I might get a new foster tomorrow!!!!!!!

[HoneyBunny]

I'm curious. We're picking up our dog from her foster mom's on Saturday... the same day that the little poodle will go stay with you. I just wondered if the day the new parents pick up their dog is a happy or sad day for the foster parent. My dog has been in her foster home for 6 months.

[aly]

Don't be surprised if the foster parents cry their eyes out. The day is really bittersweet. As a foster parent, you will really miss the baby that has spent so much time with you and you've grown to love so much. But seeing them go to a wonderful, loving home is great. To know that they are in good hands and will have the best life eases the pain of missing them. I still go through pictures of all my old fosters and bawl my eyes out, but I also smile as I think of their new parents and how much love and attention they get in their new homes. Also, as a foster goes home, it opens up a spot to maybe bring in a new foster and save another life.

Very bittersweet..... definately a lot more sweet though

[Cincy'sMom]

Originally posted by aly
hehe, I was right. They do want me to foster her afterall

I'm picking her up Saturday

Congrats!!! Hope it goes well!

[Sudilar]

Originally posted by HoneyBunny
I just wondered if the day the new parents pick up their dog is a happy or sad day for the foster parent. My dog has been in her foster home for 6 months.

I was at an adoption event for GSD rescue where we met a foster Mom who just had her GSD adopted. She could not stop crying. She said she felt so bad. She swore she would never foster again. I'll bet she did foster again, though. That's what's holding me back from volunteering for GSD fostering.

[HoneyBunny]

Aw, we'll definitely have sympathy for her foster mom... I might even cry with her 'cause I already love Susie so much. I know it must be hard, but after 6 months of hard work she must feel like she's accomplishing a lot to give our girl a good home. There are several foster dogs at this foster home, so I'm sure she'll be taking in another as soon as Susie is gone. Maybe that will ease the pain. Just wanted to let you know how much new Mommy's and Daddy's appreciate their pets' foster parents. Foster mom was helping Susie long before I met her, and I will always be grateful for that. I can't wait to give Susie all the love, stability, and attention that she deserves! Thank you again for helping that little poodle... she'll make someone very happy someday.

[aly]

Here's a couple pics of Peka:

[Sudilar]

Awwww, how precious!!!!

[aly]

She was deemed unadoptable by the shelter So I basically have her in my care now as my own dog. I am going to take her to the vet this week but its not looking good. She is not totally dying yet, but they told me she will need to be put to sleep within the year as her quality of life goes down. There is a husband and wife team of volunteers who are considering letting her live out her life with them. I am going to tell them the results of the vet visit and they will decide Wish us luck. She's the sweetest thing.

[shais_mom]

I am so sorry to hear what they said about Peka. I know you must be devastated. She looks like a little sweetie. I would love to pet and kiss the sweet little area b/n her eyes. That is my favorite spot. Keegan falls asleep if she lets me do it long enough.
My heart goes out to you Aly, Let us know what happens.

[DoggiesAreTheBest]

Peka looks like a sweetie. I am so sorry to hear the bad news. Please let us know what the vet says. How wonderful of you to take care of her for the remainder of her life.

[Sudilar]

How wonderful of you to volunteer to make her end time happy!!

[aly]

We had a bit of a rough night last night But Peka is starting to settle in more. She hates the crate so much, and won't settle down or be quiet in it. It kills me because of her collapsed trachea, and she just makes it worse. When I left for work this morning, I decided to leave her loose in my room. She seems to have done wonderfully. She didn't make a peep before I left and when I got home, she was sleeping so soundly I almost couldn't wake her up

She wakes up about every 15 minutes and does this wheezing and panting thing. I feel so bad for her

[Cincy'sMom]

Poor Peka. At least she will been comforable and happy in however much time she has left. Let us know what the vet says

[aly]

I took Peka into the vet today. It went a lot better than I thought it would!! I'll paste the email I just wrote to some other volunteers at the shelter.

Hi everyone.

Peka and I went to the vet today and it turned out better than I thought it would. She definately has some medical issues, but she still has quality of life. The vet said her mammory tumors are probably the least of the worries. Most of the time they are not malignant. Her teeth are really bad which could cause her a lot of trouble and potentially become fatal if not taken care of. I have some antibiotics that should help her for the time being. She needs a dental but the vet needs to find out exactly what's wrong before we risk putting her through that. The tumors can easily be removed during the dental.

Her coughing and wheezing could be due to a collapsed trachea but the vet suspects it is kennel cough. Even though she had her bordatella, its still not 100% effective from preventing kennel cough. She said her stress level and age would easily allow her to catch kennel cough. I have some other medicine that will hopefully help her with her cough.

Her heart is extremely enlarged, which is normal for dogs with heart murmurs. She would like to do an ultrasound on Peka to find out exactly which valves aren't functioning correctly, then she could prescribe medicine to help her with that. We got some xrays and she said her lungs are filled with air, which is really good and means she's not congested. Her liver is enlarged a bit which may be a sign of congestive heart failure. The vet said even if she does have congestive heart failure, she's not dying from it at this point.

She also possibly has a bladder infection. She's been going potty a lot. She goes a lot outside, then when we get it, 15 minutes later she'll have a couple puddles on the carpet. This should be easy to take care of though. We just aren't positive if its a bladder infection or incontinence.

The vet would like to do the ultrasound and run some blood tests to pinpoint exactly what else could be wrong with her and to make sure it would be safe to do a dental. I went ahead and did the xrays today but we decided to wait on the other tests for another week or two. She thought it would be best if Peka got over her stress of being abandoned at a shelter first.

The vet said it really depends how much emotionally and financially I was invested in her. She said its very possible to prolong her life and she can live comfortably, but she is an old girl so there's a chance of her dying even with the treatment just because of her age. She is definately a fighter though! She was pushing the vet techs away the whole time.

She's settling into my house really well. She was showing some signs of seperation anxiety but we've been working on that and she's already much better. She wakes up from deep sleeps though and starts coughing and wheezing. It sounds awful and she looks miserable. Hopefully the meds will help though. I hope its just kennel cough. Oh, she's also blind in one eye and can't really see well out of the other. That is why she is so slow moving. I am thinking she has a hard time hearing too. She's not deaf but she doesn't seem to hear everything all the time.

She reallly is a sweet girl and is doing wonderfully with my dogs and cat. She's sleeping on my feet right now!

Can someone forward this to the Strawns? I can take Peka next week to get those tests done if they want something more definitive or if they want her sooner they can let me know. Or if they don't want her, let me know and maybe we can find rescue groups.

Thanks everyone and thanks Anne for the contribution to her vet bill! It helped a lot!

[DoggiesAreTheBest]

Oh Aly, I hope the vet can find a way to make Peka more comfortable. Poor lil girl. She is in good hands though. Thanks for the update and thank you for taking care her!