes, and in the meantime that takes away foster home space from more adoptable dogs that could be saved. 

Dog #251018 was a dog-aggressive pit bull mix.  She was not going to be easy to adopt out.  In fact, I have been fostering a dog similar to this one for over three years and still haven't been able to find him a home.  Ziggy now lives in my basement, with minimal human interaction, because I can't trust him around the other foster dogs I have upstairs.  In spite of years of training, earning his Canine Good Citizen certification, attending adoption events, being featured in magazines and new shows, and being shared all over the Internet, he still does not have a home.  I am not being picky with who adopts him (far from it), but very few people are willing and able to adopt a dog-aggressive pit bull, and there are so many of them out there already that finding a home for one - especially one that is already "in a foster home" - is very difficult. 



Ziggy the Adoptable Dog

 There's one more reason that we stay away from dogs who have a foster home offer from someone that hasn't fostered dogs before.  Many people see a sad picture of a dog and feel an instant desire to help.  That same desire is quickly overcome by frustration when the dog comes into their home as a foster and they realize the dog isn't house-trained, loves to eat couches, and picks fights with their own dogs.  The majority of time a temp foster steps up to take a dog they feel sorry for, within a week they will be contacting the rescue saying they can no longer foster that dog.  And then the rescue who took responsibility for the dog once again has a difficult-to-place dog and nowhere for her to go.  This is why we urge people who want to save a dog to foster a dog that is already in our rescue.  Then we can tell them more about what the dog is like, and if they find out that the frustrations of taking in an untrained rescue dog outweigh their desire to help, we also have a place for that rescue dog to go back to.  The rescue I volunteer with has many wonderful foster homes who take in these difficult-to-place dogs (like the foster home who has Juno right now) and they make it possible for the dogs to live.  Unfortunately we don't have enough foster homes like them to be able to save dog #251018. 

Do you wonder why the animal control facility would only release dog #251018 to a rescue group instead of an adopter?  Two weeks ago we were at an adoption event and a young girl showed up.  She had a cute black Husky mix with her that had been about to be put down at another animal control facility near the one where dog #251018 came from.  She saved the dog's life, but when she got the dog home, her parents said she couldn't keep him.  The animal control facility had not had the dog spayed or neutered, so we took in the dog, got him neutered, heartworm tested, microchipped, and all those other things responsible rescue groups do before adopting out dogs.  Then we found him a home with a wonderful family who was prepared to add a dog to their life.  He was one of the lucky ones, but so many others don't have that luck.  They either end up at another animal control facility (or back where they started) and end up being euthanized, or they are given away and never get any medical care or a home where they are properly cared for.  They may end up with owners who aren't responsible and the dog may injure another animal or a human, or the dog may be sold to research or used as a bait dog in a dog-fighting ring.  There are a lot of bad things that can happen to dogs, and if a shelter takes a high-risk dog like dog #251018 and gives her away to anyone who wants to save her, she'll more likely end up suffering more before being killed. 

So if it's not the rescue group's fault for not saving her and it's not the shelter's fault, who do we blame?  Sometimes I'm tempted to blame all the people who say "someone should do something!" but don't do anything themselves, but truthfully it isn't their fault either.  And in fact most people DO do something, whether it is fostering, volunteering at a shelter or rescue group, or donating.  They are the solution to the problem.  So who does that leave? 

Do we blame the owner because they didn't care enough about this girl to go looking for her when she got lost? Or maybe they dumped her, figuring someone would find her and give her a good home. Did they know she'd end up sitting scared and alone in a shelter and then be killed? Did they care?

I don't like to blame anyone without knowing the full story - and in almost every case, we don't know the full story - so I'm going to choose not to blame anyone, and instead to focus on finding a home for Ziggy, and all the other dogs that also need homes.  I hope you will join me in saving dogs whatever way you can.

Piper's Story

As a puppy, Piper probably looked something like this:

Like many dogs, Piper at one point found herself without a home. She may have been given away free to a good home on CraigsList, or perhaps she was just let loose in the country to fend for herself. Whatever happened, she ended up at the home of an animal hoarder. Yesterday, when the animals were rescued, authorities found between 100-150 animals on the property, including dogs, cats, rabbits, chickens, goats, and several other animals including several doves and a skunk living INSIDE the house! Many different shelters and rescue groups stepped up to save these animals and get them the care they needed. TASTC, a wonderful shelter in the area, worked hard to find temporary foster homes for these animals.

When All Paws Rescue, the group I volunteer with, stepped forward and offered to foster up to ten of the dogs, I was very proud to be part of such an amazing group of people. We were told the dogs were mostly under two years old and were small breeds which should be easily adoptable once they were released by the courts for adoption. We made arrangements for the dogs (I offered to take only one because I have several other foster dogs currently), and we waited for the call to come get them. As the hour approached, I prepared to leave work and head to the pre-appointed meeting place to pick up the dogs. Several other rescue groups were also meeting there to take in the dogs that they had offered to help. Then I got a phone call. It was my friend who was coordinating the rescue for All Paws and had offered to take four of them herself. She told me that among the many young small-breed dogs, they found a 16 year old pit bull. My heart fell – who would take this dog? All the groups helping out were anticipating dogs such as Maltese and Chihuahuas and Italian Greyhounds – the chances of someone taking an elderly pit bull were very slim. It’s not that the rescuers didn’t want to help her – but a commitment to foster a highly adoptable dog for thirty days is quite a bit different than a commitment to foster a 16-year-old pit bull who will have a really tough time finding a home. Still, this dog deserved to get into a foster home more than any of them. So I called the nice people at Wonder Weims who were coordinating all of the rescuers, and asked about the 16-year-old pit bull. That’s when I found out the dog was blind, and had a growth on her, and was very sweet. I asked what would happen to her, and at the time they had not found anyone to take her. That’s when I heard the words coming out of my mouth – “I’ll take her, at least temporarily.” I knew that my house was not the best situation for her – she’s mostly blind and very frail, and I have several energetic large dogs who would easily bowl her over. But at least she could stay with me until a longer-term foster home was found.

So a few hours later, the transport van pulled up in the parking lot, and they began to hand out dogs to the various groups for fostering. I helped load up the All Paws dogs, and quickly fell in love with a scruffy little Chihuahua pup. The dogs, although skinny and extremely smelly, were all adorable. Then as most of the other dogs were led away, they brought out Piper.

This frail, malnourished dog was missing an eye and looked overwhelmed by the noise and the people. As I walked her around the parking lot, she sniffed everyone she passed and even wagged her tail. She was not a small, fluffy little dog that everyone would want. She could barely walk, and stumbled several times. Her skin was awful, and she had several growths that would need checked out. But as I looked in her one good eye, and promised her that I would take care of her, she looked at me with trust and licked my face in thanks.



Piper

Last night Piper got to spend the night in a clean kennel, on a soft bed, with good food and water – all things she hasn’t known in too long. Although it’s obvious that she is confused by her new location and change in circumstances, she continues to be loving and affectionate. I may have given up the adorable Chihuahua pup in order to take Piper (although I’m still trying to figure out how to take them both!) but I know I made the right decision in taking Piper. And while I hope to find her a foster home where she can get more of the attention and care that she deserves, she will have a home here with me for as long as she needs.

There were many heroes in this situation - the people from TASTC and Act Now and WonderWeims who coordinated and made this rescue happen, as well as the many other rescue groups who worked together to save these animals. All of the foster homes and shelter workers have their own rescue stories (one friend has spent the entire day bathing, trimming nails, and deworming eight of these dogs!) This is just Piper’s story, one of over a hundred in this case alone.  And as with all the other rescued animals, Piper's story is really just beginning.

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!

Keeping Track

When I have a lot of foster animals, it can be a challenge to keep track of all of their adoption/medical records, any medication they are on, when their heartworm preventative and flea/tick preventative is due, and where anyone should be at any time.  I have a bag that I take to adoption events that contains all of the adoption paperwork and medical records.  I have a whiteboard in my kitchen that keeps track of when my fosters' heartworm and flea/tick preventative was last given:

And the rest of the info is just stored in my slightly overfull brain.  For example, my current mental list for fostering contains the following information:
Two kittens need dropped off at PetSmart in the morning.
Einstein, my newest foster dog, needs dropped off at the vet in the morning and picked up after work.
Elton needs dropped off at another volunteer's home in the morning so he can attend a meet-and-greet with a potential adopter.
Pogo needs to go to PetSmart on Wednesday to meet a potential adopter.
Thumper needs a dental scheduled at the vet.
Roo needs to have her stitches taken out from her spay surgery.
Miley needs to go to PetSmart on Saturday to meet a potential adopter.
Need to follow up with Morgan's foster mom and see how she is doing.
Need to follow up with Roxy's new family to see how she is doing.

Trying to keep track of all of this may explain why on most days I can no longer remember my own name!  However it's all worth it every time one of these previously homeless pets finds a forever home.  This weekend Audrey the Shih Tzu was adopted, and Thumper the Bearded Collie went to a foster-to-adopt home.  I saw both Bosco and Farley, two previous foster dogs, shopping with their families.  They were both doing great.  Also, Bunny the Bichon from a puppy mill was officially adopted!

In Need of Rescue

Every day I receive many e-mails with requests for dogs or cats needing help.  These requests go out to rescuers in the immediate area of the animal, and sometimes all over the country, asking for anyone who can help.  Sometimes a rescue group will be able to assist with one of the requests.  Other times, no help can be found and the dog or cat is killed.  I get very frustrated with the people who say that this country does not have a pet overpopulation problem. It is worse in certain areas than others, but for the United States overall, it is still a very real issue.  I would love to see us become a no-kill nation that can provide good homes for every dog and cat that is born, but right now we aren't there yet.  

Tonight I received a request to help this dog. 

He was found on a highway median, feeding on a deer carcass.  The person who found him knew he was in danger when he started dragging a deer leg across the highway in front of oncoming traffic.  She was able to catch him and take him to an area shelter.  This is what he had wrapped around his neck: 

He had no tags, and no microchip, so no way to identify his owner.  He was tested for heartworms and tested positive.  Heartworms are transmitted to dogs by a mosquito bite, and if not caught and treated, can cause congestive heart failure.  They are prevalent in this area of the country but can easily be prevented by a monthly heartworm preventative chewable tablet that can be purchased from a veterinarian.  It appears whomever owned this dog did not have him on preventative, and now he will require an expensive and somewhat dangerous treatment to remove the heartworms.  The shelter where he was taken advised the rescuer who brought him in that because he tested positive, he would be euthanized.  So the rescuer has sent out an e-mail to every rescuer she knows, and asked them to send it out to every rescuer they know.  It will end up on various yahoo groups e-mail lists and Facebook and other social media sites - all to try to find someone to save this dog.

I don't know if he'll be saved or not.  I'll try to find out and let you know, but the sad truth is that there are many more dogs like him out there.  I receive multiple requests like this one every single day, for dogs with medical issues, dogs with disabilities, dogs that are perfectly healthy and their owners just don't want them anymore, all out of time and options.  There are not enough foster homes, not enough money, and not enough adopters to save them all - not yet.  But we're working on it, one dog (and cat) at a time!  So to all rescuers out there, and all volunteers, adopters, and donors, please, keep up the good work!

Just a Puppy

I fell in love with this puppy on Saturday.  She's probably a Golden Retriever/Cocker Spaniel mix, maybe with a few other breeds thrown in.  She's twelve weeks old and just adorable.  She was found wandering around a state park along with her brother.  They'd been dumped there - we assume they were left in a box because they were both covered with urine as though trapped in a small box for quite some time.  I don't understand how someone could do that.  But I'm glad someone else happened along at the right time and rescued them.  Both puppies have been adopted into good homes now.  I just hope that those were the only two puppies left there.  Because now all I can think about, is that maybe that box is still out there, with one or more puppies still inside.  It happens more than you ever want to know.  So give your dog a hug today and be grateful that when they were a puppy, they weren't abandoned to die because they were "just a puppy".  

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A success story...

Two three month old Boxer-Lab mix puppies were living outside. One was tied to a lawnmower, and the other was tied to a BBQ pit. They had no shelter and very little food. They were very skinny and filled with parasites.

When I first started volunteering with a rescue, I'd see rescue people get really upset about puppies being given away at Wal-Mart. It happens quite often around here, and I couldn't quite understand their reactions. After all, anyone taking in a puppy would give it a good home, wouldn't they? Since then I've seen the reality of what happens to many of these "free to a good home" puppies.

They don't usually go to good homes.  Even people with good intentions often don't know how to properly care for a puppy, and aren't prepared for the amount of work or the cost involved.  Too many people take in a puppy because they are cute or their child begs for a dog, and next thing you know the dog is either living in the backyard tied to a lawnmower, or taken to a shelter to be euthanized. 

 These two puppies were lucky. They ended up in rescue where they were given medical care, healthy food and a safe warm place to stay until they could be adopted into loving homes that were ready for the realities of adopting a puppy. These puppies were also spayed/neutered before being adopted in order to prevent an "oops" litter that may then be given away at Wal-mart next year.

I like seeing puppies like this be rescued. It is another reminder of why we do what we do. Thanks to Bev for taking in these two sweet pups and caring for them and getting them healthy and adopted into good homes.

Rescue

Last week I received a call from a friend. She was driving to work with her car windows down, enjoying the nice weather. As she approached a rural intersection, she heard a very faint "meow". She stopped, and listened intently. There it was again - "meow".  She got out of her car and looked around. Her eyes landed on a wet cardboard box lying in the drainage ditch next to the road. As she got closer she could see the box was closed. Next to the box was a small black kitten, who went running into the brush as she approached. She opened the box and found two more kittens inside - one white and one gray. She realized that the family up the road - the one who had just removed the "free kittens" sign from their front yard - must have tired of waiting for new homes for these kittens. It had happened before, and would probably happen again. They had been left to die in a ditch next to the road. She gathered up the two kittens in the box, but no amount of coaxing would bring out the little black kitten from his newfound hiding spot in the brush. So she returned home with the two rescued kittens and placed them in a carrier with food and water.

When she called to tell me what happened, I immediately headed to the black kitten's last known location. I parked on the side of the road and began searching the area. Within five minutes I heard a faint meow, and less than five minutes after that I was able to spot the kitten. He was a cute little furball with a white spot on his chest and a serious look on his face. I climbed up through the brush toward him, thankful that I remembered to put on a sweatshirt to protect my arms from the thorns. I opened a can of cat food and attempted to coax him to me. Minutes passed, and our standoff continued. Finally I tired of the wait, and reached for him. He was less than six feet from me, hiding under some thick brush. He immediately bolted away from me, down the hill. I was blocked from following by the thorny underbrush. I headed back up and around the other side of the thicket. No sign of the kitten. I continued to circle the area, talking softly to the kitten and hoping that the smell of the canned food I had inadvertently spilled all over my arm would convince him to make his presence known. Five minutes passed - then ten. After fifteen minutes I began to fear that I would never find him. I peered through the bushes and vines but couldn't spot the small shape of a kitten hiding beneath the overgrowth. Finally I called another rescue volunteer who lived nearby. She immediately raced to the scene with a live trap, a small net, and more canned food. We discussed leaving the trap out to try to catch the kitten, but we were concerned that the kitten did not weigh enough to set off the trap. As we discussed the situation, my friend who found the kittens returned from work, ready to assist. We decided to try to catch the kitten one more time.

As we surrounded the area where the kitten was hiding, we finally spotted him! We carefully closed in, crawling through the undergrowth, ignoring the mud and burrs and thorns. There he was, just sitting there watching us. And then as we approached him, we noticed a movement. Another small black kitten was less than five feet from the kitten we were surrounding. There were two of them! Suddenly I was glad I hadn't caught the first kitten right away. We would never have known of this second kitten's presence and he would surely have died here alone. So there we were, trying to catch two small black kittens who wanted nothing to do with any of us. We would close in, then they would run. We would regroup and try again, and again they would run, always avoiding us. Finally we were able to get close enough and my friend reached out and scooped one up. After further attempts, the other kitten was caught in the same way. They were both placed in a cat carrier and taken to safety, to be reunited with their two littermates.

At the time of this picture, taken immediately after the rescue, none of the kittens were very happy about their situation.  However they have since learned to enjoy a life filled with a lot of love and petting and playing and canned food.  They are doing very well in their foster home and will soon be ready for adoption. 

Gretchen

I'm worried about one of my previous foster dogs. Gretchen was adopted out as a 10 week old puppy. I remember her well. She was part of a litter of 8 puppies, and she was the sweet, quiet, shy one of the bunch. She was more independent than the others, and was least likely to ask for attention or affection. I worked hard to get her over her shyness, and quickly became very attached to her.

Gretchen is now almost two years old. Sometime in the past year and a half, Gretchen has learned that if she's in trouble, the best defense is a good offense. Her owner called me and said he was worried about the safety of his children, because Gretchen had started growling and snapping at people if she was in trouble. Not having seen it for myself, it's hard to know the exact cause. I can't blame a parent for putting the safety of his children first, but I also don't blame Gretchen for using a method to protect herself that she has found works for her. It may simply be a case where with some training, Gretchen can learn better ways to interact with people and feel safe. Unfortunately the family wasn't able to work with a trainer, and had to turn in Gretchen to a shelter. All of the area rescue groups are full right now, so Gretchen ended up at an open admission shelter. She will most likely fail her behavior evaluation, at which point she will be euthanized.

This is the hard part of rescue. What do I do? My living situation aside, it's still a tough choice. If I pull her and foster her, I could be saving a dog that will be very difficult to adopt out. Remember Lizzy the Child-Eating Border Collie? Dogs like Lizzy and Gretchen, who show aggressive behaviors like growling or snapping because they are afraid, are very rewarding to work with. To watch them change and get over their fear, and to learn better ways to deal with fear, is amazing. But they're also very hard to find homes for. They usually need adult-only homes with responsible adults who are patient and willing to work with the dog. Unfortunately there aren't many people like that looking to adopt a difficult dog. So while Gretchen lives with me, it'll keep me from being able to save others. If I consider it by the numbers, it'd be better to spend the time and money that Gretchen would require on the five or eight or twelve dogs that we could save in her place. But rescue isn't always about the numbers - otherwise Ziggy wouldn't still be entertaining me with his antics and driving me crazy with his Ziggy ways. It is a fine line between using your head and using your heart when you do rescue. If you always make decisions based only on emotions, you become either a hoarder, with more animals than you can care for, or you eventually fill up with unadoptable animals and are unable to save any more. And yet if you only make decisions based on what is logical and economical, you will miss out on a lot of really wonderful, deserving dogs, and completely miss the point of rescue.

I hate these types of decisions. This one is made easier by the fact that I haven't moved yet and can't take in Gretchen right now, no matter how much I want to. I've asked the shelter if I can come evaluate Gretchen. I want to see her and get the image of her as a puppy out of my head. That will make it easier to accept whatever happens. I also want to see for myself what she is like, and whether or not I may be able to work with her and help her. Then depending on the evaluation, I can either beg some rescue friends to make room for her until I move, or let her go, knowing that I did all that I could for her. Either way, it will be helpful to see for myself what she is really like. I hope to go see her on Friday.


In other news, I found another home! This one is in Foristell, MO, on two fenced acres, and should be almost perfect for fostering. In fact a previous owner of the home fostered dogs there as well! It is very private and has no restrictions, so I don't have to worry if the dogs want to go outside and bark at the squirrels. It even has "in-law" quarters in the basement, which I could rent out for extra income, if I could ever find anyone crazy enough to want to put up with all the dogs and cats making noise upstairs. Okay, it's safe to say I probably won't be able to rent the downstairs out. But it's a perfect house for me, and I am totally in love with it. I will hopefully be closing on it at the end of the month if everything goes well.

Update on my life

Remember me? I’ve missed you guys! I have all sorts of stories to share with you, including a new Ziggy story titled “Ziggy Eats like a Bird”. Can you guess what it’s about? As soon as I get some time to download the pictures, I will tell you! In the meantime, I wanted to give you a quick update on the rest of my life.

I took a brief break from life and went on a family vacation to celebrate my parents’ 40th wedding anniversary. It was wonderful, and I hated to return to real life. Things are a bit stressful with trying to find a place to move, trying to convince family members this will work out, trying to stay positive in spite of everyone’s concerns, and trying to get motivated to start packing. Still life goes on, and the dogs and cats are just happy that I’m back from vacation and they can get back to their regularly scheduled lives. Except for Tripoli my three-legged foster dog. He went to another rescue volunteer’s house while I was gone, and he hasn’t returned yet. He loves it there, and has informed me that his new foster mom (that’s what he calls her – his new foster mom!) is much nicer than I am and he is going to stay there, thank you very much. So I’m not sure when the traitor Tripoli is coming back.

Since I haven’t had time to visit any other blogs, write blog posts, download pictures, or do anything else related to blogging, I decided to share a few of the pictures I’ve received via e-mail recently.

This is “Fonz” – a pibble/basset mix! He loves to snuggle and go for walks, but his favorite thing is rolling around in the grass with his short little legs all spread out, while wiggling to request a belly rub. He’s been at a shelter over four months and is quickly running out of time, so I hope someone can rescue him soon.

This is Rodger – he’s the last of a litter of nine puppies we had available for adoption. He recently went to stay with new foster family and I love the bio they wrote for him. In part it says “I am learning to be a good dog. I recently attended a week of summer camp. Here are my grades: Housetraining A-, crate training A-, clean plate club B, Bath time D-.”

The little white puppy is Sadie. She was adopted from All Paws a few months ago, and is growing quickly! Her new family said she is doing great and loves chewing on her big sister Birdie.







I hopefully will get caught up soon and be able to visit your blogs and share some new posts shortly!

Another rescue

An e-mail came from a previous adopter, telling us about a dog that needed help.  The dog had been abandoned by its owners and taken up residence at a neighbor's house.  The neighbors were unable to keep him, and he was in danger of being shot (an all too common method to get rid of unwanted dogs in rural areas around here with no animal control).   We wanted to help, but there are always too many dogs and not enough available foster homes.  Fortunately one of our volunteers made arrangements to get him into an area shelter temporarily until he could be adopted or we had an opening in a foster home.  And so I drove out after work one night and met the family that had been taking care of him, and brought him home with me for the night.   

 I called him Jack, in honor of another Yellow Lab named Jack who has his own blog.  My past experiences with labs have always included a lot of wild behavior.  So I figured since I already have three fosters who like to engage in wild puppy behavior, it would be easy to take Jack to the shelter in the morning where I knew he would be very well cared for.  

But Jack surprised me.  He is probably only a year or two old, but he wasn't wild at all.  He rode calmly on the front seat next to me for the 45 minute drive home.  He waited calmly in the garage while I went inside to get him some food and water.  Then he ate dinner, and relaxed in the grass in the front yard while I went back inside to take care of the other animals.  He never barked or made a sound.  He was affectionate and loving.  He spent the night in Rachael's room with her and the cats and was just about perfect.  I could hardly bear to take him to the shelter the next morning.  If I knew he'd been vaccinated, I probably would have kept him as another foster.  But I have to be careful who I foster right now since Ziggy was sick and he could have left some dangerous germs behind for unvaccinated dogs.  So I dropped him off at the shelter the next morning, with strict instructions pleas to keep me informed on how he did. 

Jack has now been named Rolo, and I'm pretty sure he will be adopted rather quickly.  He's getting a lot of love and affection from shelter workers and volunteers, and tomorrow he goes to his first off-site adoption event.  It'll be at a different location than I will be with Ziggy, Rachel and Kirsten, so I won't get to see him, but I really hope he finds his forever home.  It's a far cry from almost being shot.  Sometimes people question why so many volunteers do this, day after day, without pay, and with all of the hassle and heartache that can come along with rescue.  But this is why.  Each one we save makes it all worthwhile.

Puppies Galore

Last Saturday the rescue group I volunteer with had two puppies adopted (Freckles and Buddy).  In the same day, we also took in ten new puppies, not including my two five-month-old foster pups.  Sadly, there is no shortage of puppies needing homes in our area.  On the plus side, this means I get to post lots of puppy pictures today!

This happy puppy is Daisy.  At the same time as I was talking to Freckles' adopters about him, I noticed one of our other volunteers talking to a guy with another puppy.  Next thing I knew, the guy was signing the puppy over to us.  I didn't hear the whole story, but I am glad that one of our foster families was able to fit in this sweet girl and she'll never have to know what her life would have become if she'd ended up at a shelter.

The next nine puppies are all from the same litter.  And one foster mom took home all nine of them.  The same foster mom that is still fostering the infamous wall-eating dog Duke.  She's crazy, I tell you, and I'm so glad that she is, because these puppies were going to be shot if we couldn't take them. 

I love these puppies.  They're having a blast in their foster home - running all over and throwing wild parties.  These are nine very lucky puppies to end up where they did, thanks to many different volunteers who made calls on their behalf, and transported them to us, and thanks to a wonderful, Most Awesome foster mom who does more than I can imagine to save dogs and give them a happy life while they're waiting to be adopted.  Hopefully we'll have lots of people wanting to adopt some very cute puppies very soon!

What's with all the voting?

More and more sites are offering money to groups who get the most votes.  There are different companies and organizations getting in on the newest way to garner publicity, and PepsiCo is no exception.  They are giving away $1.3 MILLION dollars each month to various organizations.  That's a lot of money!  I don't really see anything wrong with this - I'd rather they gave a portion of their marketing budget directly to the organizations in need instead of to the radio and TV stations and marketing companies.  But I also usually don't share these types of voting requests because it is just one worthy organization competing against another... and in the end, whether the animals in Texas or Missouri are helped, its still animals being helped. 

However in this case I'm making an exception, because in this case the animals are competing against things like providing motivation for high school students to improve in school, or producing and publishing 10 minute plays written by young writers, or driving drunk people and their cars home.  I'm not saying these aren't worthy causes, but I would rather that Pepsi give their money to an animal welfare organization. 

Especially one like North Mecklenburg Animal Rescue in North Carolina.  Their old location was wiped out by a flood, and they need funds to build a new permanent shelter for the dogs.  From everything I've heard and read about this rescue, they do a great job, and really deserve our votes.  So please, join me in voting every day for NMAR to win a $50,000 grant from Pepsi.  They have to be in the top 10 by the end of the month (right now they are in 24th place).  You do have to register once with Pepsi, but they won't send you junk mail unless you ask them to.  And then you can vote every day until April 30th to help them win.  You can also tell others through a widget on your blog, or through Facebook.  And if you're busy, you can give your e-mail address to NMAR and let them create the account and vote for you by proxy.  See how convenient it is to be a part of changing the world?  If every doggie and kitty reader out there would ask their mom and dad to go vote, and tell their dog and cat friends, we could really make a difference for a lot of dogs who need our help.  Check out the links below for more information.

Vote Here: http://www.refresheverything.com/northmecklenburganimalrescue  (You have to click "Vote for this Idea", then sign in, then make sure to click "Vote for this Idea" AGAIN or you won't have actually voted!)  You can vote once each day. 

Read about NMAR on the PBRC (Pit Bull Rescue Central) blog: http://pitbullrescuecentral.blogspot.com/2010/04/have-you-voted-for-gubbys-rescue-today.html

NMAR's Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Vote-For-North-Mecklenburg-Animal-Rescue-to-win-50K-for-Homeless-Dogs/108356965862632?v=wall

Joys of Fostering

10. Adopting a pet.  I fostered over 50 cats before I adopted Merlin.   I can't properly put the reason why into words, but Merlin and I have a special connection.  If a friend or family member was looking for a cat, and I hadn't adopted him, I'd still probably recommend Orca or another cat over him.  Because he's not the best cat in the world.  It's just that he's the best cat in the world for me.  And I never would have known it if I didn't foster! 

9. Knowledge. I love to learn new things. Especially if it has to do with dogs and cats. And fostering gives me a great opportunity to learn. I can practice my dog-training skills that I'm learning from the Companion Animal Sciences Institute on my foster dogs. I get to learn about all sorts of dog breeds, and see their breed differences first-hand. I have access to many different experts, and take advantage of the opportunities I get to ask them a lot of questions. Because of fostering, I now feel comfortable reading a dog's body language and can communicate much more effectively with them. And I love that.

8 Diversion. I am never bored. I can't imagine ever being bored at home again. There is always something to do. A dog wanting to play fetch, or a cat wanting to cuddle, or a blog post to write, or a room to clean, or paperwork to be filled out, or countless other things to do. No matter if I'm in the mood to work or to play or to relax, there are many options available to keep me busy at all times - even if it's just busy cuddling with a pet while I relax on the couch.

7. Sprung from a Shelter. The joy of watching a dog feel grass again and have room to run, after being in a shelter that doesn't allow the dogs to go outdoors, is wonderful. If you haven't seen it, you can't imagine the pure joy they experience. Their joy just overflows to everyone around them, and people nearby can't help but to stop, watch and smile as the dog runs, then stops and rolls in the grass, then gets up and runs again, all with a giant grin on their face.

6. Blogging. I started this blog just as a way to record the various dogs and cats who came through my house. I don't do scrapbooking or photo albums, so blogging seemed like a good option. Now it's turned into something bigger, as there are actually people who look forward to reading this. And I really enjoy writing about my experiences with fostering. My blog would be pretty boring without any foster pets. I am always looking for interesting experiences to share with you. For example, I debated getting a live Christmas tree this year. I figured it was sure to get knocked over by the dogs or cats. But then I thought - well, it'd be something to write about! So I have a tree. Which I am amazed to report is still standing. So far.

5. Puppies and Kittens. Most kids can't resist adorable puppies or kittens. They see them, and they just HAVE to play with them. Some adults are like that too. I'm one of them. I want to pet and play with every puppy and kitten that I meet. So fostering is awesome! Because I can take the cute puppy or kitten, and play with it, and then adopt it out before it grows up, and go bring in some more! I always get the youngest, cutest model and never have any guilt for trading them in for the next youngest, cutest one to come along.

4. Faith in Humanity. As I said yesterday, doing rescue means a lot of dealing with the public. And one of the joys of fostering is learning how many people out there really do care about the animals. The people who adopt an older pet, or a black cat, or a special needs pet, just because they know those are the most needy. The people who stop and put a few dollars in the donation jar on their way inside PetSmart. The people who donate items for the pets in shelters or foster care. The people who attend fundraising events, or transport animals to foster care. There are so many ways we all work together to save animals, and fostering gives me the opportunity to meet many of those people.

3. Entertainment. Foster animals provide constant entertainment. Have you ever watched a cat chase a feather toy? Or play with a toy mouse? It's better than TV. And dogs playing together, or chasing a laser light, are hilarious as well. Not a day goes by that I don't laugh or smile at something that one of my foster pets does. And that makes each day a pretty good day.

2. New Friends. I have made so many new friends through fostering and volunteering. Real friends, that I do things with outside of adoption events - almost like having a social life! Many of them are fellow volunteers. A few are adopters that I've met at adoption events. They all love animals and don't mind listening to me talk about them constantly. As someone who used to be really shy, fostering and volunteering has helped me to make friends that I would never have met otherwise.

1. Saving a life. The number one joy of rescuing. Because the feeling you get from knowing YOU made a life possible that would otherwise have ended is just amazing. Each foster pet becomes a part of my life that I will never lose, no matter what. And sometimes, I get to see my fosters again at a later time, and when they remember me and greet me happily, I think the feeling is mutual. But even when they don't seem to remember me (darn cats), i still have that same joy from knowing that I made a difference in their life - I made their life better than it was before. And to me, that's what fostering is all about.