We received an email and pictures from Sparky's new mom last night. He was curled up in his new doggie bed looking happy and loved.For my last blog, I thought I would update friends and family on my past fosters and of course our little girl Cricket.
We were introduced to petfinder.com and the word "rescue dog" when we began to search for a puppy summer of 2008. We were looking for a blond mixed breed and spotted (and adopted) Cricket listed with Fluffy Dog Rescue. She was a 3 month old Alabama girl and listed as a spaniel/retriever mix. When she stopped growing at at 17" and 37lbs, we thought how could this be a retriever mix? We ordered the DNA kit from Fluffy Dog Wellness and guess what --- no retriever in her. She is mostly Cocker Spaniel, some English Springer Spaniel, and a dash of Dachshund.
We enjoyed Cricket so much, we decided we wanted another dog. Lori (from Fluffy Dog) had a rescue friend in Alabama who watched out for a "Cricket look alike" for us and found Callie (listed as Lexus on website, picture below) We thought we would foster first to see how the two females dogs got along. She was listed as a spaniel mix that we later changed to spaniel/retriever after we met her. She was thin (like many are) and knew nothing. Needless to say, I was overwhelmed. Amazingly, with some training and encouragement from Lori and Bridget, by the end of only one week, she had manners and knew a few basic commands. Callie was a great dog, very smart and affectionate and loved humans. Unfortunately for us, two young females dogs were not the best match. She was adopted two weeks later by a couple in Whitefish Bay. She is Bella now and has a wonderful life. Recently they send us pictures of her riding in a boat, swimming in a lake, and napping with her new dad. It really felt good to see Bella and her family so happy.
Fluffy Dog was taking in a large group of puppies in June and we signed up for Cooper. (called Oodle on website, picture below) He was four months old and listed as Wirehair terrier. He was soft and fluffy so we changed it to Bichon mix after meeting him. (seeing him grown, I would say he is a Basset Hound/Poodle?) He was so sweet and very submissive. I didn't send Lori a new picture of him for a week as we contemplated, do we want to keep this one. Crickets energy was a bit much for this mellow puppy so I took some new pictures and Lori had several applications on him within days. (this really demonstrated what a great picture does in getting these dogs noticed) He is Finnian now. He lives with a great couple in Hartford and their adult daughter and is very loved. We had the pleasure of dog sitting him when they went on vacation in September. Still the mellow, sweet lad (a bit bigger now).
Well, now I don't think I want another forever dog. I think I'll just keep fostering. Seeing how they progress from the day you get them and then seeing the happy families is the best. Mika, another foster mom, said to me once, if I keep one of the dogs, then I can't foster anymore. I think this is where I am at right now. We probably won't take another foster dog until spring, but then, you never know.Julie