Love is in the Air Around Hounds Town

Happy February. Love is in the air at . We’re having our annual Sweetheart Dance on Feb. 14. Everyone is spayed & neutered so don’t worry – no one will be going home with puppies. ;)

We’ve also been showing a little love to some rescue pups. I was given the opportunity to do some work with Last Chance Animal Rescue. One of the volunteers had called upon me to board a rescue she had gotten and was finding difficulty placing into a foster home. I asked what his problem was that made him tough to place.

"He’s a pit mix," he said. "You know how people are."

Neither I nor my staff ever breed discriminate so we welcomed Tank, dubbed "Ferdinand the Bull," with open arms. The volunteer had asked me to get a good assessment of his personality so she could have a very clear picture of what she was up against with this dog.

So we put Ferdinand through his paces. We stuck our hands in his mouth, our fingers in his food bowl, shaved hearts onto his rear end, polished his toe nails, put clothes on him – any possible aggression-inducing thing we could do to this dog, we did. And ya know what? He was a delight. He snuggled in the office. He trotted around the facility. He was house trained in a day. After about a week, a foster home opened up for him. Being in a home was the ultimate goal for him so I arranged his transport.

The foster mom picked him up.

And he left.

Damn it all, we were devastated. Somehow, in between grabbing his toes and training him to poop outside, we got attached. I hadn’t anticipated that. I see so many dogs every year. I love them all (mostly) but it never saddens me, per se, to see them go. Maybe because I know they’ll be back? Or because I trust that they are in good hands since I know the owners? Regardless, we were all very depressed when he left.

But the volunteer called me back! She had another dog who needed a transitional place for a few days. I told her that, after having Ferdy, I was really only interested in the dogs who are (for lack of a better way to put this) really f’d up. I wanted the ones no one else would take. Save the dogs that look like they're just out of an LL Bean ad for someone else. We were going all in with this foster business.

The volunteer said, "Oh you got it. I have just the dog."

In came Hattie. This dog was a train wreck. She came in skinny (like, count the vertebrae skinny – it hurts to look at her), covered in scars and afraid of life.

The same week I got a call from Meredith with Guardians of Rescue. She had literally just pulled a dog off the streets (from a neighborhood most people wouldn’t even drive through, let alone get out of their car) who was beaten and emaciated. She needed somewhere to put him so he could decompress. We welcomed Jean-Luc Picard into the fold.

In my zeal to take on the hardship cases, I again underestimated the emotional component. These dogs, with their scars and their scabs elicited much more than pity.

They elicited RAGE. Several times a day we all ask what kind of vicious, soulless, so-called "human being" could do this to an animal.

They elicited wonder. After not even 24-hours in our care, these dogs were open to love. Belly rubs were accepted and then learned very fast how to sit on our laps.

Despite the roller coaster that apparently comes with fostering, I’m so glad I made the move to do this. Granted, if I ever came face to face with an animal abuser I’d probably end up in jail for my behavior but other than that – I feel this was the right thing to do. It hurts and it’s infuriating and frustrating but then JLP rests his head in my lap and Hattie splays out on the zebra print rug in a snazzy chenille scarf and it’s all worth it. They and whomever else comes down the pike will be given a fair shot at getting healthy, learning to trust and being loved.

Obviously my measly three fosters are only a drop in the bucket as it relates to dogs needing foster homes. If this is something you’d be willing to consider, reach out to me and I will put you in touch with a group with fosters available. You’ll be glad you did, I promise.