A tiny bit more joy

Nothing describes the excitement it brings when you hear from your foster dog's new family, even months after the adoption has happened. The updates and pics are more spaced out, but they still manage to be the highlights in my day.  Before today, the last I heard was on the one month mark of being adopted. It went a little something like this:

I wish I had a pic of this because I be he looked pretty darn goofy. Hearing this though definitely lets me know that he's comfortable where he is because his curiosity and sense of adventure are emerging. 

Today could not end soon enough. I couldn't wait to get home from work to share a cute little story that Shi's mom sent today. I showed it to a co-worker and she immediately demanded, "Go show that to everyone here that likes dogs, NOW!" So now I'm showing it to the blog world, because you guys have to like dogs somewhere in there if you're reading this. 

and here is the accompanying picture (get ready to giggle): 

Love that boy. We put some plans for me to visit in motion and hopefully it happens in the next two weeks. (I'll obviously be posting some pictures)

Sharing a little piece of joy

Do I really need to do anything more than that?

I wasn't planning on blogging tonight, but I had to share my joy. I'm still running on that post adoption euphoria that comes with knowing that you did something really right. really right. 

Thank goodness for another open adoption. I can't imagine how hard it would be to have said goodbye to that boy after seven months and never hear of him again. His new mom has continued with updates every few days or so and a picture here and there. Each one stops me dead in my tracks. I imagine its something like having a child out there in the world. Sure, other texts are important, but when I get these, the world stops. One of the texts shortly after I received this picture tonight said that Shiloh being with them has been the best thing to happen to them in a while.

In the past 2 weeks, Shi has made outstanding progress. It didn't take him too long to start eating and he's made friends with the neighbors and their golden retriever, Summer. One morning, I received a picture that his mom had taken at 3 a.m. when she awoke to Shi's head on her stomach. She hadn't anticipated him staying in bed with her long, but when she woke up, he had remained, and her little boy had joined them as well, Shiloh somehow laying on top of him at the same time. My only worries about him these days is that he will be a very spoiled dog, but that is no worry at all. He deserves it. 

Shiloh's new I.D. tag
"the peace offering"

Maggie

And on to the other dog joys in my life, I attended my first dog adoption event with a shelter dog today since sometime last winter. I had this sweet little corgi mix named Maggie to show off. The little lady loved the car ride to Petco and was so pleasant for the 3 hours that we camped out in the store. The not so happy part of the story was how she came to the shelter. Maggie had been adopted from it 6 years ago and was recently returned because they "couldn't get rid of the fleas." I'm sure they blame it on the dog and I sure hope they don't get another thinking that it won't happen again. This girl was seriously so adorable. She wagged her little tail at everyone that walked by and had no trouble parking herself on my lap in between people petting her. Hopefully the right people come along for her soon. 

Java

Speaking of the right people coming along, meet Java! He is the newest addition to Black Dog Coffee, located a hot second from where I work. My co-workers had the lovely pleasure of seeing me go goo-goo-ga-ga over that adorable little puppy. They witnessed the real Emily. The one that has absolutely adores dogs, especially black ones. I told them to never ask me if I wanted to join them on a coffee run, just tell me when we're going. It was one of the things that made my July 3rd truly wonderful. I'm so excited to frequent the shop and have the opportunity to watch him grow. 

This photo posted by my B.F.F.'s shelter popped up on my facebook news feed this week and feels like an appropriate thing to end with. A lot of people say they could never foster and almost make me feel heartless because I keep a dog for so long and then just give it away, but this puts it well. My fosters are amazing creatures that I feel so honored to give a temporary home to. I have found 2 outstanding homes for them and it makes missing them not so hard. I love my boys. 

Another happy ending

I was thinking today that I had recently started to call Shiloh "my dog," but after reviewing my previous  posts that he appears in, I guess I've been doing it a lot longer than I thought. He's not mine anymore, by the way. The beautiful blond was adopted on Saturday and boy ol' boy, was it bittersweet.

After all of those flooding emails that I could barely keep up with in February, the interest quickly died. Maybe it was because he was marked adopted on Petfinder? I think so. It took me over a month and many nagging e-mails to get him back on the site, but there was still no interest. Moving into a new apartment appeared on my horizon and Shiloh wasn't going to be able to accompany me. The fire was under my chair, but not so much under my heart. I worked on getting Shiloh a little more socialized with longer walks and many at a park very close to our house. We attended adoption events when we could, but the odds didn't look to be in our favor. There was a fundraising event one week in place of the usual adoption event. No one showed up to the next scheduled event at Petsmart, so Shiloh and I hung out with the greyhound rescue for about an hour and then headed home. Shiloh was even published in the newsletter throughout my office (around 600 employees) and still nothing. Then, out of no where, there was some interest again. A woman with a little boy that she described as quiet and shy who had been asking for a golden retriever for the last few years. The woman wanted to meet as soon as possible, so we coordinated with the shelter and we met 2 days later. She was sweet and quiet, and most importantly, optimistic. She talked softly to Shiloh and understood much better than most that he was uncomfortable. She also understood much better than most that it was because of the environment we were in and that he can be so much more. We talked with the shelter staff and said that pending her application, Shiloh could go home with her the following Saturday.

Not that this woman wasn't a perfect match, but I didn't see the shelter saying no to someone interested in adopting the dog that I'd fostered for over seven months. We didn't hear until the Thursday before, but I got the call from the shelter asking when I'd be free to bring him in for the adoption. The Friday before involved a lot of cuddling, and pretty much the whole week leading up to it as well because I was almost certain it was coming. Adoptions are very weird as a foster mom. It's like the dog has a planned death. Every daily task becomes a countdown. We have 5 more walks to take, this is the last night I will feed him dinner, this is our last visit to the park, and the last car ride before we head to the shelter. You can prepare yourself all you want for that moment, but it's the moments afterwards that you know will come and there is nothing you can do about it. For example, I had no idea what time to set my alarm for this morning because I've never gone to this job without being a foster mom. I also almost texted my mom during the day to ask how he was doing and remembered that he wasn't with her. They say that it takes 7 weeks to create a habit, 7 months drills it into your life. No matter what the circumstance, Shiloh leaving our home wasn't going to be easy. That being said, I got so so lucky.

This would be one of those times where I sat down and his inner lap-dog went on display. 

Heading home after a walk at the park. 

Driveway moments

Shiloh actually became a great off-leash dog. Yeah, he would ignore you 
when you first would let him out, but give him a few minutes
and he would come when I called or show up on the
porch completely out of breath. 

As I mentioned before, this woman actually was a perfect match. She sent me an e-mail once we confirmed the adoption time for Saturday exclaiming her excitement and how her little boy was on cloud 9. She asked all of the right questions, like what food was he used to eating, and promised that this would be an open adoption. It was all wonderful to read right before bed, but at the same time, it brought me to crawl out of bed onto the floor with Shiloh and cry over him for a few minutes. Yes, I foster because I don't feel like I'm in a good place to have a permanent dog, but it still isn't easy. The next night, Shiloh and I were attached at the hip. He got a bath that made him softer than ever. (I wish I would have done it so much sooner.) He was so clean that I decided to put him in bed with me. He wouldn't jump on his own, so I lifted the chunk up and he cuddled like it was his job. I wish I would have started doing this a long time ago because he laid right up against me and every now and then would lift up his head and give me a lick. The next morning, we went to that same park we frequented and took a long walk. By the time we got home, we only had 45 minutes to get ready before we drove to the shelter. There isn't much you can do in 45 minutes, so I left Shiloh alone and he slept in our guest bedroom. My mom said her goodbyes and we loaded up.

After his bath, Friday night. 

Last night to cuddle. His head is totally between my pillows. 

Last walk at the park...and of course, he blinked.

Shiloh's new little boy  snuggling
with him at the shelter.

Shiloh and I pulled up next to his new family's vehicle and the little boy got out right away and came around to my side of the car and said a quiet little "hi." Shiloh had no interest in getting out of the car with all of the barking and commotion going on at the shelter, as usual. The woman's son, while very shy, was teeming with excitement. He was very quiet, as his mom had described. and whispered to Shiloh that everything was going to be okay. We went inside to the drama of the shelter, which involved some girls with a dog that their friends had left with them for 3 days while they moved and they never came back, never answered their phone calls. They paid no attention to what the dog was doing while they told the story and he kept creeping up behind Shiloh, (who was completely checked out of the situation and staring out the window) and it made me so nervous. I didn't think I'd react like that, but I almost used my foot to move him away. I guess ever since the biting incident, I'm more cautious about other dogs getting near him because he does tend to separate himself from uncomfortable situations and I don't want him getting caught off-gaurd again. After they left, the drama was put on pause for a moment and Shiloh's new mom had the chance to sit down and fill out the contract with the adoption coordinator telling her that if were to ever not work out, Shiloh must come back to them or myself personally. I love that part of the contract that they have verbalized at both of my foster's adoptions.

After all of the signatures lines were filled, Shiloh's new family went out to the car to get his new collar, harness, and leash. I'm taking it as a sign that the harness was one that I wanted to buy for another dog at one point, but it didn't fit. I unbuckled the collar and harness that he's been sporting since November and adjusted and fastened the new ones. Shiloh's new mom held the leash and he didn't budge, only looked with worried eyes. I said to her, "I don't mind giving him a tug," so I took the leash and he knew that meant to follow and we headed out to their vehicle. As soon as the door to the backseat was open, Shiloh bounded in. Like I've mentioned before, I'll never understand why he always gets in the car so easily, but it's makes life easy. I bent down and said my goodbyes and kissed his face. While closing the door, the little boy says to me, "Miss Emily, you can come visit him at our house whenever you want!'

Words cannot express how thankful I am that there are people our there like Shiloh's adoptive family. And I can't forget Finn's too. Jessica was an amazing support to me on Saturday. She knows all to well what it is like to be on both sides of the transfer. She first adopted Finn, but more recently rescued 4 baby kittens and raised them until they were old enough to be adopted. Shiloh is doing great, which in turn, makes me feel a whole heck of a lot better. I got a text from his new family a few hours after we separated saying that they had made it home, had taken a tour of the neighborhood and that he seemed to be doing really well. I didn't hear too much after that so I was thinking the worst yesterday and today until I got another text tonight that brought along more tears. They had just taken a long walk together and her little boy asked her to take a picture of him and Shiloh to send to me to let me know that Shiloh was happy. She also reported that Shi had wagged his tail this morning when they woke up and that he even licked her. I also heard that he snuggled in bed with her son for about an hour last night, before retreating to a doorless closet to get some sleep himself. I'm so happy for him and I'm so happy for them. Shiloh has a family that pledged to care for him and love him for the rest of his life, and they now have the sweetest dog to pour their love into. Another happy ending complete, although this is certainly not the end.

Shiloh in his new family's car, ready to go home. 

Life got complicated

The last 2 1/2 months have been non-stop and I finally have a few minutes and some actual composed thoughts to contribute to my once frequently updated blog. There were some major holidays, a major break-up, a prospective new job, (that I start Monday), 2 trips to see my best friends, (one that was absolutely necessary and the one I'm on now just for fun), and a whole lot of other stuff in between. Through it all, I still have my Shiloh.

We attended one adoption event in December and then we kinda laid low until after New Year's because I didn't want to start the flood of e-mails and phone calls wanting to schedule meet and greets and the like while getting ready for the holidays. Smart move on my part if I do say so myself. So after having him for about a month and a half, I gave the shelter his pic and sent them some info for petfinder and it never got posted...A few adoption events later, someone took a horrible picture of him and sent it to the shelter and here it is:

For some reason, that made the crowds go wild. I've been getting a pretty regular flow of e-mails about his petfinder page. I think it may also have to do with the fact that he's a golden retriever mix and people are finding him based on his breed. There was a woman who was infatuated and spent an hour with us one day at Petco that I never heard from again, then someone who I knew would love him and be patient with him, but her apartment complex requires a DNA test to confirm that he does not have any bully breeds in his make-up. Then, there was the nightmare. The shelter encouraged me to meet again with a family that we met at Petsmart the week before. They wanted to meet with their dog trainer present and current dogs to see if they would be compatible. I thought, hey, what could happen? The trainer will be present; she'll know what she's doing. You can go ahead an assume that she had no idea what she was doing. We met outside and she said to hang out for a minute, she would go get the family and 2 dogs from inside and we'd take a brisk walk out through a field with the dogs scattered and try to let them sniff once we reached the destination. So we did the walking part and everything was fine. Then we stand and talk for a minute and she takes the 130lb. dog's leash from the father and does her dog trainer thing. She says it would be a good opportunity to let monster dog sniff Shiloh. She lets him advance towards my dog and he does not sniff. He bites. Big time. Meanwhile, trainer lady is face down in the dirt. Shiloh goes to defend himself and I don't really remember what happened next. It was like that slow motion blur kind of thing and the next I remember was sitting over him and the father laying next to him and saying he was sad that it didn't work out. I let him scurry into the car and we headed home a few minutes later.

After we arrive home and I'm still a little shook up, I notice Shi licking the inside of his leg. I thought it was odd, so I get up to see what he's tending to and the whole inside of his leg is covered with blood. Another one of those slow motion, things get blurry event, and we end up at the vet, (not the one the shelter will pay for because both the shelter and that particular vet closed almost 2 hours ago). He needed a few staples, a good cleaning, and some antibiotics and then we were back at home. Since that event, we've become even more close. That dog is my baby. I'll protect and defend him however I can. I wanted to call off of work on Tuesday just to stay home with him. Some people thought that the ordeal would phase him and set him backwards, but so far, I think we're safe. I had to run a quick errand on Tuesday night and he was busting to get out the door with me. I thought maybe he just needed a pee break, but no, when I opened the back of my car, he hopped right in. Nothing would ever happen to him if he never got in the car, but he still does it, with little to no effort every time. Wednesday night we were playing outside and I sit down, legs outstretched in front of me and he immediately lays down between them, belly up and baring all, just staring up at my face. It took him at least a week to look at me initially and now we've built an incredible, trusting bond. I love that dang dog and I'm going to go through a world of hurt when he's gone. I just have to keep it in perspective; he could have been dead without me and he's going to be okay. I have to keep on rescuing and I can't do that if I keep them all.

Here are some photos from over the weeks, most of them pretty recent.

On the table after his staples

Earlier in the day

                                                   

I'm blessed.

No, I didn't dye Shiloh's hair black, it's just a guest appearance from Andy.

Starting off, I'll say that I'm not a very religious person, more spiritual I guess. I also rarely talk about it, except for instances where I can only feel truly blessed. Some may find it strange, but my previous pets tend to visit me in my dreams. It doesn't happen all that often, and when it does, it is truly magical. Last night Harper woke me up at some point and and then I slept lighter for the rest of the night and had extremely vivid dreams, one which involved the best friend I've ever known. Andy walked into my room at my mom's house, approached my bed and rested his head against it and I told him, "you better be getting up on this bed." He never hesitated once permission was granted, and last night was no exception. In a heartbeat, he was in my lap, as best a 90lb dog could be, and I looked up and said, "Thank you Jesus. I take advantage of every minute I can spend with him." After dreams like that, I wake up so refreshed. He's been gone for about a year and a half at this point, but it's as if I just spent a few minutes with him. It's a gift and I never take them for granted.

I'm also incredibly blessed to be surrounded by such beauty in the animals I keep in my company. Harper started out as this ugly little thing that weighed a pound and was covered in ticks and fleas. His eyes were popping out of his head, and his ribs out of his sides. Now he's so beautiful that he can do no wrong in my eyes, (well, he can, but he is quickly forgiven.) Here's a snap of him last night while I was typing that post.

And Shiloh is beautiful too. For the record, he still had his cone on this morning. I was so pleased that I downgraded his gear to Finn's recreation cone. I'm hoping it is as effective on him, but he rarely goes for his undercarriage unless he's alone in the bathroom.

Here Shiloh is after I "tucked him in" for bed tonight in his suite. lol. I had a great day animal wise. We'll end with a smile.

No news is mostly good news

I feel bad saying it, but there will never be another Finn. He was my first foster and the whole experience was all new and thrilling to me. That being said, I'm also glad that no two dogs are alike. Shiloh has been a breeze compared to the little two-pint I had for 6 weeks, but in Finn's defense, it wasn't all his fault.

Now that I've had a second boy fixed by the same vet and he doesn't seem to be in any pain, I'm convinced that they did something wrong with Finn. Of course, at the time, I pet web-md-ed it all and told myself they could have had a stitch too tight. If I remember correctly, they said that didn't happen. As a person that never stepped foot in vet, school, I can't argue, nor can I accurately accuse. I just know that something was not right. I'll never forget Finn's scurry. He didn't just plain ol' walk for days after his surgery and he wouldn't leave the incision site alone long enough to get from the sidewalk to the back yard. He would scurry, then sit, ready to lick, but blocked by his lovely e-collar that he so adored...enough to destroy. When they suggested I put diaper rash cream on him, I was ready to do whatever it took to give him some relief. I put a small amount on the tip of my finger and tried to get it close enough to his skin to transfer some on without pressure and he would scream. Thank you vet for not doing whatever you did to Shiloh. He's pretty chill about the whole thing. I tried the e-collar the first night home and he howled and whined when I left him for bed. In the morning, he was free of his plastic cone and happy to see me. I was happy to see that he wasn't hanging wide open like a certain dog named Andy once was the morning after.

So, two nights later, we've spent a few hours with cone training. He's not happy to have it on, but he finally learned that he can lay down with it on. He still flips out if he runs it into anything other than me with it though.

On a better topic, he's been pretty easy. I've really enjoyed seeing him open up and do a lot of the behaviors Finn did when he became more trusting. He's moving faster at some things, slower at others. Last Monday, only about a week after I've had him, he wants to take off running in the back yard and is jumping in the air and even barking at me. No play-bows though. Finn was and still is very well-known for those. He always jumps into the car on the many trips I take him on, although he is not so eager to get out once we arrive. In the last week or so, we visited Petsmart, my dad's house, the bank, and the vet just to name a few. He does pretty great! He may not walk in like he owns the place or even wag his tail, but I'm satisfied with the fact that he doesn't hide behind me. He does cling to me slightly and occasionally looks to me and lightens up for a second, but hey, I'm happy with it. Shiloh wiggles with excitement when we get home and wrinkles his nose up to smile until he sneezes and kills me with kisses.

Here's a pic of him quietly snoozin yesterday afternoon in the living room. That is somewhere he and Finn are very different. At this point, that is as far as Shiloh has made it out of the kitchen. It isn't necessarily because of his lack of house-breaking. I've invited him out of the kitchen and upstairs a few times and he made it half-way up the stairs once before bailing and retreating to the kitchen. I want to push him past his boundaries, but at the same time, I see it as a blessing in disguise. If he doesn't come upstairs with me, he doesn't know all of the fun he's missing out on and happily sleeps in the bathroom with a baby gate. He has never chewed up anything, other than his handful of rawhides. He has found a few empty dog food cans and licked them clean, but no harm-no foul. He also finished off a bag of treats that I must have left laying too low, but they are all dog related items.

I'm still not complaining. Shiloh hasn't been over to the BF's house for more than a few minutes for a visit either. Part of this is b/c BF hasn't been there for more than a few minutes in the past week. sucks. Bed time has now passed the remedial cone training that we did does not seem to have helped. I hear him in the bathroom banging around like a bull in a china shop and now he's crying. It stopped on Friday after a little while, so I'm hoping for the same tonight. If I'm really lucky, the cone will still be on in the morning, but I'm not so optimistic about that. Wouldn't it be great if my next foster was already fixed? *dreaming*

This dog walks like a grandpa

Shiloh and Finn started their journeys with me very much the same. I saw both at the Humane Society and they were shut down from their surroundings and probably (definitely for Finn) not getting adopted. I brought both of them home in my toy SUV and that's when their stories stopped showing similarities. Finn went in the crate the first night, Shiloh did not. Finn learned from the first time he lifted his leg in the house that it was not allowed, Shiloh did not. Finn had made it past the kitchen at this point, Shiloh has not (mostly for the last quality I mentioned). Finn loved his toys (and hoarded them), Shiloh has no interest. They both found the best hiding places, both happened to be behind a chair the first night.

My new goldie is coming around more and more everyday. He wags his tail a little more when we come home, he plays his favorite game of "time out" where he lays in the corner, facing the wall, a little less. He's been walking like an old grandpa on our daily walks. I mean like a 13 year old dog with some serious arthritis, but I'm told he's only 4. Today, he got a little more bounce to his step and started walking a little faster, but only for a minute here and there. He's getting better about the leaves crunching under his feet and doesn't freak at the sound of the toaster. He snores when he sleeps and I think may have some allergies because he often has the sniffles. Shi-dog also had his first rawhide at the house today. The first one that I gave him was in the line of fire during a marking rampage, I think. And yes, this also means that he took treats out of my hand for the first time today. He's also catching onto things like learning which side of the door opens (he has been going to the wrong side very consistently up until today) and that the sound of food hitting his bowl is something to come out of the corner for.

But just like Finn, he melts my heart. He looks up with those big beautiful eyes that haven't been treated right in the past. He licks my hand if I hold it out and comes closer with every pet he gets. He wants to be close and he's learning that it's okay. All of these things are going to make it so much easier on both he, and his new family come adoption time. Hopefully the marking in the house thing will get better come neuter time...next Friday! :)