Update on my fosters

I decided it was time for another update on my fosters, so I you someone can keep track of who is at my house and why. In addition to my two dogs (Remi and Noelle) and one cat (Merlin), I have the following foster pets:

Ziggy - A deaf pit bull mix who has lived with me since December, when I rescued him from being euthanized at a shelter. Ziggy just turned one year old. He hasn't yet outgrown his puppy chewing stage, but he is slowly making progress. Ziggy is a comedian - he is always doing something silly to make me laugh. He is house-trained but can't be trusted alone in the house unsupervised because he is sure to get in some sort of trouble, whether it's stealing food from the counter, drinking a beer, or chewing up furniture or blinds. He is a one-dog wrecking machine, and I constantly threaten to send him to another foster home, but really I love him and will have a very hard time letting him go once he gets adopted. He has learned a lot of hand signs and is one of the smartest dogs I've worked with recently.

Tripoli - A German Shepherd/Aussie mix who has been in foster care since May of 2009. I took him to my house a few months ago because his foster mom wasn't able to get him to adoptions. We had hoped if he could go to some adoption events, someone would quickly adopt him. After all, he's practically perfect. He is around 3 years old, and has wonderful house manners, and gets along with dogs, cats, and kids! What more could anyone ask for? You might think that there are a lot of perfect dogs like Tripoli out there, but he's extra special because he only has three legs. This makes him lighter on his feet, and therefore faster and able to jump higher than other dogs. It's true - he can outrun and outjump all of the other dogs.

Rudy - A cat. I believe he's been in foster care for a couple of years now. I've had him since February, and I've finally trained him to not try to sneak out the door anymore. Okay not really - I think he really just doesn't try to sneak out the door because he's tired of the dogs chasing him all the time. He has given up escaping his prison and now is beginning to demand to be transferred back to a previous prison foster home. We're currently in negotiations. I've offered him his own room at the new house with canned food twice a week if he stops complaining, but he's holding out for something better!




And those are my only foster pets! I believe this is the shortest foster list I will have for a Very Long Time. I am constantly looking around the house for another dog or cat, thinking I forgot someone, but I didn't! I had to stop taking any new pets in until I get moved, so at least for the rest of this month, I will not be taking in anyone new. But as soon as I move, I'll go get Gretchen.

I also realized that I've been very lax in updating what has been happening with my foster pets, so here is an update for a few of my previous fosters in case you were wondering about them. Mia, the brown tabby cat who had been staying up at one of our adoption locations was adopted. Victoria the shy cat is being fostered by another volunteer who is working with her to hopefully make her more adoptable. Simon and Sampson  who were out on a trial adoption are now permanently adopted. And Lucas, now named Elwood, was also adopted out with Jake, another cat from the same rescue. Also my foster dog Bosco is currently out on a trial adoption! I am holding his spot open - he still has some house-training issues - but his new dad says he's going to keep working with him until Bosco figures it out, so hopefully this will be a permanent placement.  I also took in one more cat - another return - named Bugsy.  Then I immediately shipped him off to another foster home.  I will hopefully get him back once I move, but then Rudy might have to share his private room, and I'm not sure that's going to be acceptable to him.

Update on my Fosters

Once again it's time for an update on the current foster pets at my house.  These pets are all available for adoption, so if you see one you like, let's talk!

Ziggy is a seven month old American Pit Bull Terrier mix.  He is deaf, and he is silly, and he is sometimes demanding, and sometimes sweet.  He is mostly lazy, and prefers the indoors to being outside.  He likes to chew anything he can - especially if he's not supposed to chew it.  Shoelaces are a favorite of his.  He barks a lot when he wants something, and his favorite place to lay is at the top of the stairs, unless he has something to chew, in which case he prefers to lay on the couch.  His favorite place to hide when playing is under the futon where the other dogs can't reach him. 

Simon is Sampson's brother.  He is possibly visually impaired, although he doesn't act like it.  He is one of the sweetest foster cats I have.  He loves to cuddle and get affection.  Occasionally he chases the other cats, but most of the time he just watches the rest of the action. 

Sampson is Simon's brother.  He claims he is Simon's Seeing Eye Cat, but I don't usually see them anywhere together, so I have my doubts about that.  Sampson is very sweet when he wants to be, but sometimes he likes to pick on the other cats.  He can be a bit of a bully, quite honestly.  But when it comes to people, he's the most affectionate cat of the bunch. 

Scribbles - The long-timer.  She is sweet, but only on her terms.  If you try to make her do something she doesn't want - like get in a cat carrier to go to PetSmart for an adoption event - she may very well scratch you and bite you.  Not that it gets her out of going.  It just means I have to call in reinforcements (in this case, my husband Dave) to get her into the crate.  Then once she gets back home, she comes around purring and being all affectionate, just so I forgive her for the scratches she gave me that morning.  Hmph. 

Rudy is an interesting cat.  He is affectionate, but he'd rather rub against my legs than sit on my lap.  He likes to sit by the window and watch what is going on outside.  If I let him, he'd go out and see for himself.  He does okay with other cats and with dogs, but he's kind of a loner.  So he'd probably be perfectly happy as an only cat. 

Victoria - This beautiful girl is one of my favorite cats.  She's shy and won't come very close to me, but if I go to her, she'll let me pet her and she'll roll over and start purring.  She needs to get more used to people before she is ready for adoption, so I want to take her to adoption events each week to help her get used to the noise and the people.  But she finds the very best hiding places in the house, and so far I've only been able to find her and take her to one event.  Of course if anyone wants a cat who is very beautiful and very easy to care for, she's the one for you.  You may never know she's there - but at least she isn't constantly following you around and asking for attention like the rest of the cats at my house! :-)

Mia came into rescue when her owners moved and left her behind.  A neighbor took her in and cared for her, but couldn't keep her because her dog was trying to eat her.  So I took her home, and she's been living at my house for the past month - until yesterday.  Yesterday she got to go up to the adoption center at our vet's office!  So I am hopeful that someone will see her there and want to adopt her soon.  She is front declawed, and very sweet and affectionate, so I hope it won't take her long to find a home. 

So those are all of my foster pets as of today.  Well, except for Butterscotch.  I'll tell you about him tomorrow!

My Rejects

My mom called my special needs foster pets "rejects".  I have been giving her a hard time ever since.  I know what she meant - they aren't perfect, and they were rejected by someone before they get to me.  And even after I get them, they are rejected by many potential adopters because of their special needs.  I understand why most people don't want a special needs pet.  I know they take extra work, and extra time, and not everyone has that to give.  But I think they give extra love that makes it all worthwhile.  So sometimes I seek out the rejects. 

Some animal rescue people take on really difficult cases, like bottle-feeding newborn kittens who need around-the-clock care, or taking on a dog that requires eyedrops several times a day.  Even if I didn't have a full-time job and was capable of doing that sort of rescue, I don't think I have what it takes to make that commitment.  I admire those who do, but I am content saving my favorite type of rejects - deaf dogs and pit bulls.  So when my recent special needs pets were adopted and they were no longer rejects, I decided to look for another one of my favorites and see if I could help them.  I went looking for one and found three! 

Mia is a senior pit bull.  I don't know why she was abandoned by her family, but she's been to several adoption events as an All Paws dog and so far she has not been adopted, due to her breed and her age.  I fell in love with her when I first met her.  Her current foster mom lives pretty far away so can't get her to adoption events very easily, so I offered to foster her since I could get her to adoption events every week.  I'll try her after Thanksgiving and see how she does with Noelle, and if she does okay, she'll be my newest reject... I mean foster dog. 

I was sad that my last deaf foster dog was adopted so quickly - I really enjoy working with deaf dogs - so I contacted another rescue group who has had a deaf pit bull at their shelter for quite some time.  This is Boo Bear.  She was living in a car before she went to the shelter, so she's never been in a house.  She needs some work with house-training and manners, but the rescue group who has her absolutely loves her.  I can't wait to go meet her.  I don't know if I'll take her home or not, but it's a definite possibility. 

Of course after offering to try out Mia and Boo Bear, I got an e-mail.  The heading just said "Deaf Boxer Pup".  I immediately started laughing, and said to myself "you've got to be kidding!".  Because I had after all just offered to take an adult deaf pit bull and an adult senior pit bull, and both were likely to be long-term fosters.  But I just couldn't resist - even before opening the e-mail I thought "Okay, I'll take it!".  I'm hopeless.  Bella is a deaf four-month-old Boxer puppy. She's become a reject because she is deaf.  I'll start her on some basic dog training using hand signals, and hopefully she won't be a reject for long.