Congratulations, Susan. I almost failed my one and only foster, and I still miss the big guy. It's a lot harder than it seems, and the hardest part is to give them up. They just latch onto your heart and won't let go.
Gary Shapiro
Col. Dash - GSD, DOTL Rainbow Division, in my heart forever
Spc. Lily - 10-year-old Greyhound (Racing School drop-out)
Spc. Molly - 9-year-old Shepherd/Husky Mix (aka Honey Badger)
Shadow - 1 1/2-year-old Greyhound 2011 Georgetown 280DS Class A
And that's exactly why I don't do fosters. I would have 37 dogs, 23 cats and NO DH. I just know it.
I would as well, so I had to quit fostering, after Mr. Higgins came "for a few weeks to give him a break from the cages he'd been in for so long" three years ago... it's been a long few weeks. It must be getting harder for me to let them go.
Just thinking since Susan doesn't have a DH, she might be in BIG trouble. How many animals can you have in California without a Kennel license? Oops, maybe I shouldn't ask that question.
Cat (Jim just reads the forum once in a while)
Our toys:
2003 Damon Ultrasport 3873
(picture on profile)
Boat = ProCraft Fish & Ski
Working our way toward retirement...wishing it was soon.
Thanks to all for your kind comments. Nothing like coming to a place where I know my natural enablers will gather! It is true that I don't have a spouse to rein me in, but then I have to do all the work myself, and pay all the bills, and that keeps me somewhat under control.
This is actually my second foster failure, not counting Tigger, who was more of an "I give up, I can't place this dog" caper. One that I never regretted. The other would be my house-lynx, Mike, who, like Pen, I had other options for but in the end had to say "I can't and I won't.'
Pen had a perfectly good home with a loving human experienced with behavioral issues (puppy mill dogs, primarily) waiting in Wisconsin. I had to call her yesterday and say... please don't hate me, I just happen to be stealing your dog!" It was okay, though. She fosters, too, and she had HER foster failure on her lap while we talked, I'm sure. And as she pointed out, she's never met the little devil, so she doesn't have the same attachment that I do.
It's funny how different he seemed this morning. More confident. The crisis has passed. I'm realizing how stressed I've been since I got him and how much better I feel now that I've made the decision. At the same time, those little behaviors that didn't matter so much because he was leaving and would be someone else's responsibility to civilize, are now all mine to deal with!
I have another foster right now, the rat terrier I posted a while back. Foxy is a lovely guy and if I couldn't find him a home he fits well into the pack, he's a nice little dog, it wouldn't be the end of the world. But at the same time, I can place him and as long as I'm comfortable that he's in a good situation, not suffer any distress. Ditto with his compatriot Chip, who went to a rescue in Iowa last week. I'm anxious that they go to good homes, but there just isn't that pull. With Pen, the idea of saying goodbye forever was just not something I could face.
susan
Fuzzy Wuzzy was a wabbit, Fuzzy Wuzzy had a dandelion habit! RIP little Wuz... don't go far.
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