Foster Guilt

Fostering an animal saves lives, no doubt. I often hear people say, "I could never foster, I would just keep them all!" or, "how can you let him go? he loves you!!" My response is, yes, it IS hard to let them go, but it's better than seeing them die, as they would have had a foster home not been available in their time of need.

I have to admit, the latter one has been getting to me lately. The "how can YOU let him go?!" as though I am re-homing a beloved pet. "It's not fair to him, you need to adopt him", another stab to the heart. Here's the thing, fostering is hard enough. Foster parents are in short supply compared to the need. It doesn't help when there are outsiders, well meaning, don't get me wrong, pushing you to adopt your foster and then giving a guilt trip when you explain why you're not adopting. (It's fostering for a reason, right?? If everyone adopted their foster dogs, we would have no fosters!)

It's especially painful when you would love to adopt your foster, when you have fallen madly, deeply in love with him but don't feel you are the right match.

I just ask others to have sensitivity to foster parents. You might see all the cute posts and pictures, but there is much more to consider when making the decision and commitment to add to the family. Trust us. We love our fosters with all of our hearts and want the best for them.

We had a meet and greet for Truman over the weekend, but it wasn't a match. I know his forever family is waiting for him. He's the most precious, loving guy ever. I have never been a small dog person, and especially not a chihuahua person, ha ha, but Truman taught me a lesson. Just as I don't want others to judge my pittie girl, I have been guilty of believing the stereo types that are known to the chihuahua breed. In my defense, I have experienced the "stereo type" many times having done rescue for 15 years, however, Truman breaks all stereotypes.

He's my little man who I love with my whole heart.
Will it be sad to see him go? It will rip my heart out. But, I am also very eager for him to move on to his "happily ever after".

Introducing foster pup Truman

Wow, it's been awhile. I've been in a writing slump and have had zero time for updates.

Soooo...nearly 3 weeks ago, little D and I went to walk our RESCUE dogs and provide some play time. We had actually picked up another pup to bring home for a play date. When we were bringing him back to boarding, a kennel worker said, "have you met Truman yet?" We hadn't. He was newly rescued. He had not been out yet for a walk, so we said we would take him out.

Little D melted when she saw him. "My dream dog!" she exclaimed. She has been wanting a chihuahua for over three years..since she fell in love with two of them we rescued on her first "pound run" with me. They were exceptional dogs and I loved them too, but at the time, we were not in a position to add to our family.

We really enjoyed our time with the little turkey, so we decided to take him home and introduce him to Hazel, "just to see". I was warned from another volunteer that he had growled and snipped at a bigger dog the day he was rescued, but that is such a stressful time for a pup so we thought we would try.

I warned D that we may be in and out in just a few minutes. Because Truman is so small, I held him as we walked into our house. Typically I handle introductions quite differently, but something told me this was the way to to go given his size. I knew Hazel would be ok and take cues from me, but after having another (very bossy) chihuahua over recently, was fully expecting Truman to growl and or/bark his little head off. Instead, I was greeted with interest from Hazel, but not too pushy as she typically is, and a very happy wagging tail from Truman who was trying to get out of my arms to meet Hazel. I put Hazel on a leash and let him down to explore. I was getting soft, playful body language from both. I kept the leash on Hazel, and the below video was taken within 5 minutes of them meeting.

Hands down the easiest introduction I have ever done! I have never had a symbiotic relationship with Hazel and another dog so quickly. She is typically a little rude in her approach, and plays rough with most dogs. Needless to day, she surprised me and has continued to do so since we've had him.

Seriously..Just under 7 pounds though I know he has gained some needed weight now. I have no experience with tiny little dogs.

My, what big teeth you have!

He was going to work with me full time the first 2 weeks we had him. In our third week, we are alternating between staying at home with Foster daddy, or going to work with me for a half day, and then back home with foster dad and Hazel.

Truman is looking for an amaaaazing home to call his very own...if you know anyone, send them our way!

Happy New Year's

Our New Year's was very low key. We had an apple juice toast with the human sister at 7pm...(figured it had to be midnight *somewhere*), and hit the sheets by 8:30. Hazel was not a fan of us blowing our little horns so I crated her for a few minutes. She also had no interest in wearing a New Year's tiara...go figure.

This was the first "fireworks" holiday we have had her so I was curious to see how she reacted. We don't live close enough to the big downtown party they were having, so we just had to deal with a few people in neighboring blocks doing their own thing. Thankfully there wasn't alot, and Hazel slept through it. Sadly, other dogs were not as lucky, as there was a huge influx of lost dogs the next day.

Here in the desert, we are still experiencing freezing temps! We even had snow flurries in the city (which I did not see since that would have required staying up until 11pm).

For New Year's day, we "braved" the frigid temps to go on a trail run/hike. We left later than normal and there was a lot of cars in the parking lot, so I expected to have crowded trails. Instead, Hazel and I had part of the mountain all to ourselves. Albeit, it's not the most scenic part, but I would rather trade a little off leash time and peace for crowded, beautiful trails.

Try not to be so miserable Hazel ;)

I lucked out the day after Christmas and found two jackets and a sweater for 50% off. We don't need heavy outwear here, but I wanted something for these freezing mornings! While Hazel HATES dressing up (like say costumes, tutus, tiaras), she seems to appreciate her jackets and I know she loves her sweater because she threw a tantrum when I took it off, and "asked" me to put it back on. Really!

Does this jacket make my butt look big?

I like this jacket because it's light weight and has a soft, warm lining on the inside and is reflective for those pre-dawn runs. It has a cute reflective bone design on the back with a pocket for poo bags.

I'm outta here!

The rest of the day was pretty lazy.

put.the camera.down

I am introducing a rescue dog to Hazel this weekend to see if they are a good match for us to foster. Our rescue keeps getting a ton of females, and I would prefer a male, however this girl seems to get along with everyone, as does Hazel, so we'll see. We haven't fostered since our little boxer mix was adopted...mostly because those two were CRAZY together and made us decide that while we will foster, two dogs may not be in the cards for us. There was never a moment's peace and their play was too intense for me. I am hoping that some day, we will foster a dog that just clicks with us, and seems like a natural fit.