The Hardest Part of Fostering - Letting Go

Whenever I talk to someone about my experiences fostering dogs, there's one inevitable question that's sure to follow; "Isn't it hard to give up your dog?" The corollary is the statement, "Once I brought a dog into my home, I could never give him up!" The answer is - of course it's hard. The reason I take on these fosters is because I love dogs. Each dog I've fostered has touched my heart in his or her own way. When I am successful in placing them in their forever home, it's a very bittersweet experience. I'm truly glad that my dog has found a good home, I'm happy the new owner is getting such a terrific pet, and I'm sad that this dog will no longer be a part of my life and our family. I cry every single time I have to say goodbye, but the rewards of fostering truly outweigh these pangs of sadness.

One of my friends in reTails described the foster experience as finding "diamond-in-the-rough dogs" and transforming them into wonderful pets. These are the dogs who aren't likely to be adopted from a shelter. They're frightened, confused, overwhelmed, cooped up, and their reaction to this bewildering environment may cause potential adoptive families to shy away from them. And animals who have trouble finding homes don't usually have a very bright future. Eash foster dog requires a substantial investment of time and attention. In many cases they need to learn basic obedience skills. They often have some behavioral problems due to their past experience that would hinder their ability to be adopted. After sometimes spending weeks in a shelter, they crave attention. Most of all, they just need love.

It is immensely gratifying to see their transformation over the weeks we're together. To see the shy little dog who was afraid of people begin to approach people at the park and eventually allow strangers to pet him. To see the dog labeled as "too hyper" become calm and attentive once given regular exercise. Watching a dog that had been totally undisciplined sit calmly and wait to be released before diving into her food bowl. Seeing a dog learn how to enjoy playing and socializing with other dogs. The fulfillment in see that spark of understanding flicker in their eyes when they learn a new command. There's so much joy in watching them blossom into a great pet!

The easiest thing in the world for me to do would be keep my foster dog. We develop a close bond during our time together. You have only to look into the eyes of your dog to understand complete and utter adoration and devotion. Every time I watch my foster dog looking back at me as he's being led away by his new owner, I want nothing more than to rush after them and say I've changed my mind. However, my situation is such that I can't have more than 2 dogs and be a responsible pet owner. I already have one dog and trust me, I'd give up a limb before I gave up Bubba. So, if I were to keep my foster dog, then I would have been able to save one dog in need. And that's a noble thing. But by placing my foster dog into a loving adoptive home, I have the opportunity to make a difference in the life of another dog and another family.

.

The Benefits of Doggie Day Care

Like many pet owners, we have full time jobs. When we first thought about adopting a dog we wondered how we would manage taking care of him while we were working. I don't like the idea of crating a dog for 8+ hours every day and the only uncarpeted areas in our house are the bathroom and the kitchen. Then a friend told us about doggie daycare and it was the perfect solution!

Now that I've begun fostering dogs, daycare has become an even more important part of the socialization and training process. We take our dogs to Camp Bow Wow but there are lots of great options around town.

Taking the dogs to daycare does more than just get them out of the house for the day. One of our foster dogs, was very shy around people. He instantly bonded with us but very wary and skittish around strangers. By taking him to Camp Bow Wow, he was exposed to other people. They did an awesome job of working with him and playing with him one-on-one so that he eventually grew more comfortable and even became curious about other people. He would have had a hard time being adopted had he remained so frightened of others.

Having Bubba helps my fosters become socialized around another dog but it's important that they also become comfortable with other dogs as well. At daycare they are matched with other dogs of similar temperments and learn learn to play and interact well with a variety of other dogs. My current foster dog, Leela, loves people and when I take her to the dog park she spends as much, if not more, time socializing with the people there as she does playing with the other dogs. At Camp Bow Wow, she gets to focus on playing with the other dogs. Today was her first day there and you can tell from the picture that she was having a great time!

As an added benefit, after a day of playing at "camp", the dogs are completely worn out. They come home, eat, and are ready to sack out for the evening!

If you're interested in seeing more of Camp Bow Wow's happy campers, you can find them on Facebook under Campbowwow Indy or check out their blog.

My Foster Dogs and Me

When I took on my first foster dog, I can honestly say that it was due to an emotional response rather than a rational one. A friend of mine sent out an appeal for a little dog scheduled to be put down at IACC. It touched my heart, so I volunteered. A few hours later I was loading a frightened little dog in a crate into my car.

I wasn't totally unprepared, I have a dog of my own who came from the Humane Society, so I'm not totally unfamiliar with shelter dogs. As I drove toward home a dozen questions began swirling through my mind. What if this dog doesn't get along with Bubba, my dog. Will I be able to do justice to two dogs? Both my significant other, Craig, and I work full time. What kind of training did this dog have? Was he housebroken? Did he have any behavior problems?

Despite the uncertainties, I was determined to make it work. Bubba is a very sweet and laid back dog. He's a two year old Bernese Mountain Dog mix. We're regulars at Eagle Creek dog park and he goes to doggie daycare, so he's well socialized with other dogs. I had the support of Craig as well. The only unknown in this equation was this new dog.

When I got home I let little Beenie out of his crate. Beenie is an adorable Basenji mix. He first jumped on me and then on Bubba, his tail wagging furiously. It was an instant and immediate bond. First hurdle over. After spending so many weeks cooped up in a kennel, I decided that some exercise would do us all some good so it was off the the dog park for a romp. Even though he was a bit timid around all the strange dogs and people, Beenie did extremely well for his first time out.

After an hour or so of play time, it was back home for some dinner. The poor little guy ate like there was now tomorrow! Even more than food though he was hungry for a little affection and attention. He stayed glued to my side for the rest of the evening. He was so starved for attention. He fell asleep with his head on my lap as I petted him. When Craig got home later that evening, Beenie ran up to greet him right along with Bubba. We'd made it through the first evening!

What I learned with Beenie, I put into practice with my other fosters. I first let them have a chance to get to know Bubba. Then it's off to the park for some exercise. It's true what they say, a tired dog is a good dog. The first few days I typically let them eat their fill. Even if dogs are house broken, they usually don't know how to signal to me that they need to go out. The first few days I typically keep them on a schedule and take them outside every 1-2 hours, we stay outside until they pee or poo and then I reward them with a treat when we come back inside. After a few days they usually pick up on the routine.

Even though we had a successful first evening, there was still a lot of work ahead. But at least we were all off to a good start!

Welcome to the reTails Blog!

Welcome to the reTails blog! reTails was created to bring great adoptable animals and solutions for pet owners right into the neighborhoods, conveniently located where people live and shop. The idea is to merge the best qualities of an animal rescue organization with the convenience of a pet store.

By committing to help pet owners solve problems that often lead to pets being surrendered to animal shelters; by providing people with a convenient way to adopt rescued cats and dogs; by working closely with other animal welfare organizations and making customer service a priority, reTails intends to slow and eventually end the killing of cats and dogs in shelters that still happens daily in Indianapolis.

Whether you are a current pet owner, are interested in adopting a pet, interested in fostering a cat or dog, or are just an animal lover, we hope this blog will offer something for you.

I'm a reTails volunteer and foster dogs. I never thought I'd be a foster since I wasn't sure I'd be able to give up a dog after caring for it for any period of time. I'll be honest, it is hard for me to give up my foster dogs. Knowing that they now have good homes does help some. In each case, the dogs that I fostered would have been euthanized had I not taken them in. Yes, I could have simply adopted one of those dogs. However, my current situation prohibits me from having more than 2 dogs. Had I simply kept my first dog, those other lives would not have been spared. So, by giving up my fosters, I can multiply my impact and help more animals in need.

In coming posts, I'll be sharing my experiences with the dogs I foster. Each dog is unique, has different needs and touches my heart in it's own way.




My current foster pup is Leela. It's hard to say exactly what kind of dog she is. She has interesting brindle and white markings. Our best guess is that she's a boxer/border collie mix. She's approximately 8-10 months old and was rescued last night from IACC. She's very sweet, affectionate, playful, loves people and other dogs. She definitely deserves a good home!