1 Attachment(s)
Updates on Fosters (Yes there are more)
Whew - haven't been on here in a long time, but I wanted to give everyone an update on what's been happening.
Barney is still with me, he is still adjusting to being an indoor dog. Now that the weather has turned warm, he has been spending the nights outside patrolling the yard. It is almost like he feels he needs to protect the house while we are all asleep. I had a pet communicator do a reading on him. I'm not sure I buy into all of it, but some of the things she said were pretty accurate.
According to her, Barney was just devastated at leaving his home of 9 1/2 years. He was an outdoor dog and she said he was chained the majority of the time. He wasn't really used to people that much - he would look forward to his daily feeding when his "master" would put down his food and give him a couple of pets. Occasionally some neighborhood kids would pay attention to him - which would make him extremely happy. (This actually makes a great deal of sense to me - when the teenager comes over that mows my lawn - Barney just goes nuts over him.) Although it was not a good life, it was the only life he knew - and still feels a connection to that home.
She says he is in a constant state of worry (which you can see in his eyes), wondering when the good life will end and he will be relegated to the chain and yard again. He feels that if he continues to prowl the grounds at night and protect everyone, he has a purpose and will continue to be allowed to live with the rest of the family. She says it is hard to describe his feelings, because they are so conflicted. He yearns to return home to the only home he knew, but he is scared of returning to that life as well. He doesn't quite know how to react to this life as it is so unfamiliar to him.
She also said that if we try to rehome him, he will probably shut down and give up. He is just starting to trust this life and me. If we try to rehome him now, he would feel abandoned again.
So.... on the chance that she is right, I have decided to keep Barney permanently. He is doing well here, he is getting the quality food and supplements he needs to maintain his health and he is starting to trust again. He doesn't have a long time left on this earth, and I think he deserves a place to live the rest of his life in peace and love.
I have also acquired another foster named Bugsy over Memorial Day weekend. Bugsy is a 2 year old male American Eskimo Dog who was surrendered to us because he was snapping at the young children (1year and 3 year old) in the household. When I went to evaluate Bugsy, I found a highly stressed and anxious dog that was in the most inappropriate household. Although Bugsy barked at me when I first went in, once I took him out for a walk and did a few commands with him, he started relaxing and showing his true personality. Although I expected to just help them rehome the dog, I decided that we needed to get Bugsy out of there as soon as possible. We asked the couple to keep Bugsy for a couple of days so we could arrange a foster home for him. We took over a crate and a kong for him and gave them some protocols to use in the meantime. They were to keep Bugsy separate from the children at all times and to put tBugsy in the crate with a kong in an area where there was no activity to allow him to relax. They were to use NILIF (Bugsy desperately needed to know that someone was in charge) and babygate him in a separate room whenever the kids were around. Once the kids were in bed, they should spend some time with Bugsy playing with toys and working on some basic commands.
Well, the next day (Sunday), they called saying the Bugsy had bitten the one year old and wanted us to come get Bugsy the next day or they would have to take him back to the SPCA that they adopted him from. Since he had bitten, the SPCA would immediately euthanize him. I felt that Bugsy was a great dog that was in the wrong home, so I went over and picked him up. He is currently housed in an upstairs room in my house and doing great. Now that he doesn't feel that he has to "run the household and the children" he has completely relaxed and is a joy to be around. He shows no sign of aggression at all. I have poked, prodded, taken food and rawhides away from him and all he does is grin at me. He loves to play fetch, loves to run around the yard, and loves doing tricks. We are working with him on clicker training and he is doing wonderful.
Here are some pictures of Bugsy. He will probably be adopted pretty quickly as people are more likely to want smaller dogs rather than larger ones (unfortunately). We think a retired or empty nest couple would be the best. He does great with kids over 8, but gets too stressed with kids that are younger.
http://www.petfinder.com/fotos/NY549...526613-1-x.jpg
http://www.petfinder.com/fotos/NY549...526613-2-x.jpg
http://www.petfinder.com/fotos/NY549...526613-3-x.jpg
I also have a cat I am fostering. Cami is a 5 year old cat that was surrendered to the SPCA severly overweight. She is currently staying with me while she is on a strict weight loss program. So far she has lost 2 pounds - from 26 pounds to 24 pounds. I don't have a picture uploaded, so I am attaching a picture.
I guess that is about it - as you can see, life has been very busy and I haven't had the time to get on much lately, but I did want to check in with everyone. Even though I don't post much - I am still reading and looking at everyone's pictures. :)
Clara
