Thursday, September 16, 2010

A Confession...

I confess...I had a Petfinder obsession. Like an addict I'd surf that site to see the dogs and wish I could help. I thought about adopting and hesitated. I wanted to be sure the dog would fit our lives. Since we work I wanted an older dog, one that was slower and wouldn't mind lounging around all day. I wanted small since I had a shoulder injury that never quite healed. I wondered what else I should look for as I surfed the pages. It wasn't an easy decision and I wanted to be absolutely sure. After all, I was committing for a lifetime of love and care.
Then I started poking around on the rescue sites. I read about how they pulled the dogs from shelters, vetted them, and how there were many ways to help. And that got me thinking. Instead of adopting just one, what if I could help more?
I emailed a few organizations, made some phone calls and visited their adoption days. Finally, I found Castle of Dreams. They were always quick to respond, answered all my million and one questions and took their time to explain how it all worked. I volunteered.
Up top is a picture of Peanut, a little brown beagle mix. She was rescued from North Carolina. She was my first foster dog and my whole family fell in love. Shy and sweet, Peanut just soaked up love and gave it back tenfold. When the email came that there was a family for her we all cried. No one wanted this gentle dog to leave, but off she went to her forever family.
Next came Sally...a black chihuahua mix.
I think the trick to successful fostering is to remember that if you let one go, you can save one more. Because until there are none...we foster one.

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