Fostering Saves Dogs

What a face! Toby's potential adopters came to meet him last night. Maybe it was just me but I felt as if Toby seemed to know what was happening and he remained aloof. He usually barks and greets visitors in unison with Zeetie but not this time. He may just have been tired from his walk. Toby doesn't make this easy for us.

People ask me how I do it, how we do it. How can you take a dog in and then let him go to another home, they ask. I say, because I know he is going to a good home forever. Fostering saves dogs. If we had kept Toby one, we wouldn't have been able to foster Toby two and hence, he may not have been saved.

I don't let myself get attached, I say. I convince myself that I don't but I do, like all fosters do. I cried when we left Toby one at his new home. I look at Toby two and know I will find it hard to see him go. He is such a good boy. He loves to be with us, sit at our feet, lie at our feet and be petted and hugged. He just loves his runs off-leash in the farm. He's so much better on the leash now, too. His barking silly is sort of subsiding. He listens when we say 'Toby, enough'. He has been very well-trained so his old home wasn't so bad.

He sits on the stairs and looks out the door window like Zeetie does. She teaches him well. She will miss him the most, I think. Having a buddy to hang out with during the day must be nice. I'm sure they roughhouse when we're not here not to mention egging each other on when barking at goings on in the street.

Things aren't all rosy with these two, though. I can't walk them together on leash because of Zeetie's issue with new dogs. I'm short hands to have her pay attention to me. She barks and lunges and then, of course, Toby follows suit. The walk turns into a disaster. It's fine at 5:15 a.m. because no one is around but after work is a no go. Until Zeetie and Toby are suitably trained separately, I walk Zeetie and Don walks Toby after work.


And, I love the way he sits. His two hind legs up between his front legs and leans against something when he sits. He's not graceful but he sure is cute!


Zeetie learns very quickly with fosters that sharing her toys is a good thing.