Foster Fail…

Oh my goodness. I was a foster fail.

I decided about a month or so ago that I thought I was feeling well enough to try fostering dogs again. So I started watching the foster page to see if I might be a good match for a pup that needed fostering.

This sweet little pup needed a home, and I thought we might be a good match.

She is a 5 year-old 11 lb Papillon. She was released from a breeder and was now going to move on and spend her life in retirement. She was released along with a male. In the past, the rescue has had some of her puppies in care.

She looked like a sweetie…I’ve dealt with breeder-release dogs before. Sure, I could foster her. I said something to Rick, and he was on board. If I wanted to foster, he was willing to help.

So Thursday night, after the grandkids all left, we went and picked her up. During the day, I pulled out all of my old fostering stuff. The kids helped me get it all set up. I was excited to be fostering again.

Here she is in Rick’s truck on the way home.

I walked her around the house and put her in her pen when we got home. I left her harness on. The Indiana Fever were playing, and Rick and I hadn’t had supper. The plan was to eat and watch the third quarter, then I would take her out at quarter break. Before we knew it, she yelped, and we noticed that she had gotten a leg out of the harness. Oh me. Rick took her harness off, and we took her outside with only a collar and leash. She did okay, but wouldn’t go to the bathroom.

Back to the pen she went… then we watched the 4th quarter. I wrote a blog post, then took her outside to try to use the bathroom again. No luck.

We loved up on her and then went to bed.

Before too long, she was barking. Oh my. I’ve dealt with a barker before. Typically, I let them back and try to sleep. I didn’t have a problem with that. The ceiling fan was running, creating enough noise to ignore the barking. In my past experience, they become more comfortable after a couple of nights, and the barking stops.

I went back to sleep. All of a sudden, I startled awake. Something was different. I listened. The barking was not coming from the pen. It sounded more like it was coming from the living room. I sprang up and went downstairs. There was the dog, greeting me at the bottom of the stairs. Oh my word. She had somehow figured a way out the pen. The door was latched. Hmm. She must have somehow crawled over the fence. I didn’t know what to do. I was tired. Then I remembered Rosies kennel that was tucked under the shelving out in the garage. Yes. I would put her in there. Maybe she wanted to feel more cozy. This was definitely a safer, more secure, and cozy place for her. Plus, the garage refrigerator was close, and maybe that hum would be calming for her. So I put her in the kennel. This might be good for us both. She would feel better, and if she barked now, I might not hear her. Peaceful sleep for us both.

I was up earlier than my normal. Kelli’s kids were coming for the day. I went to the garage to get her out and take her potty. This is what I was greeted with…a completely empty cage. The doors were all still locked and latched. WHAT THE HECK???!! Where is the dog??

Oh, LOOK!! There she is.

On top of the workbench. What the heck??? How did she get out of a kennel that was locked and latched? The kennel is one of the really nice ones that the gate lifts to secure the door in place, then there is a latch that gets closed to hold it all in place. The grandkids have trouble opening the door. How did the dog get out??

…and moreover, how did she get on top of the workbench?

I called the gal from the rescue and told her how our night went. We were both still in shock, trying to understand it all. UGH. We both came to the conclusion that we had no idea.

I kind of made a plan that the next night I would put her in a smaller kennel and put it in the bedroom by the bed…then the rescue coordinator called, and we talked again. She offered that the dog could come back to her. I was hesitant and said I’d try another night.

Then Rick and I started talking about it. Hmm. We had ball games. In fact, on Friday, I was supposed to go to Buck’s way, 2 1/2 hours away, for Lucy’s game. I’d be gone a long time, and Rick would be at work. UGH. What were we going to do with her? I came to the conclusion that I would take her with me. But then I had more games, and I had my scans later in the week. I was never going to relax knowing she was at home, escaping from everything we put together to try to keep her contained. If she were house-trained…maybe, but still, she can get up on counters. I didn’t want her jumping off and hurting herself.

In the midst of all of this, Kelli’s kids came. I slowly introduced her to the kids. It’s always slow at first until I see how a dog will be with kids. She was immediately leaning into the fence and rolling for a belly rub.

She was so good, we let her out of the pen after a trip outside. She was great in the house and a natural with the kids.

The kids adored her. Everywhere the kids went, she went.

Some adopters might be turned off by her ability to escape…I wouldn’t let that deter me. Once she is house-trained, she just won’t be a dog that is kenneled. I really believe the escaping was just a way to be with people. She would love a homebody family who has lots of lap space.

As you can see, she would make a perfect couch companion. She was super sweet, and I heard a lot of grief from the kids when I told them she had to go back.

So sadly, I failed at fostering and Juliet went back to the rescue coordinator. If you would be interested in Juliet or her pal Romeo, you can find the application HERE at the rescue’s website.