animal rescue

Waiting for a dog

Posted by diana

So, I’m in a bit of a quandary. I contacted one rescue group and applied to foster with them a few weeks ago. I said no toy dogs and noted that we had an 18 pound cat. They immediately offered me a 3 pound yorkie.

*blink*

I then told them that I was traveling at the end of the month, so didn’t want to take a dog before then. Considering that their website says they go through phone interviews and home visits and such, I just wanted to get the ball rolling so we could hit the ground running when we got back (although Mythbusters have proved you can’t really hit the ground running).

They said, let us know when you’re back. So I did. Sunday night. And I said, very clearly this time, that we could only take a dog who weighed 20 pounds or more. And asked if they had any that matched our living situation. They didn’t. But said they would have more dogs by end of week. And that they’d have a foster councilor contact me and schedule a home visit.

*blink*

This is why I contacted you guys two weeks ago. To get the home visit done. Okay. Fine. Whatever.

But, I notice, looking at their website, that they seem to only rescue small dogs. Mostly chihuahua or poodle mixes. Neither of which I like (Sorry to you poodle lovers, I get that they’re nice dogs, just not for me. No apologies to chihuahua lovers, you’re just nuts.). So I’m a little worried. And I haven’t heard from that councilor. And I am bad at waiting.

So… I’m not sure if I should stick with this group. There’s another rescue organization nearby that seems to rescue larger dogs (lab mixes and shepherd mixes and border collie mixes, oh my!). And they seem a tad more organized. So I’m wondering if I should have gone with them. Honestly, right now I wish I had.

But… I don’t want to be a flake. I would feel guilty for applying with Group 1 and then not working with them. J points out that we’re doing a service, and if they don’t listen to basic requests (no toy dogs, yo, we have a ginormous cat who would eat them for dinner) we might not want to work with them. He thinks there’s no need for me to feel guilty. I remind him I’m descended of both Catholics and Jews, feeling guilty is what I do. It’s in my bone marrow.

Meh. I want to foster a dog. A dog larger than my cats. A dog that J finds acceptable (he is anti-poofy and very anti-ankle biters). Since much of the point of this is giving him a chance to live with a dog and see if he can tolerate it long term, I really don’t want him to have this experience be negative.

Please. A lab mix. Or a shepherd mix. Or a larger spaniel. Or a golden mix. Something sizable and chill around other animals.

Edited to add: the second group has a dog I would love to foster who just went up on their site…

Puppy Dog Dreams

Posted by diana

After a steady campaign of significantly less than six months, I’ve convinced J that fostering a dog is a good idea. Fostering, mind you, which isn’t the same thing as adopting.

I’ve already gone and talked to some folks at one of the local rescue groups about signing up to foster. Picked up a book on dog training (and wow, it’s come a long way from the dominance theory my father went by – and I’m so glad it has!). Talked to the landlord today, and he okayed it on the condition that, should the carpet be damaged, we will replace it. I love my landlords. They are by far the most laid back and logical of the landlords I’ve ever had.

I have no idea of what kind of dog we’re going to get, other than small to medium. And I have no idea of how long we’ll have the dog. It could be a week or two, or it could be months. And I expect it will be hard to say goodbye to a dog I’ve fostered. But right now I’m thinking about it a lot the way I thought about my students when I was teaching. They were mine for a finite period of time, and I did my best to make sure they were better off when they left me.

Hopefully this will work out well for all involved.