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!

Sunrise Sunday

I talked with the little human about joining Hazel and I on a sunrise hike. The last time I took her at sunrise was last year, and it was winter, so the sun came up much later. Sunday morning, I woke them both up at 5:45am so that we could hit the road. I admit, it was tough waking them..we had a "slumber party" in the living room floor. The little human was snuggled right against me, and Hazel was snuggled against D. I was so full of the warm fuzzies and didn't want to disturb the moment, but the sunrise wouldn't wait!

We hit the trails when it was still a little dark. I promised D, (who is a little afraid of the dark), that you really can see; it was more like "dusk". We waited a few moments while our eyes adjusted, and then were off. The first thing we experienced was a hooting owl..little D thought that was pretty darn cool. The smell of the desert so early in the morning was awesome. There is nothing like it.

Taking in the view

I loved sharing this with both of my girls. The time right before the sun rises is my very favorite part of the day. There is something about it that gives me such peace. I feel lucky to experience it and feel sorry for those who miss this special time of day. (Though they are probably really enjoying their sleep!)

Hazel is looking forward to this week. Sissy is off for Spring Break, and I am taking the rest of the week off, so we will have lots of adventures!

The only down side is that the temps are climbing already, so anything active and fun needs to be done early, or in the evening. I am sooooo not ready for the heat!! Boo.

Happy (belated) Birthday to me!

Every year we have a HUGE event for our rescue that lands either on, or very close to my birthday. This year it was on my actual birthday which was Sunday. I had to leave my house by 4:45 to get all gussied up for a TV appearance featuring our foster dog, (more on that later), so my traditional sunrise hike went out the window. Boo.

Hazel and I made up for it. I took Monday off and took her with me to drop off the little human at school. Hazel was so funny..when little D got out of the car and we started pulling away, she was SO confused! She whined a little and kept searching for her little sissy- sweet girl!

With reassurances that all was ok, we headed to some trails not far from school. My foot is still injured, so yes, I did cheat. I was going to stay on level ground as I had before, but there was a trail going up a mountain that needed exploring.....

So, I need to figure out a way to work from home again, because hiking first thing in the morning during the week is where it's at! The parking lot was completely empty, which meant we had the entire freaking mountain to ourselves!!! Off leash time, whooo hoooo!!!

As we climbed the mountain, rays of sunshine shone down from the heavens above as though reaching for my sweet girl.

It was SO windy when we reached the top. Hazel's little ears were flying everywhere. The wind was so loud we didn't stay up there long because it was hurting my ears, so I couldn't imagine how Hazel must have been feeling.

We were racing against the storm brewing..

On the way down I put Hazel back on leash when we didn't have a clear view to see if anyone was coming. We ran into a woman with her dog (who was off leash and very friendly). I asked if anyone was behind her on the trail and she said no, so we let both dogs off to froclick. Hazel and this Golden raced down the trail together and then came running back to us with big ol' silly grins on their faces. I loved it!

With my last girl, on off leash dog was my worst nightmare. She would attack any dog who came into her space, so it was very stressful for me to come across someone who didn't obey leash laws, or at the very least, leash their dog when they saw someone coming. It is such a relief to not have that stress over me now. I loved my girl dearly and would not have traded her for the world, but the dog aggression is something I do not miss managing.

spotting some birds

Our hike was so lovely! Being in the mountains is definitely our happy place, and I love sharing it with Hazel. She is so in her element on the trails. I love sharing our passion for the outdoors...it's such a bonding moment at the risk of sounding really corny. There are no words!

It was a perfect way to celebrate.

Weekend Stuff

We kicked off the weekend with another bike ride/run. Hazel was rarin' to go!

With no coyotes in sight, I was able to let my girl off leash for a bit. She is completely in her element when she is allowed to flush out birds and run through fields. She did a lot of "bird doggin" that morning.

Water break!

Sissy had a big party to go to so here she is getting her good-byes in before she got her party dress on.

Sunday I cheated *a little*. I have been REALLY good staying off of my feet, but I HAD to hit the trails with my girls. I was good. We didn't do any climbing which the Dr said was the worst thing. We stayed on relatively flat paths, and I did not run. D was able to hold her leash for awhile which was really cool. Hazel usually behaves better on leash for her big sissy. I just love seeing their relationship blossom.

Having fun playing in the wash

We've been having really hot temps lately but we're finally going to cool it down with some rain. I am soooooo not ready for summer. We seem to go from cold to hot with nothing in between! I love being able to get exercise in the middle of the afternoon after work and school, but that is soon going to be a pastime. Boo.

Wordless Wednesday

Peanut butterz!!!

When life gives you lemons......

Soooooo..the ol' foot has been bothering me for a while, but in true form, I pushed down the pain and dealt with it. It got worse. I remembered a foot injury that I had many years ago that got so bad, it took me out of ANY activity for months. It sucked. I decided not to repeat history and ahem, go to the doctor. Long story short, I was told no running or hiking for weeks. Weeks. I told the doctor that being inactive was NOT an option. That I had a girl at home who needs exercise. Lots of exercise. His advice was to find someone else to walk her, and for me? I could cycle or swim. Grreeat.

Then I got this idea...

A couple of people asked if I could just bike with Hazel, to which I immediately replied, "she would kill me". One pull to chase a rabbit or a bird, and I would be a goner. Or so I thought..I started toying with the idea and took my bike out. I "introduced" her to it just to see if she had an fear towards it. Then I leashed her up with her harness and took a very slow spin around the block, feet on the ground. She did well. There was a little bit of excitement here and there, but I thought I could work with it.

I made the decision to got to our old abandoned dirt road and give this new venture a try. This video was within the first few minutes of our run..



Whaddya think?

I was soooooo impressed and happy with my girl!! We ended up doing this twice over the weekend..the first time was a longer run, and we left later than I would have liked. I purposefully wanted to go well after sunrise so that we could avoid all the critters that come out and about during that time. I carefully paid attention to any signals from her, however, due to my own carelessness, we ended up having to backtrack a little.

I realized that when I took my phone out of my carrier to shoot this video, my car key fell out of my phone carrier. Oops. I looked for it all the way back but didn't see it. So we rode back to my car just to make sure I didn't leave it inside. Nope. Sooooo, off we went again to backtrack our ride. Thankfully I found it! Hazel was OUT for the rest of the day, and I had worried that I over did it with her....until she was rarin' to go again.

I have to say, things DO happen for a reason. I used to be an avid mountain biker and liked to race in duathalons. I "hung up my bike" when I got pregnant and haven't been on it since! I always used my exercise time spending it with my pups, and felt selfish doing something active without them. Biking with Hazel has reignited that fire. I want to get back out on the trails! Unfortunately, it is too dangerous to do that with her, so maybe one day mama will sneak away. ;)

In the mean time, I am thrilled that we found an activity to keep us active and connected until we can hit the trails again. I didn't think it was possible, but Hazel keeps proving otherwise. She's turning into such a great pup. I am one proud mama!