Finished with Finn

I cannot explain how awesome it feels to know that Finn is thriving in his new home. His new mom, Jessica has me spoiled with updates and pictures and even a new blog for him! I'm going to expect this out of all of my foster's new homes!

Jess has kept me in the loop with many of his ups and downs. Everything from vomiting and hoarding toys, to destroying mattress toppers and eating sticks, she has described them all with her colorful writing style. It sounds like he's going through the same motions that he did while I had him, but at a slightly quicker pace. He's taught her how he likes to play chase, shown her how he collects his belongings, and even has started to play-bite with her. Here are some of the gorgeous photos that she has been capturing of him:

One night while Jessica was e-mailing me some Finn stories, she also told me what was going on as she was typing. Finn was running by her every now and then, tail held high, with a toy of his (or maybe her cat's) and disappearing into her room. This is what she found when she was finished typing, Finn in her bed, surrounded by toys. The best part is, until this point, he had her convinced that he couldn't physically jump in her bed.

This one also has a cute story...but you'll have to check out Jess's blog to read it because she tells it so much better than I ever could. http://rationalizing-irrationality.blogspot.com

Finn was adopted yesterday

Our last morning walk/Finn finds a stick to eat

A great home found Finn a couple weeks ago and yesterday, that great home took him home. His new mom's name is Jessica and she sounds like exactly what he needs. She's going to be home with him more than I was able to and I'm sure she'll probably end up spoiling him even more than I did. I tried to keep his rules pretty strict so she could decide how lax she wants his boundaries. It's always easy to give them more privileges, but's its very difficult to take them away.

The last night I had my little 2 pint, we had a sleepover. We were planning on sleeping with my best friend in the living room, but Finn turned out to be afraid of her just the same as any other stranger. I took Finn upstairs and made a little bed on my floor out of cushions and put Finn in it with me. The next morning, my hips, back, and neck were a little sore, but I had an awesome night cuddling with the little guy.

We had one last play session with Wrigley, but it didn't last too long. Finn was a little on edge because of my best friend being present, but we all enjoyed him being around a few more minutes and were thankful the rain held off and the sun peeked out for a few hours. 2 o'clock rolled around and we found ourselves at the shelter right on time. They were doing some fall "spring" cleaning and were closed to the public, so we did the adoption out of the back of my car. The original park was to drive to the park next door to officially hand him over, but last minute, I decided to rip the band-aid off and gat it done with. Finn had a new life to get to and my time with him was up.

I didn't hear from his new home last night, so I was a little worried sick. I was assuming the worst, like maybe he ran away and she was afraid to say any thing. Thank goodness my BFF was around to distract me and luckily, Finn went to a great home. I received the most wonderful e-mail from his new mom this morning. "So far, Finn's doing remarkably well compared to what I was expecting, but I'm sure that is namely because of all the things demanding his attention at moments notice. Once he settles, I'm expecting difficulties, but I'm prepared." She's totally ready for him to be a little dis-functional for a while. "Other than that, everything else is neither here nor there. It's too early to say or for me to help him gain confidence yet. Mostly, I just wanted him to take a load off after yesterday's emotionally taxing events. Because I know he misses you dearly. And rightly so :)" She's also a huge sweetheart. I couldn't be happier with the person who took him home, but I still miss my little Finn.

Everything came full circle yesterday after we left the shelter. I suggested to the BFF that we stop at the humane society that I pulled Finn from and I could show him a video of him being a real dog and let them know he's gone to a good home. They were all in disbelief at the transformation they could see from the videos and pictures. One girl even blurted, "We almost put him to sleep because he wouldn't come out of his kennel for anyone." wow. He'd be dead if it weren't for myself and my support system and the shelter. Thanks to my family and friends for supporting my decisions and thanks to Jessica for scooping him up. I can't wait until you can experience the pure loyalty, gratitude, trust, and love he is capable of.

I'm anxious about fostering another dog because Finn set the bar very high.

Finn's morning-after grin. :D

Saying our good-byes

The last one is of Finn in the car during our very unconventional adoption out
of the back of my car. I'm looking forward to more pictures of him from his new mom and will surely share of few. Thanks for reading! Until another dog steals my heart...

been spending too much time with Finn and not enough time with my computer

What a week. It was so great to see Finn when we got home from our little tiny beach trip. He was excited to see me until he saw B/F behind me and he went straight to my room as usual. He was fine the rest of the week, really great Thursday night actually. I didn't hear a peep out of him til 5:15 and Matt was getting up at 5:30 so it was no biggie. Friday night was a different story. I don't know what the problem was, but it was a major one. B/F and I went to bed around 10ish, his mom stayed out front until about 1, and that's when it started. I whisper-yelled at him for about 40 minutes, right around the corner from where his crate is so he can't see me. That did no good, so I figured that it must be time to just ignore him. That didn't last too long b/c B/F's mom got up and yelled at him next. Didn't do a bit of good. I thought, hmmm, maybe he needs to go out. Never has before in the middle of the night, but I was willing to try. I got to his crate where he was practically hyperventilating, took him straight outside and put him right back without much speaking and completely in the dark. That didn't work either. Then B/F tries things his way. He got out Wrigley's treats and bones and gave Finn a little bit of everything including filling both Kongs with peanut butter. He still was whiney after that, so he suggested that I take both dogs out and try to wear them out...at 3 a.m. I let them romp and play til about 3:30 when Finn was COVERED in burrs. They were also both soaking wet from the grass they rolled in. I put Finn to bed for the umpteinth time and he was still a little whiney. I asked b/f if I should just go sleep on the couch and he said no to bother, he was headed out to play video games because he wasn't going to be able to go back to sleep at that point. Finn was quiet enough for me to sleep (with the cat) til about 7 when we sneaked out of the sound asleep house so I could go home and get ready for work! Lovely, right? I'm glad they at least got to catch up on their sleep; thank goodness this did not happen on a weeknight!

I worked til one on Saturday, then home to try to get the burrs out of Finn's fur before we headed to our first meet and greet with a potential adopter. It went completely as I expected. The shelter forgot to meet us, so I abided by their rules and didn't let Finn out of my car until they were present, in case he would decide to bite. The person we met was great and has a lot more free time to devote for Finn. Finn paced a lot at the very end of his leash and near the end of the hour we spent together, I sat next to the woman so that Finn would too (he actually perched up on my lap), and she was able to get a few pets in. She's up for the challenge of tackling his issues and that is just what he needs. I'd love to keep him, but this will be better for us both in the long-run if it works out. It'll be tough for a while for all of us, but the B/F and I are already talking about picking out the next foster sometime after my birthday. I swung by the shelter after the meeting to see what comes next and Finn freaked as usual, but even went to the extent as to poop himself! Poor little guy. This is why I requested that we NOT meet at the shelter. He is not a fan. I got an e-mail from the woman we met later that night that I loved. She was so sweet and said she was up to taking home Finn as long as I was okay with it. Kinda made me tear up how much she cared. Her family also drove 75 miles to get to us, so it shows that they are dedicated. If everything with the adoption process goes smoothly, I may be saying good-bye on Friday or Saturday.

Finn made a new buddy on Sunday, the B/F's friend's dog, Zeus. We babysat him for the day while his "dad" was at a baseball game. I feel kinda bad because we took Zeus shopping at the outlet mall with us and left our own dogs at home. Sunday night, I was hoping Finn could just sleep loose in B/F's room, but he was not convinced that Finn wouldn't chew something and I can't blame him. He is known to chew whatever is closest at times, whether it's a sock or the carpet or the wood trim. I let him sleep on the floor right next to the bed til 1 a.m. and then I put him out in his crate. He was not a happy camper, as usual, so I caved and went to sleep on a couch out in that part of the house so I could whisper yell before got to the point of hyperventilating like he did Friday night. It worked pretty well, just had to get him to settle down initially and not again until 5:15 a.m. Everyone got pretty optimal sleep I'd say! Now, to start the week...

Let me see if I can find some un-posted photos first. oooo goodie...I never did the goofy play time ones