Y’all may remember in January, I was working with a rescue group called Above & Beyond English Setter Rescue, helping transport dogs to their new homes or foster homes. Well, yesterday I took the plunge and became a foster myself!
A couple weeks ago, a plea came out for a 5 year old girl and her two, six month old puppies. Their owner had died and his family didn’t want to mess with them so sent them all to the pound. The shelter contacted A&B and asked if we can help.
The 2 puppies were snatched right up- EVERYONE wants to foster puppies, but a 5 year old female that had never been inside a house? Not so much. I kept looking at her picture, and thinking. Since losing Jewel, I have more time, and maybe I can help another lost soul. So I volunteered to be her foster home. She was tested with small dogs and cats and did fine. Here is her picture from the shelter:
Her name is LuLu (not my choosing!) and she is spayed & fully vetted, heartworm negative. I got her yesterday, and she was so scared to come in the house. I had to carry her in- she only weighs 37 lbs. She has been SO good so far, no accidents in the house, is fine with my dogs & cats, slept in her crate all night with only 1 whimper when I first put her in. I think she is liking the house dog thing!
Here are a couple more pictures:
How could you not love this face?
Snoozing at my feet:
You can see how tiny she is next to my Gordons, both about 80 lbs:
Mundane & pointless? Probably. But not to LuLu, who was saved from being euthanized and now has another chance at life. I am happy to be a part of it.
Thanks guys! She is such a gentle soul. She gives the softest little kisses. It breaks my heart everytime she cowers when I reach to pet her. But she’ll come around. She is sure enjoying the attention!
Poor girl. I’d take her in a heartbeat if I could. I insist that you bump this thread with pictures of her being happy and confident when she gets there.
Yeah, I still have a little of that too. I’ll often reach for my girl and she’ll cower back, and I’ve never raised a hand to her. Once she knocked over my beer and I reached to pet her and she cowered back. I did “yell” at her, but in the same voice I yell at her when she leaves the light on in the bathroom (she ignores me then.)
I believe she was abused, but my vet says that some dogs are just timid.
When I first got her I tried to play “chase” with her. She’ll run from me, but she isn’t playing and she isn’t having fun. (She casts worried glances over her shoulder at me.)
My springer spaniel Dottie is nearly 11, and we’ve had her since she was 8 weeks old. She’s never been hit or abused in her life. She can be very rambunctious, but also timid at times. We often joke that it’s a good thing PETA isn’t watching when we call her to us sometimes, because the way she cowers sometimes you’d think she’s expecting a beating. And a lot of the time she seems ever so slightly worried and uncertain. So weird, because she’s always had a loving home with us and a fairly straightforward routine.
I’m glad that you’ve decided to keep trying to help animals in need. When things were going well at the horse rescue you seemed so happy. I definitely think it would be good to keep trying to find ways to have that kind of positive experience again. Have you planned for how you will help yourself deal with it when the time comes that someone wants to adopt this new dog?
I think we have some animal fosters on this site who might have some advice on how to prepare for it and how to deal with the bittersweet emotions of fostering.
Absolutely; as previous posters have said, Lulu will have a healthy forever home in no time w/ that darling mug and sweet disposition; there’s no danger of any harm to her now and she seems to know it.
Foster families really give a lot, so the gratification when their former foster pet gets enveloped into a permanent family that will love them unconditionally must be immense.
I am going into this KNOWING she is only here for a short while, not likke Jewel where I was trying my damnedest to adopt her myself. Besides… musch as I love my dogs… the horses are different. They touch a deeper place for me.
There is already someone thru the rescue that is interested in LuLu for a friend of hers, who just lost her elderly Setter that she had gotten from A&B. She is wanting a smaller, middle aged female, and LuLu sounds perfect for her. I have to keep her 2 weeks before she will be put up for adoption, but this home sounds PERFECT, an older woman, retired, only dog… what more could she want?
Yes, I know there will be tears, but I am giving this sweet girl a chance she would not have had. She would be dead by now if I had not offered to foster her.
I’m not sure what that is supposed to mean. My animals all receive the best of care. Good food, training, play, vet care. And they are not ‘its’, they are hes and shes. If you have a problem with me, by all means, let’s hear it.
My animals are better cared for than many chldren.
Why is it when I start a thread about my animals SOMEONE has to come in and run me down?
Because, as you’ve admitted many times on this board, you treat your animals like crap, and own them solely for your emotional gratification, and care nothing for their welfare.
Your pictures are sweet to see and I’m glad to see you’re giving another form of fostering a try. I hope you find it as gratifying as I think you will! Since you already have other animals keeping you company, it seems you’re in a great position to be a regular foster, and those are hard to find! All too frequently, shelters have people sign up for the foster program and then promptly encounter “foster failure” with the first one because they decide to adopt. A great thing for that one that needed a permanent home, but not as great for the shelter or future fosters if that’s then all they can handle and have to back out of the program. So, thanks!
Just a little aside, PapSett, you’re taking something personal from someone with a posting history chock full of stuff like what he posted here. He’s obviously not even paying attention to your story and is a total non-contributor. The first thing I do when seeing incongruous comments is check posting history, join date, and nearly universally determine the poster is not worth paying attention to. Just ignore him and move on. No sweat.
