Blogging About Foster Dogs

I love seeing foster parents' set up blogs for their foster dogs!

Here is one that was just started: http://match-dot-boo.blogspot.com/ for a dog that was with a rescue in Hinton, WV (Summers County Animal Control and Welfare Project) and now in foster care in DC. From all reports, he settled right into his foster home. It is really amazing how adaptable dogs are.

Today we had such drama at the rescue. In the course of fostering, foster parents inevitably become very attached to their foster dog. You can't help it - you get to watch a dog that may have been abused or neglected make a complete turnaround under your care. And most of the time, it takes a little bit of good food, a soft blanket in a crate, and some structure and, of course, love!

The problem happens when foster parents wait until the very last minute to tell us that they want to keep their foster dogs. Then adopters, who have bought leashes and food and crates are now without a dog. We try our very hardest to make everyone happy, but unfortunately, sometimes that is just not possible.

In happy news, April went to foster care yesterday and met her new parents tonight! Happy Days! YAY!

Donations - Keep Em Comin'!

This trash bag is a beautiful sight. 

Why?

Because it is filled with blankets and towels for dogs at the shelter! I have been working with volunteers to collect food, blankets, towels and other donations to take to one of our shelter partners. YAY!

We brought up Goldie and April with money donated from sponsors. Sponsorship of a dog is great because it means we can save a dog without having a foster home available. Of course, the dog can't hang out in doggie daycare forever! So while it buys us some time to find a foster or forever home, we are still searching for someone to take them in.

I took better pictures of Goldie and April at doggie daycare today. They are just having a blast with the other dogs.

Goldie has definitely been in a house before. He is around 2-3 years old and absolutely loves people. He will run right up to anyone for hugs and kisses!

Transport Day!

This blog begins with a transport day. 

I've been involved in animal rescue for around three years now, but recently decided to share what it is like to be involved in rescue. I oversee a region of fosters and adoption coordinators for a Metro DC animal rescue. 

The day started with picking up blankets and towels for one of the shelters we get animals from. 

Then I stopped by an adoption event - we had around 10 dogs there.  You wouldn't think that an adoption event would get dogs adopted, right? A bunch of people standing around holding dogs? Well, I have had around 25 plus foster dogs and almost all of them got adopted because of an adoption event!

Then we had a transport. From Kinston, North Carolina we managed to bring up:

Becca - Becca went with a new foster. She is a long and lean lab mix, with soft eyes. She let me hug and kiss her head. Usually, it isn't a good idea to hug or kiss a dog you just met, unless you want a nip on the nose! But Becca was so swe

et and loving. 

At the transport, Becca was being handled by a volunteer's father, who remarked about me, "oh, you are another one that was allowed to watch too much Lassie growing up". I guess so. Or maybe I want to be able to watch Animal Cops on Animal Planet without crying, because I know that I am doing something, however small, to save those animals. 

April - April doesn't have a foster, but the shelter was PACKED, so we brought her up anyway and put her in doggie daycare. I'll post some pictures of April at doggie daycare soon.

Goldie - Goldie went to doggie daycare as well. He is a lab/bulldog mix. Very cute and loves to play.  

Henderson - a shy chow boy. He went to a new foster, who has two golden retrievers.

Auburn and her two pups (now named Missy and Duke) came up as well. A new volunteer offered to take them all - isn't that wonderful? 

And Ms. Fields - her family dropped her off at the shelter in the middle of the night with a note attached to her saying they had her for three years, and fed her table scraps. Honestly, how can you turn your dog into a shelter in the middle of the night?