Fostering break.

For real this time! I say this sometimes, but now it is an absolute necessity. December is basically the busiest time of year for me at work. It's absolutely not fair to the animals or my family to bring in extras this time of year when I barely have enough time in the day to do the basic needed necessities. Adding more on the plate is not smart for anyone. So I am taking a foster break after today (when our current foster pup goes home) and not taking on any more until at least after the beginning of January. I have to get things running smoothly here at home before I can in good conscience bring on more responsibilities. For once, I don't feel guilty about saying no, either! Progress! ;-)

What you need to know about adopting, rescues, etc.

I have had a lot of conversations lately with people about this and lots running through my head so I thought I would put it all out here. This may not be viewed happily by some, but it's the truth...

NOT all rescues are good places to adopt from. They just aren't. They may have their hearts in the right place. Honestly, I think ALL rescuers have to have their hearts in the right place because there is really no glory to rescue. It's time, money, stress, poop, pee, blood, frustration and more money! Yes, there's good like seeing a thriving pup or sick dog come back after having a rough start. However, there's way more stress than anything. The sad truth is, some rescues will do anything/say anything to get an animal adopted, even if that means they will not be right for your family, your family will not be right for them, they may not be good with your other animals, they are not healthy, they have a temperament that will not fit with your family (i.e doesn't like kids and you have kids), etc. Then you may find the opposite extreme of a "rescue" that has turned more in to a hoarder and refuses to adopt to anyone or makes their terms/fees, etc. so outrageous that no one will adopt from them.

This is what you need to know about adopting an animal/finding a reputable rescue:

• Research, research, research!!! You know how some rescues ask for a blood sample and your first born child?! (Well, not really, but you know what I mean.) They are doing this for a reason. They are doing this because they truly care where their rescues go. They are not just looking for adoption numbers or trying to "get rid of" animals. They really, truly care about where the animals are going.
• Ask your friends! Chances are, your friend has had an experience or knows someone that has, etc. If so, ask who they adopted through, what their experience was, were the animals healthy, did they accurately warn/tell of any issues with personality that they animal may have had?
• MANY places offer foster to adopt or a temporary adoption so that you can try the animal out in your home, with your family, your other animals, etc. A dog may be fantastic with other dogs...but you take it home and yours hates it or vice versa. Personally, I don't like everyone so I expect that an animal won't like everyone/everything, too. ;-) I am not saying that a rescue is bad if they do not offer this, but it is a great thing, in my experience/opinions.

Here are some things to ask. A GOOD rescue will tell you the truth and the whole truth, to find the animal a good home, but also to make sure that they are the right fit for your family. Doing anything less does a great disservice to the potential adoptive family AND the animal. An animal should be FOREVER and if a rescue is not honest, that may not be the case.

• Are your animals in foster homes? Have they been around children, cats, dogs?
• Are they potty trained/house trained? LOOK for this because if they're raised outside in a large pen or in a kennel, the answer is pretty much no. Even if they were at one time, chances are, they are no longer potty trained.
• Are they crate trained? Again, see the above.
• What vetting have they had? Shots?
• Have they ever bitten anyone?
• Why were they originally relinquished/given up? (Keeping in mind that the rescue may not always know this.)

Also keep in mind that many times, a rescue will pull from a shelter and, in that case, they cannot tell you their history. They can only tell you what they know since they have had the animal. A good rescue will keep them at least long enough to temperament test them so that they can tell you that, at least.

I have more that has been mulling through my head and will edit this as I think of more.

Crash

We have a short term foster, named Crash. He is such a soft snuggle bug and had no idea what it meant to be in a house, it seems. He's a little scared to come inside and happier to be in his crate than anything, but hopefully we can convince him otherwise soon.

It's an extremely busy time of year for me at work and I had just had a discussion with my husband this morning about fostering and that it was probably best if I didn't foster any more until after the holidays, after I found out that the two that I had committed to had been adopt. However, we went to volunteer and Crash was there, in a pen with adult dogs and he really needed some time away from the big dogs. I was told that he had someone coming to get him on the 12th and I couldn't really say no, could I?

Well, my husband is normally really good about who I am and what I do, but today not so much since we'd just had that discussion. I do understand the frustration. I do. However, when I see an animal that needs me, I do have a really hard time saying no.

So to him and all of the others that ask "Why you? Why not someone else? Why can't you just let someone else do it?" I say this...

“We do what we do, because of who we are. If we did otherwise, we would not be ourselves.” ― Neil Gaiman
♥ We do what we do because we believe. Because if we didn't, there's no guarantee that someone else will. We do what we do because it is important to us. It is who we are. This is for all of the people (including my husband) that ask "Why you? Why do you have to be the one? Why not someone else?" To all of the rescuers, fosters, adopters, animal advocates out there, thank you for being who you are and doing what you do, even when it's not always easy, cheap and there's not enough time in the day.

No puppies!

Gentle Ben went to his forever home last Saturday. Yay Ben! We hope you have a great life, you sweet boy!

We currently do not have any puppies in foster. We are on tentative hold to foster two puppies very short term this week, but I am waiting to hear for sure if we need to. If not, we have been asked by another rescue to take a few. I have said that I will, however, it's a crazy time of year at work so it's going to be rough to foster at all the rest of this month. We will do what they need us to, though!

Goodbye, sweet Deuce!

Rusty's Legacy had adoption day today and we were to bring Deuce and Gentle Ben down. People were clamoring over Deuce as we brought him in. Of course! He is a sweet cuddle bug!!! By the time we got back, he had been adopted! Yay Deuce! You go, sweet boy, and have a fantastic life!!!

Gentle Ben came back home with us. He does have an approved adoption application. We have been told that he may go home in another day or so.

Here's sweet Gentle Ben on the way home.

You've gotta have Faith.

Annnnnd we had Faith AND her owner was found!!! I don't know if I should chalk it up to a small town or my big mouth or what, but I mentioned to someone about her last night, then they connected tonight when their friend said that their dog was missing...that it was this girl! Her name is NOT Faith, but in my mind it still is!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Yesterday, on the way to bring my son to do a project for school (due today, it didn't get done. :-X ), we were on the interstate. Speed limit 70mph. I had just passed a truck around a corner. In the middle of the interstate, I saw her. A dog. Limping. Bewildered. In shock, it appeared.

My first instinct was to pull over. I slowed down and pulled off to the side of the road. A pick up truck stopped on the opposite side (in the middle of the interstate, where she had lingered to). ALL of the cars behind us stopped. Even the tractor trailer. Looking back now, that is absolutely amazing to me. However, somehow, I had faith that they would.

The owner of the other truck asked me if the dog was mine. I was said no, she isn't. He said he would take her, but he had other dogs in his truck and he wasn't sure what would happen. I told him that I would take her. This kind young main (mid 20's, if I had to guess), walked across the interstate, picked her up gently without hesitation and put her in the back of my Jeep. Surprising, but I had faith that he would. He was a kind soul. You could see it in his eyes and demeanor. Whoever you are out there, thank you for helping save this little girl.

The back of my jeep was full of fishing stuff since that was part of the project. I asked my son to come sit in the back with her and comfort her on the trip to...wherever we were going. At that time, I really didn't know WHERE we taking her or what we were doing with her. I just knew that she deserved better than what she had been given and we were not leaving her on the side of the road where she had been thrown out like a bag of trash. My son got in the back with her, trying to calm her down, comfort her and keep her happy. She was so sweet and gentle. I had faith that it would be okay. (We have had a negative reaction from a dog that we did not know before and injured dogs can be unpredictable, but we did not see any other option at the time.)

By the way, the kind soul above? He also followed us all of the way to the next exit, very closely. I had my flashers on and my son in the far back of the jeep, enclosed, but I was not at all comfortable with it and I think this young man knew it. Again, what a kind soul, deserving of many thanks.

My phone, about to die, made the call to the only contact that I could think of, one of the kindest souls that I know, Jeri, of a local rescue. I left a message, I probably sounded frantic. What do I do? I don't know who to take her to or what to do. I just knew that what was done to this girl was not humane and I was determined not to let her die that way. And Jeri called back with answers. I had faith that she would, even though I hated asking her to help take on this problem.

She made calls and we headed to a local vet with her. She was such a good girl the entire time. Obviously in pain, but she mostly just cuddled with my son in the back. When they brought the stretcher out for her, she was a little unsure, but really so good. She never made a peep, nipped, yelped or anything. My oldest (14) kept telling her what a good girl she is. We believe she is a boxer mix. She weighs approx. 45lbs.

She has a dislocated hip. Care will run around $800. The vet is letting payments be made, all money due by December 1. The rescue has started a ChipIn and I have Faith that we can raise the money. Please donate a dollar or two (or more, if you are so inclined) and share this link far and wide. I have faith that we can show this little girl that all humans are NOT bad.

Thank you for sharing, donating or even just reading and sending a positive thought for whom we call "Faith" in our home and hearts. (I do not know what the official rescue name for her is/will be. She is Faith to us until we hear otherwise.) It is very much appreciated!

If you prefer to donate directly to her, she is at Crestview in Marion, NC and is the I-40 dog under Rusty's Legacy rescue. If you think you might want to adopt her once she has healed, please contact Rusty's Legacy. Once this is all said and done, she is spayed and well, she will need a forever home.

Foster #5 Deuce & Gentle Ben, pitty puppies

It doesn't get much cuter than that!!!

I decided to take a foster break. That lasted just about 2 1/2 weeks. Whoops!

I know that we have local rescues, but until now, I had been fostering for a rescue about 35 minutes away for a rescue that I think very highly of. I had also put in contacts with a local rescue, but due to illnesses and fragility, she prefers to keep little puppies in her home.

Well, I saw a call go out for a local rescue that they had a sudden influx of puppies. This rescue happens to be literally a couple of roads down from me, just 2 minutes from our house, tops. So I thought, why not? I put the word out, made the call and that evening these two sweet, tiny pups with their little grunts and puppy breath were sleeping in our house.

Oh. my. goodness! are they sweet?! They came with their problems that they need help with, namely antibiotics for a respiratory infection, salve for their pressure wounds (due to being too many pups in too small of a space) and formula (due to really being too small to eat solid food, yet).

They came here three days ago and they are doing so much better already. Crawling around more, no more grunting and they are attempting to eat solid food without the formula. Their job right now is to sleep, eat and grow and mine is to feed them and keep them clean, basically.

And my biggest challenge right now is not holding them and snuggling them! hahaha They are so sweet and snuggly and just adorable.

This will be our longest foster as we should have them for 4-6 weeks since they will need to be vaccinated twice before they can be adopted out. They are still fairly young (hence the formula and such) and you can tell it when they are walking around.

Gentle Ben already has an approved adoption application so when he is old enough to go, he already has a home waiting for him! WOOT!!!

I'm tired and I feel guilty.

I brought Marnie & Rocket back yesterday. They were for sure our cutest fosters, but also our hardest. They were potty trained which was good. Unfortunately, they did not want to be inside. Like, at all. And I will not leave pups outside. That's not how they are supposed to be and we didn't get our yard fenced in just so we could leave animals outside. HOWEVER, I let them out as often as I was comfortable. More than, really. They couldn't be in long without crying to go out. Even in the rain. It was exhausting. Especially at night. As much as I don't like them to be out much during the day, I hate it at night. The big bad dark night and all things unknown out there like boogey men and scary monsters!

No, seriously, one night, Marnie cried so much that I gave in FOUR times to getting up and letting her go out to potty. FOUR TIMES!!! It was the night before they were ready to go back and I was so. dang. ready!!!

Yet they were sweet and cute and loved to cuddle and play. They weren't used to being inside and were happier outside. It was hard for all involved, I'm afraid. They weren't unhappy, I don't think. They were just happier outside. Especially Marnie.

They were due back on my 15 year wedding anniversary. My husband very sweetly suggested that I just go up by myself and he would stay home with the toddler. The rest of the crew was at school. I'm not sure I've ever dropped pups off before alone or I just don't remember. The puppies "only" woke up to go out two times that night, but it had been raining for days and they were so muddy and wet puppy stinky. I wanted them to find a home, of course so I wanted the first impression to be great and there was a guy that wanted me to call him so he could be there when we arrived back to the rescue (they had put him in touch with me). I bathed them and put pretty kerchiefs on them, etc., etc.

And we got there and I got the crate out of my van and they heard the other dogs and they got scared. And my eyes got damp. What?! No. I was okay for these pups to be going back. It had been a long two weeks and they had been harder to deal with than babies. At least with babies, I could contain them somewhat and nurse them back to sleep! BUT my eyes got damp. I'm sure it was the rain. That must have been what made my heart twinge a little, too. I got them in and stumbled and stuttered trying to explain who I was and what I brought back. The rescue coordinator came out and knew so I was able to just give some pets and cuddles and not talk so much.

And that was my hardest fostering, in more ways than way. Good luck, sweet Marnie and Rocket. May you find your forever homes very soon.

Litter #4 - Australian Shepherd x Australian Cattle Dog - Rocket & Marnie

I was taking a nap with my sick toddler who had kept me up the night before from coughing and tossing and turning and the phone woke me up. It was J telling me that they really needed a foster for some puppies, could I please come get them today. Yes, of course. It was not a good day for it, but I switched some things around and we went to get them.

We pulled in and saw these two fluffy puppies in the back of someones vehicle in a crate. I said out loud to the kids "Oh! I hope those are the puppies!!!" We got up on the porch just as J came out, pointed to me and told the lady "Oh, there's your foster now!" and it was for the fluffy pups!!! I definitely did a squee!!! These are for sure our cutest fosters, yet!

They are two girls named Rocket & Marnie (they came with those names). They are australian shepherd x australian cattle dog. Rocket looks more like the cattle dog and Marnie more like the shepherd.

The story is the lady's son is a truck driver for Lowe's, was out in the country and saw a guy getting ready to shoot these puppies because he didn't want them so he took them. 1)WHO does that?!!!! 2)Why not just take some responsibility and get your dog fixed so you no longer have litters that you don't want?! 3)Another example of the human race disgusting me!!!

They are 6 weeks old right now and we have them for two weeks. They are just as sweet as can be and so fluffy! SQUEEEE!

As a side note, the poodle, Bandit, that I got from a customer got adopted to "the best home ever" according to the adoption manager. He had to have a lot of dental work (16 teeth removed! WOW!!!) and I wonder if the other people knew that and couldn't afford it and that's the true reason that they relinquished him. Either way, he got adopted within less than a week and I'm glad they are thrilled with where he went!

Goodbye Charlie & Sage

They are leaving Wednesday. The antibiotics worked well and they are feeling great. They are such great big, smooshy, cuddly goobers. We have really enjoyed having them here. It was rough when we found out that they were sick and when we realized that our poodle got the kennel cough from them, too :-( but we hope that they have a great new home soon! They are due to go be fixed Thursday morning.

I think we will be taking a little foster break after this to make sure Zoey recovers from the kennel cough completely.

How much is that doggie in the window?

Yesterday was...an interesting day at work. I am still processing. Or trying to. This has nothing to do with mail, really. It was just an avenue to enable what happened yesterday, I think. I'm still kind of feeling like I have whiplash from the events of the day.

I was near the end of a route and it's one that I've only subbed less than a handful of times. I probably had 30-45 minutes to go and I had a registered package that needed to be signed for. Wugh. So I pulled in and the lady must have been expecting me because she came right out. I will preface this by saying animals are the thing that I *always* see and comment on. I just do. Possibly because I see them and interact with them more than people...or possibly because I like them more than people. ;-)

Anyway, she was signing, I looked up and saw a puppy looking out of her window...and smiling. Seriously. Smiling, people!!! It appeared to be a poodle, like our Zoey. So I struck up a conversation, asking how old it was, etc.

"How cute! How old?"

"5 years old?

"5! Years? He's tiny!!! How sweet!"

"He's a teacup poodle...and...I'm thinking about getting rid of him if you know anyone that would want him."

*paranoid glancing around* Am I on candied camera? Is someone testing me? AGAIN? "Hmmm...my husband might kill me if I bring home another dog from work. BUT if someone *paranoid look* did want him, how much are you asking for a rehoming fee?"

"Oh hon, nothing. I just need to find a home for him."

Lesson learned. Never, ever, again, ask on the mail route, how much is that doggie in the window!

Longer longer longer story short, her kids are almost grown, her husband is a trucker and she cannot take two dogs out on the road. She has a chi that she is very attached to due to a near death experience with the neighbors dog and she has nursed the chi basically back to life from death of being ripped apart. I understand why she is more attached to the chi. I have no idea how long she had the poodle, but it didn't sound like long or that perhaps she wasn't attached to him.

It ended with me giving her my number and telling her to talk to her husband and give me a call. Because she had mentioned making sure, otherwise he would have been in my jeep immediately. She said okay, I'll call you in a few minutes.

She wasn't joking. I had time to call my sister in-law to tell her to talk me out of it, tell me I was crazy or something. You see, we've actually been looking for another poodle. But not a 2 1/2 lb stuffed toy! haha For the record, my sister in-law didn't help talk me out of it at all. *sigh* I had to hang up with her to answer the call for the lady who wanted to know how soon I could come get him.

So he's flipping adorable. He is more than SQUEEEE! worthy. He loves to play and he has a rain coat that he insists on wearing when he goes outside in the rain and he is just a funny little personality.

The problem is that by the time I got back to the post office, I had convinced myself that he was just too small for our family. My sister in-law and brother were interested in him so we brought him to visit. He had great fun with my niece poodle ;-) but ultimately they decided that they didn't want another dog at this time.

I need to decide what to do. We're more than slightly attached already. Which is crazy because I went in to this KNOWING that we were not keeping him and telling the kids that. BUT we are getting attached. Dangit, we are getting attached. AND we do not do this. We don't do it with foster dogs. I made plans on our course of action when we got home so that I wouldn't get attached. So that we would treat him like a foster dog (where we get *sort of* attached, but not the same way that we would our own pup). Yet, we are getting attached. *sigh* Whether this means that he is our next family member or not, I do not know. I'm scared to even think that, to be honest. He's just so small and cute and I'm so afraid of falling for another dog. *sigh*

What I DO know about him:
He is 5yrs old.

He is approx. 2 1/2 lbs.

He has an occasional slight limp that they have no idea why.

He is NOT neutered (that will be fixed ASAP).

He likes women more than men.

He is very cuddly.

He is potty trained.

He is so small, he has to wear a cat coller. *snicker*

He loves to play.

He has been fed people food and "potted meat" (I assume this is Spam?) and doesn't know that he is supposed to eat people food. I need help with this one. *sigh*

Good news and bad news...

The bad news is, a few nights ago, I noticed that Charlie was coughing at night. Kind of a dry cough, but often and persistent. I thought it might be hot and that was it. Or perhaps he was getting his head caught in the top of the crate at night because it is large wire holes and they like to stick their heads out of the top to look around. I thought maybe he was irritating his throat or something. I wasn't really sure. Well yesterday when I came home from work, I noticed that he had green snot on his nose. Hmmm...I was tired and went to bed soon after. In one of my middle of the night googles (yes, seriously. That's what I do in the middle of the night when I can't sleep.), I searched the symptoms and holy crud. Kennel cough. No. Flipping no. It would be one thing if it were the foster pups, though bad enough, but what about the pup that we have? We really cannot handle another loss. Yes she's almost 4 and she should be fine, but it's super contagious and there's no guarantee.

So I called the rescue (suggested if you foster) the next morning from work to let them know the symptoms and ask for suggestions. They said it sounded like kennel cough. Come get some medicine. I told them Sage did not seem sick, just Charlie. By the time I got home, Sage has green snot, too. Blargh.

They are both on antibiotics now and we will keep them longer since they need to get healthy before they can go back and they definitely cannot go back to the rescue or get their spay/neuter until they are healthy. We have a 7 day course of antibiotics to give them, but hopefully they will feel better within 48 hours.

The good news is, we had to weigh the pups to see what they needed for medicine and they are HUGE! Even the rescue representative was shocked! Sage weighs 12lbs now and Charlie weighs 16lbs! Holy crumb! I knew they had grown quite a bit, but had no idea they had grown THAT much! Wowsers!!!

My intent.

My intent for this blog is not to shame or guilt anyone in to adopting, fostering, etc. Not even to shame or guilt in to spaying or neutering (though I firmly and strongly suggest it!). I do not want you to foster or adopt if you do not want to. That would not be fair to the animals. I also do not want you to take on more than you can handle. Again, not fair to the animals.

My intent in this is to educate and show that it truly is so feasible. YOU set your limits.

For instance, I did have a negative animal adopting scenario during the Summer so I am pretty firm on what I can/will foster. Right now, we are signed up to foster young puppies or a puppy. We have 5 children and didn't feel like it was good for them for us to bring in larger unknown dogs with unknown temperaments. Once my children are grown, what I am willing and able to foster will change.

And truly, even if you cannot foster or adopt, there is something that almost anyone can do. Even if it's donating a can of food to the shelter, old blankets, helping out at an adoption event, going to pet or walk animals...I cannot even possibly cover everything that they need help with. Not just financial help, but actual working or petting hands. Even if you don't think you are able to, it doesn't hurt to give them a call and see if there is anything that you can do. Even if it's just a hour a month or dropping off bleach for them to clean with. It takes so many people to make a rescue work, some with lots of times and abilities and some that may only be able to do one thing. Reach out...see what you can do...

One of the draw backs of foster and rescue..

is that sometimes you get a "permanent". ;-) Okay, this isn't really a drawback. It just depends on who you ask.

We do not have a BIG house, but we have space. Plenty of space for another cat. That's what I told my husband, anyway. So I looked at Rutherfordton Animal Control and I saw a big fat cat on there. I showed my son, who wanted another cat. I got the "Awwwww!!!!!!!! OHHHHHH!" from all of my children which to me is akin to the "two thumbs up".

So down we went to meet Petra. Approximately 3 year old, spay, up to date on shots cat. Big, fat cat.

She is now Ivy and she is ours. :-D

Litter # 3 - Catahoula mixes

I have a problem. It's called offering myself even when I shouldn't.

So I had been sick for...three weeks, at this point. I saw the S.O.S on facebook. The rescue that I work with had puppies. CUTE SQUEEEEE!!!!! puppies!!! So being my brilliant self, I say "If you ever need help, you know where to find me!" Well...we ALWAYS need fosters. How many do you want and when can you come get them?

Tomorrow? Okay!

So began our 3rd foster. I was feeling a little better by this point. I could actually get out of bed without screaming (until the next day, anyway) so that was saying something! My daughter (9) wasn't feeling well that day so off we went to Asheville.

C goes to look in the puppy cage, comes around the corner and says "Mommy, I REALLY hope those are NOT the puppies that we are getting. They are HUGE!!!" and I think her eyes popped out of her head. haha She had made the mistake of thinking they would be in the same cage that we had gotten the other ones. Turns out they had a full grown hound and lab in the cage that day. ;-)

I must say, I love, love, love this rescue. I love walking in. I love talking to the people. I love seeing the animals. I love seeing the volunteers. I just believe in this place so very, very much. I feel "home" there. Anyway, the foster coordinator leans down to my daughter and says "These puppies could REALLY use a bath." ;-) DD bathed the last litter before we brought them back so that they would be nice and fresh before their spay/neuters. It still amazes me that the foster coordinator remembered that, with everything else that she has to remember!

So these pups were CUTE and big. Like probably catahoula/hound/pitt/anybody elses guess, but they were still puppies and the SQUEEEEE!!! came later once they were cleaned. Because when I first smelled...er...I mean...saw? them? My first thought was OH. EM. GEE!!! you guys are shmelllyyyyyy! ;-)

We got them home and I bathed them right away. Too big of a job for C! Did I mention shmellllyyyyy?! And then I put a collar on each of them. They are finally tolerating them. Next step is leashes.

They are growing like weeds. So tall. They have these big fat thick heads and they are so sweet, soft and gentle. They love cuddles. They take their big fat heads and put them right under your chin and just snuggle up. They are crate trained and good with the kids and they just love to snuggle.

We will for sure miss Sage and Charlie when they go back. We have them for two weeks.

Our second fosters...for real this time...

Chance and Molly (the abandoned pups from the first post) were snuggly at home and settling in with my family and I got the text. The real one this time. The one saying "Okay so can you come and pick up this litter of 5?"

Sure...I can, BUT I have these other two puppies here that I didn't expect to have and I know nothing about them and...and...and...yes, just tell me what I need to do and I'll do it!

So we got Chance and Molly on Tuesday, I think. Or maybe Wednesday. Honestly, it all blends together now that it's over! And we got the text asking to come and pick up the jack russel terrier/beagle mix puppies on Friday. hahaha Yeah, sure. Easy peasy, right? What's 5 more?

WELL, what I didn't know then, but know now (and this is mucho important if you plan to foster more than one litter at once!!!) is that they cannot co-mingle. No eating together, no sleeping together, no poo'ing on the lawn together!!! TOTAL separation!!! You cannot co-mingle two different litters if you do not know where they are from, if they aren't on the same place in their vaccinations, etc. You see where this is going, right? CRAZINESS!!! Utterly fun, happy, panting, licking, tail wagging craziness!!!

Also, if you don't know, many rescues provide EVERYTHING you need to foster. Not just the puppies, but the food, crates, bedding, and X pens. Oh yes, X pens are from heaven. Especially when you need to separate litters!!!

I came home from work that day and instructed everyone, get in the van quick, we are going to get the puppies!!! BTW, vans are great, but 5 kids + 1 adult + 5 puppies and all of their gear is still a lot of stuff to fit in a mini van!

We got there and the foster coordinator said "Okay, here's all of your stuff. Are you sure?! You already have 5 kids?! Are you crazy?!" Yes, yes I am. What's 5 more?!

Oh. my. gracious! Five tail wagging, squirmy, cute little puppies!!! SQUEEEEEE! (I will warn you that this is my reaction every. time. I don't think the cuteness of puppies gets old. Ever. It doesn't for me, anyway.) They were ours for a week. One was already adopted out, but couldn't go to her home because she had to be fixed first. Between you and me, I'm secretly glad that she already had dibs on her because I was slightly attached to her. She was the cutest, smartest little Spitfire. And that's what we nicknamed her. Spitfire. We rarely know their names...whether they aren't named or we don't ask...I'm really not sure. We give them nicknames while they are here, though. Which is funny because that's what my parents always said to me as a kid and what I always said to mine...don't name them! If you name them, you will not be able to let go! BUT we name them now. And it's okay. So we had spitfire, spots, bambi (my other favorite!), shady and jumper. They were fun and chaotic and it was a really fun, crazy and neat experience.

And I breathed a huge sigh of relief when I brought them back. Not because they were bad or hard or anything like that. Simply because, in case I hadn't mentioned it, having two different litters that needed to be kept separate was really, very, difficult.

And my children? Hats off to my children. I worked all of that week and was sick as well. My children were absolute troopers. They did so much. If I ever doubted their work ethic or their loves of animals, that week would have proven to me that they were perfect.

Our first fosters...or not!!!

August, we got the call! Well...the e-mail, really. It wasn't quite as spectacular as it sounds, but it was THE e-mail. "Hey Cindy...we have a litter of puppies that we are going to need a home for. Possibly two weeks. Can you do it? How many do you think you can handle?"

Yes! Yes! YES!!! We were so excited. OF COURSE we can take puppies! I don't know how many...probably no more than 10. What do you think?

Crazy Cindy! We would never give you 10 at once...how about 5?

Oh yes. 5. 5 we can do! That's one puppy for each kid! We can do that, right? Let me know when to come and get them.

So we waited. And waited. And waited. "We cannot get hold of the current foster mom. Will let you know as soon as we do."

So I worked that week. And I pulled up to a mail box. And I saw a puppy crest over the hill. And I smiled. And I saw another puppy crest over the side, running towards my Jeep. And my heart dropped. These weren't just happy, playful puppies running around their yard. These guys were rough, they had bruises, they were hungry and they were alone.

Let me preface this by saying that I have worked for the P.O for three and a half years by this point and I have ALWAYS kept an eye out for animals. I'd talked to the local rescues, I'd been told where the "drop off" points were (and this disgust me that we even live in a world that this phrase exists!!!) and I always kept an open eye and ears. I have animal food in all of my vehicles (personal and work) just in case we find strays. I had told my husband from day 1 - IF I find a stray or abandoned animal on the side of the road, it will be coming home with me. THAT is who I am, that is what I do. My kids know it, my husband knows it. That is me. That is who my parents raised me to be and for that, I am grateful. So I was prepared, yes, I was, mentally, but my heart? My heart was not prepared.

So I pull over and I grab these puppies and I put them on my lap and I drive to the nearest house. Still in my mind, not wanting to believe that someone would want to leave these sweet puppies in this so conveniently vacant little strip of road. I find a man who swears he has never seen them here before (but *wink* I saw some just like that on X road, but please don't tell anyone that I told you), that it looks like one has buck shot (later turned out was probably just bite wounds from fighting for it's food) and if they can't keep their animals safe, they shouldn't have them. Okay sir, well, I'm taking them, if anyone is looking for them, you know where to find me. *snuggles and stuck in a non-puppy approved usps container until I could take a break and bring them home*

I called home and my husband, bless him, only replied "Okay" when I said "Hon, you know how I said if I ever found puppies on the side of the road, I was bringing them home? Well, today is the day." Still freaking a little that I was doing something wrong (and how could doing the right thing, saving these pups, be wrong?!), I kept peering out the windows and worrying, but no one was looking for these puppies. No one cared. They had thrown them out on the side of the road and in their minds, they were no longer their problem. They were disposable.

I pulled in to my yard to my daughter's at the door saying "Mommy is home! Mommy is home!" and I called "Did daddy tell you why I am here? I'm not done for the day." and before I could get the fence opened completely, I was greeted by the astounding shrill of "PUPPIES!!! PUPPIES!!! DADDY MOMMY BROUGHT HOME PUPPPPPIES!!!!!!!!!"

My husband...well...he isn't exactly an animal person, but he knows who he married and he tolerates my soft heart. He just kind of gave me "the look" (I'm so familiar with this look that I can capture it in my mind, but it's pretty hard to explain, sort of an exasperated "Again? What will we do with THESE?" kind of rolly eyes look.) and I gave him the *shrug* "You know I just couldn't leave them there." look and quickly followed up with the girls, telling them what needed to be done, we were just taking care of them for a little bit, they aren't ours, don't get attached, just love them while we have them speech.

On auto pilot at that point because I did not want to stress too much about what was going on, but I knew at that point I left them in the best hands that I could. My children have been around animals since they were born. They know what needs to be done and they give the best hugs and love. :-) Only my girls (9 and 6) were home at that point as the boys were at Grandpa's. I heard later that they were pretty happy when they got home as well.

I took a break later on my route and called the owner of a local rescue that I have talked to in the past to offer myself as a foster. Thank goodness, she listened to my stressed rambling and was very sweet to offer to help. She met up with me later that evening to check them out, worm them and get them vaccinated. We still don't know what these pups were. Lab and something else...anyone's guess, really. That day began the game of "Whose your daddy?!" that we tend to play with any of our fosters.

So Chance and Molly are what they became...

Ultimately, we had Chance and Molly for three weeks. The fantastic rescue in Asheville, NC that I was on the foster list said "Sure, bring them up, we will give them their final vaccinations and get them adopted out!" Honestly, I feel like everything just came in to alignment just so for these pups. I was at the right place at the right time, I knew the right people with huge hearts that were willing to help and I had the right contacts. These pups just KNEW who they were running out in front of that day and it worked out just. right! because of the fantastic people in my life that were willing to step up and help!

And then....there were 7...continued in next post...

Who we are and why we do what we do!

Hello! You are probably here because you know me or are a friend of a friend and have some knowledge of what I do. However, I'll give a little more details, just in case someone comes upon this cold.

My name is Cindy and I am the mom of five children. They currently range (Sep. 2011) from 2 1/2 to almost 14 years old. I am a substitute mail carrier with the USPS.

I have loved children and animals for as long as I can remember. I always said that I wanted to be a mommy. Or a veterinarian. Or both. My mommy dreams came through and then some! I have always continued to love animals, as well.

I remember many days as a child, going outside and seeing that someone had dropped off yet another animal at our home. I wanted to keep them all, of course, but it just was not feasible. Unfortunately (fortunately?), I have never quite gotten over that need to help them all! As a child, I remember at one point, we had 17 cats and multiple dogs, thanks to irresponsible people abandoning them at our home in the country. In their minds, I am sure it was better for them that dropping them off at the pound, but it just left the problem in someone else's hands.

That brings us to now. I have had some form of animal the majority of my adult life. From cats and dogs to chickens and ducks! We currently have a poodle (Zoey), a cat (Cooper) that we adopted as a kitten from a family friend and an older cat (Ivy) that we adopted Sep. 2011 from a high kill shelter.

This blog will be about our adventures in fostering and rescue for various rescues and shelters. We cannot do everything, we cannot save them all, but we can do more than we think. I used to think well, I cannot save them all. I cannot save a lot of them. So maybe what I do doesn't matter at all, but it does! You can make a difference in so many lives. We can touch many lives, by fostering. Ordinary people can foster. Even short term fostering can help so very much. Can you find it in your hearts to foster? Most rescues will provide everything that you need, from food, to crates, to bowls and bedding. Find a rescue that you believe in, reach out and see if fostering is for you!