Though it's always a relief to find a wonderful home for a foster pup, I do always worry a bit about my foster babies when they go into their new homes.
Will they fit in? Will they really be OK with the family cat? Will they get cuddled enough? Will they connect to their new people?
The Washington Humane Society, unlike some of the rescue groups I have worked with, does not put up extensive hurdles for adopters to jump over. As a municipal open-access shelter, they are focused on getting animals out of the shelter and into homes. As a general rule I'm in favor of this, at least when animals are still dying in shelters because the humans in charge of them could not find them a home.
And so far, for my ex-fosters, it's worked out! Sandy, Collette, Pager and now Brownie are all doing fantastic in their new homes. Here's the update I got from Brownie's new mom:
Thank
You again for introducing us to Brownie...his name has since been
changed to Ralphie.
He is such a happy boy!!! He loves playing with our
other dogs and giving our 10 and 6 year old girls kisses on the face. He
has turned out to be a great addition to the family.
Here he is playing/chewing on a
rope/tug toy with our other male dog Spencer, the two of them love to
play tug together!!!
Here he is relaxing on the
couch with myself, my husband and 10 year old step daughter....he has
taken a special liking to her!!!
...I know none of us were sure about Ralphie and
cats...well....he gets along great with our cat. Ralphie has become such
a great family member...he is such a good boy....couldn't have asked
for a better dog!!!!
Yay Ralphie/Brownie! I'm so glad you found your perfect family.
For those of you wondering about Blue, she is still at the shelter, I hope still having a good time. She was actually adopted too, by a lovely young couple, but was returned when the landlord and upstairs neighbor were uncomfortable with her...likely because of her breed.
So there's a case where a bit of extra screening might have been a good idea, would have saved those adopters some time and heartache and saved Blue some stress. Still, on balance I think that at least until adoptable animals are no longer dying in shelters, we should err toward making adoptions easier, not more difficult.
What do YOU Think?
Big wet kisses everyone! We are taking advantage of our foster-free status the next few days to do some serious camping, hiking, dancing, and dining!
It's my birthday on Friday and I can't wait to see what Florian, Lamar, and Fozzie have in store.
Meanwhile, my friend Jodi asked for an update on Blue.
Still at the shelter, but having a great time there!
She is part of the shelter's weekly P.A.C.K. (People and Animals Cardio Klub) runs, where volunteers come and run with the shelter dogs in the park on Saturday mornings.
She had a fab run over the weekend! Hard to imagine it, but it seems that WHS is a shelter where some dogs are even better off there than in a foster home.
I try to fill my time with foster pets with activities and training that help make them more confident, more calm, more easygoing, and overall more adoptable. But when it comes right down to it, what gets them adopted fast is their cute pictures and descriptions online--and in Brownie's case, his big ears were what made his time with me very short.
I had only had him a day before I got an email from a dog-loving family with two dogs, two dog-savvy little girls, a fenced in acre, and grandparents who are pretty much around all the time to keep the dogs company. They were in love with Brownie's picture and especially with his big, ridiculous ears.
After this discussion, the meeting and the official interview at the shelter felt pretty much like a formality.
The folks at the shelter were so happy and amazed that this dog who was so stressed out at the shelter, barking and going nuts with his pupils dilated like crazy,
became such a happy, relaxed goof once in the presence of people who love dogs and build their lives around them, who adore their two 6-year-old dogs and sleep with them, who lost two more 13-year-old dogs last year and are ready to add to their family.
The family brought their 6-year-old queen bee Lily, who growled at Brownie a bit but nothing like the grumpiness he'd successfully navigated with Lamar.
So after meeting Brownie in my yard, going for a walk together, going to the farmer's market while we waited for the shelter to open, having their interview and testing how Brownie did with cats (he showed no intense interest, except in the cats' food), we loaded Brownie up and off they drove!
If his interactions with this family while we filled out papers at the shelter are any indication, Brownie is going to have a blast in his new home.
Rolling on his back while the girls petted him, giving mom big wet kisses and blissing out for dad's hearty scratches...this was supposed to be a shy dog?
Congratulations Brownie! It was great to have you, though any longer and I would have been hopelessly attached.
I was going to devote the entire weekend to fun activities to help Brownie build confidence and become more adoptable. As it turned out, I only had a day to do it...but more on that tomorrow!
We did have a chance to go by my sister's house Friday night and see how he does with two important demographics: new, big dogs and wacky little girls.
My sister loves it when I get a new foster dog because she loves for her big boy Genghis to get a new buddy to play with.
Genghis is a great dog, 100% reliable and goofy with kids and other humans.
For some reason both Fozzie and Lamar hate him, so he has no regular playmate nearby.
But he sure has fun with my foster dogs!
What a great socialization opportunity and energy outlet for all. Brownie's aerial leaps over Genghis' body were a sight to behold.
And when they were done romping, they just plotzed out in different spots on the floor and snoozed companionably.
The
next day, we wanted to give those two a little more space to enjoy each
others' company so my sister and I decided we would descend on my
loving, long-suffering Aunt and Uncle.
They don't really seem
to suffer when we come over; I only say that because I think that in
their position, with a beautiful house and pool and a relaxing, sunny
afternoon to look forward to, the Stade family and its associated
poorly-socialized canines would be the last thing I'd want to see.
But they are always welcoming, and they seem to actually enjoy it, God help them.
Brownie fell in love with Uncle Bob.
And he really loved having all that space to run around with his bud Genghis.
When he runs he's like a little antelope, zooming around and so happy to be free.
He loves to romp around with the slightly more dignified Genghis,
and see if he can taunt him to abandon that dignified demeanor.
Not too hard when Genghis's default behavior is to flail around on his back with his paws in the air.
Lamar looks on reproachfully, but at least there's something in it for him too.
Lamar, sit back and have a glass of wine while the kids run around, why dontcha?
That sounds like a plan.
Brownie, I'm glad you got to enjoy the fun with my aunt and uncle before the pool closes for the season. It's a ritual we try to put all our foster pups through, for their benefit and for ours.
I've done something I've never done before, never thought I could do or would do. I brought Blue back to the shelter.
Lamar was growling and shrinking back every time he saw her, she was going after him every chance she got, and the shelter staff told me that they thought she could do well at the smaller of the two shelter facilities in DC, where things are quieter and dogs have a nice routine including 5 walks a day. I made them promise about 6 times that they would stay in touch with me about her, that they would keep her alive and work with her and keep trying to find another foster for her, and we made the arrangements for me to come on Wednesday and drop her off.
Then just after I got out of bed Wednesday morning, I must not have closed the baby gate to my room and Lamar's lair well enough, because another fight erupted. This time poor Lamar's ear has a nice cut in it and my hand is good and swollen from a puncture wound --I'm pretty sure inflicted by Lamar as he snapped wildly to try to defend himself.
If there was any doubt in my mind before, it was now dispelled.
It was still incredibly hard to leave Blue in that shelter, surrounded by barking dogs. The only thing that made me able to do it at all is that in exchange I took away a dog who quite possibly needs a foster home even more than Blue.
This is Brownie.
My emotions were all over the place when I was at the shelter meeting him so I didn't think to find out anything about his past, but I do know that he's not been doing well at the shelter because every time a human comes by, he barks and yodels and yells so loud to get attention that he turns people off.
The important thing is that we took him for a walk with Lamar, then Fozzie, and he had polite, shy mannerisms in response to their eccentricities.
When Lamar growled, he looked away and backed up. When Fozzie lunged and barked and went all over the place, he play bowed a bit but mostly backed up.
The shelter staff warned me that he's a high-energy, rowdy young boy, so I was prepared for another one of those--
you know, one of those destructive, demanding, typical puppies who makes you wonder what it is about dogs that made you ever agree to live in a house with one, until you look at his face and see that big puppy head and those loving eyes and that wiggly wagging butt and fall in love.
When I got him home, he just wandered around sniffing gently. He seemed so happy to be wandering free in a quiet place!
He likes Fozzie, and Fozzie seems tolerant of him. He continues his good, polite behavior around Lamar.
He discovered immediately how great an orthopedic dog bed feels on gangly, bony adolescent joints.
It's terrible to think of Blue in the shelter after having a taste of living in a home, but I am hoping that being there will be her fastest ticket to finding a permanent home.
Brownie, who is currently stretched out to his full scrawny lanky length on the floor, is certainly a better fit here....even Lamar, while not thrilled to have another foster dog, is far less tense than he was when his little nemesis was here. I'm hoping that Brownie will let us get back in our foster groove and that Blue will find her perfect human quickly!
Fozzie and Lamar--and Florian--thank you for your patience!
So there's a case where a bit of extra screening might have been a good idea, would have saved those adopters some time and heartache and saved Blue some stress. Still, on balance I think that at least until adoptable animals are no longer dying in shelters, we should err toward making adoptions easier, not more difficult. 
