The Family Dog position in this household has been vacant for quite some time, for various reasons, one of which being the fact that we just spent a year on the other side of our planet. Although having a dog grace our household again is never far from my mind, the roadtripping that we're doing this summer isn't all that conducive to furry companionship, so all hiring for the position remains closed.
Shortly after we settled back into our lives here, a neighbor of ours posted on our neighborhood's Facebook page about an urgent need for fostering a dog. My Fluffy Pet-Wanting Radar sounded an alarm for sure, but I've always chalked up dog fostering as a ruse to get a dog into your home, at which time you'd pretty much have to end up adopting it. Isn't that the way it works? All I hear about are 'foster failures'--people who take in a foster pet, fall in love with it, and keep it.
But fostering--wasn't that the perfect way to fill my need for something lovable around here?? (not that my kids aren't lovable, mind you). I ran it by the Head of HR (Sam), and he agreed that we could have a temp position available to up the fluff quotient in the house. And while I'd like to say that the root of my desire to foster a pet came from my innate hope to instill a sense of caring for the needy in my boys, in all honesty it was purely selfish. That Mother of the Year Award isn't looking any more likely, I know.
The very next day, Colorado Canine Rescue gave me a crate, food, toys, a leash, and a collar, and that Friday, after making it very clear to the kids that THIS WOULD NOT BE OUR DOG, WE ARE JUST SAVING ITS LIFE AND PROVIDING A SAFE HOME UNTIL IT'S ADOPTED (and wrapping some duct tape around my heart to insulate it from that pesky emotion of love), our first foster dog made its way from a high-kill shelter in New Mexico where it was scheduled to be put down that weekend to a parking lot in Denver, where we picked her up.
on the way home |
She was an absolute pleasure to have around--she slept by my bed, followed me from room to room, and was perfectly happy to be a true companion to her human.
helping Jackson with his homework |
The day Sally left to start a life with her new family, I managed to keep it together and was truly happy for her. To help fill the void in my home (and heart), I arranged to have our next temporary fluffy pet arrive later that same day.
I am the last person who you'd think would be a candidate for fostering...but I love it (and the kids do, too; hear that, Mother of the Year judges?). Taking in a dog is easy, and rescuing from a high-kill shelter that took in 4000 dogs last year and euthanized 2000 of them is directly saving a life. Try it; you won't be disappointed.
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