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!