Saturday dawned and I was sure it was going to be a tough day for me. I have no idea how it happened but Caesar that owly rat terrier wormed his way into my heart and it was the day I had to let him go. UGH. It was so weird. I’ve been fostering since October of last year and for the most part, letting dogs go to their new homes has not been a struggle for me. I can see that the dog is going to someone who loves them at first sight. I can see that many of these dogs are fulfilling a wish or dream. It’s so awesome to see the smiling faces as new owners depart with their dogs. I love it. I haven’t shed a tear…well, maybe one when Rusty left. He was a sweetheart.
With Caesar, I found out on Thursday that he had a home. I was so happy for him. He deserves a good home. He’s come so far.
About a half hour after the plans were finalized for the new owners to come and get him, I took Caesar out to go to the bathroom. I got thinking that our trips outside were coming to an end and I got all teared up. I’d really become attached to him. WHO KNEW!?!
When he first came I didn’t like him a single bit. I was almost afraid of him. He was not the dog for me. I’d been afraid that we wouldn’t find homes for dogs before, but I was really afraid with this guy.
I ended up teary several other times over this guy when I told my kids that he found a home. He latched onto me and loved me long before I ever loved him.
My own dogs take off and do their own thing. Not Caesar. He was always where I was. It was totally in a respectful way. I wasn’t tripping over him. If I was at the computer, he was in the bed near the computer. If I was in the kitchen, he was in the kitchen. If I rocking Anders, he was rocking Anders too. He truly became my companion and the goofy guy grew on me.
He grew on me a little too much.
By far, this is the hardest dog that I’ve ever had to let go…but…something came along to distract and remind me why I do this…
Another dog was listed on our foster Facebook page and he needed help. I had seen the listing earlier in the week but had ignored it. I couldn’t possibly take another dog. At the time I had the two corgis, Lulu and Caesar plus my two dogs. Six dogs is my limit!!
Friday morning after I knew I had homes for everyone at my house, something told me I needed to go back and look at that listing of the dog that they were looking for a foster home for. I saw the listing and no other fosters had volunteered. These were the pictures that were sent of the dog.
His name is Spot. He’s a three-year-old Heeler/Terrier mix. His owner couldn’t care for him anymore. It said that he’s up to date with vet work and is a nice friendly dog…he barks a bit much, jumps, and is a little hyper. Well, that’s all trainable.
The beauty of this all is that my son Buck is looking for a dog. This dog fits EXACTLY what he was looking for.
He didn’t want a puppy. He didn’t want an old dog. He wanted a heeler with pretty coloring. He wanted a trainable dog.
As a Dad sharing custody of the kids, the days when the kids aren’t home are a little quiet and a dog would be perfect for him…I think the kids would love a dog too.
Why it didn’t click for me that Buck might like this guy when I originally saw this listing, I don’t know!! But I was on a mission to try to get him and foster him…and maybe, just maybe, Buck would like him and adopt him.
Of course, there was no obligation that Buck had to take him. There was just the chance. I could get him, foster him and test him out. All of the older dogs that I have fostered have become my favorites…Rusty, Suzie, Caesar. All of them have been great. I was willing to give another dog a try even if the dog wasn’t one that was going to stay in the family.
I called Buck and shared the info with him. Initially, he was just a little interested. Then I sent him pictures and he was more interested. The dog looks very Heeler and he had wanted a Heeler. Of course, personality was still a huge consideration and how the dog was with kids was top consideration.
The only problem…I contacted HEART to see if I could foster him and they said they already passed on him because no one volunteered to foster. AHHH!!!!
Typically that means the person wanting to surrender the dog looks for a different organization to take the dog. Fingers crossed, they hadn’t found anyone.
Later that day I got a message from the coordinator and no one was calling her back. UGH. We figured they were ignoring the call as they had found a home.
Buck called later for an update and sadly, I had to tell him the news wasn’t good. BLAH. He was so disappointed. He had started to get excited about getting a dog.
Then Saturday morning just as someone was coming to pick up Lulu, my phone dinged with a message. HEART got the info and they believed the Heeler still hadn’t been surrendered. I called the guy and made arrangements to pick him up later on Saturday. WHEW. Now I was so excited…actually, the whole family was excited. We all want Buck to get a dog…but we all want him to get the right dog. The possibility was enough to get us excited.
I ended up talking with my son Karl and we went made plans to go pick up Spot. He was an hour from my house close to the Mississippi River. We headed out. The roads got narrow with hills and were a little hillbillyish but we finally found the place. A dog ran up to greet our vehicle. It was Spot.
The owner was correct. He was a little jumpy but I really thought he would still be trainable. He spent a good chunk of his time outdoors so he had that outdoorsy smell that dogs can get.
It was super sad to take the pup from his owner. The owner was an older guy. He explained that he really loved the pup but had to get rid of him. He had trouble with his balance and Spot had jumped on him toppling him over and he broke several ribs in the fall. His adult children insisted that he find a new home for the dog. He loved the dog and really didn’t want him to have a new home. He was all teary and I’ll admit, I was teary for the second time this day. (This dog rescuing was hard on me this day) I assured the guy that I thought my son might adopt him and I could guarantee that if he did, the dog would have an awesome home complete with kids and lots of love.
We made the hour-long drive home with Spot riding shot gun (meaning right up front). He panted the whole way. It was a stressful day for him too.
We got to my house and it was BATH TIME.
I have an old utility sink in the icky side of my basement that I use for this. It’s always a bit of a nervous thing working with a dog who is over a year old. Is the dog going to bite me when I pick it up? Will it tolerate a bath? I know nothing about these dogs when they initially come in.
Spot did great.
Then he met Izzy and Rosie.
They aren’t all friendly at this point but they don’t seem to mind each other. It’s companionable acceptance.
So far, things are going well. I actually really like him. I’ve called Buck a couple of times and talked to him about Spot…I’ve been sending him pictures too. He ended up putting in an application for him. The application will have to be checked and gone through just like all of the applications…but chances are, unless something crazy happens between now and when Buck meets him, Spot will be going home with Buck.
My daughter Kalissa and her family came over to meet Spot. He was jumpy and excited when he met them but he did settle down nicely and he was just fine with the kids. WHEW. Another hurdle we passed. YAHOO!!
When Kalissa came, she brought me a gift…I LOVE IT!!
So far…things are all good with Spot. I’m happy…he seems to be happy too. The gentleman who surrendered him called to check on him. I talked to him for a bit and ended up sending the pictures you see here of him. I feel so bad for the guy. He did the right thing though. His health and safety had to come first. He did the right and responsible thing to surrender Spot to our rescue. Aging can just stink sometimes. I encouraged him to possibly find a smaller dog or a cat that might be a better fit for him.
That was my Saturday dog story…Here I thought I might go a day with no foster dogs here, but that didn’t happen. In the end, I’m REALLY happy it didn’t.
I’m still a little sad about Caesar…I’m gonna miss that guy. Thankfully I don’t get this way every time a dog goes to its new home. This time I sure did get sad. I can totally relate to the guy who was surrendering Spot.
I’ll keep you posted on Spot. So far, everything is going really well.
So glad to hear the news about Caesar and Spot! Did Caesar’s new family seem excited about him? I hope they will update you on how they are adjusting and you could maybe share that with us. We have had two Rat Terriers (both females) and he reminds me so much of them. Big snugglers and very smart. Maybe, just maybe, you will foster a dog and realize it would be perfect for the gentleman that surrendered Spot….Look forward to Buck meeting Spot!
I had a blue heeler rescue for 15 years
Her name was Pepper and she was my shadow. Such a great dog.
Look forward to hearing more about Spot snd Buck.
You getting attached to Ceasar is the reason we would never be able to foster dogs. My husband would fall in love with every dog and end up keeping every dog! At one time we had a total of 13 dogs. All but 2 were strays we found or were dumped somewhere. We live on an acreage so plenty of room and a converted shed for them. Now down to 1 dog, we are too old to take on anymore.
You did a great job with Caesar and he will be a great pet for his new owners. I’m just wondering if some foster parents keep a lot of the dogs they sponsor. Do you have any inside info on that? Spot has such beautifuI markings! I love the picture of the three dogs- “Team Rosie/Izzy” with Spot to the side. I really admire the love and work you put into fostering dogs.
Some fosters do keep some of the dogs they foster. I kept Izzy my very first foster. I know another couple that recently kept one too. Other fosters are adopted out to members of foster families too…like my son Buck and Spot. There is a beauty in fostering because you can test a dog and see if it’s a good fit for your family before they are announced as available to the public.
That all made me teary too, for you and for the man who gave up Spot.
Regarding Carla’s Facebook situation, I get emails all the time from “Facebook security” that someone tried to log in or did log in to my FB account and I have never ever been on FB. It’s really sad how people do these things. Good luck to Carla. I hope she gets her accounts back soon. .
Maybe Spot’s owner could adopt the kitty Romeo, who has been a HEART foster since February.
I hope all works out for everyone!
Feeling sorry for the gentleman who had to surrender his dog Spot. You’re right, ageing does stink sometimes. Hope it works out that Buck gets the dog, but if not, there will be someone else for him. He looks really nice.
A word of warning about cats, regarding the elderly gentlemen…. as a cat owner in the past, I can assure you that cats are very adept at getting under your feet. He might be better off with a bird.
Brilliant news about Caesar! I can see why you got so attached to him, he obviously trusted you.
How lucky that Spot became available at just the right time. I feel for his owner who obviously loved him, but like you say, it wasn’t safe for him and at least you’re Spot’s foster mum and hopefully he’ll be perfect for Buck.
I forgot to say, I love your new shirt from Kalissa!