Confessions of a First Time Foster

My, yesterday was anything but dull and uninteresting.

We got Angel back from the groomers. I honestly had thought she was an “apricot” colored bichon, because she was almond-colored all over.

Not any more. Turns out, that was dirt.

And she may well have lost half a pound. The groomer had to shave her, of course. I’m grateful she was able to spare Angel’s ears and tail — the parts of a bichon that are supposed to be especially long and fluffy. Angel obviously got shaved all over last November, so she isn’t any competition for Paris in the fluff department, but that’s still 6 months of growth they were able to save.

After we got back from the groomer we were late for our D&D game, so we had an action plan all worked out of “this dog & crate go here, that dog & crate go there, the third one gets collared for the car….” Somehow we ended up with a big pile of dogs outside the back door, one of whom had absolutely no leash. Luckily, that was Paris and luckily, no squirrels taunted her into chase. Okay, the first wasn’t really luck; Cognac and Angel always trail leashes at this point.

Anyway, we did get everyone sorted out and got going. When we got home again after a long D&D game, Papa took Angel out for a walk. Did I mention that she got shaved? Did I explain that that took her neck from something like 4″ in diameter down to less than 2″? Did I tell you that we’d gone out and bought a larger collar because she had a sore where the original collar had been galling her? I know I forgot to mention the part about picking her up at the groomer’s and resizing that collar down to its smallest setting, and still being able to stick four fingers under it. Well, she slipped right out of that collar.

I was oblivious for a time reading email, until Papa called for help. I quickly found out that a shaved dog is downright slippery, and that a dog who is shying away from us not just to keep the fun going but because she is scared is terribly effective at keeping out of reach. I thought to use the shying away thing to herd her toward the house, and discovered that I don’t make a good collie. And through it all Cognac was running around with zero interest in getting away for himself and a ton of altruistic interest in Angel’s well-being. We may be lucky in living next door to backyard breeders. It may be the fact that a stud had marked all over that yard was all that kept her nearby.

Fortunately, I finally blurted out something like “Don’t you want your dinner?” “Dinner” proved to be the magic word; Angel made a beeline for the back door. Unfortunately, Papa had picked that moment to close the door while he took Cognac inside.

I’m afraid when he came back I swore at him.

I tried calling out “dinner” again, but Angel was shying away now. I honestly don’t know how I closed with her and pounced, but I managed to pin her to the driveway. I hope I didn’t hurt her; I certainly surprised and scared her into a yelp.

We have a much more vivid picture of rescue now!

Message from Joan:

Charlie is being a bit interesting again. I still have him on the leash which is helping. He’ll put up with a short visit to my bed in the morning. His marking is better (written while knocking on a lot of wood) since I’ve been leaving the porch light on at night so he can see the doggie door.

The interesting event is his last pee in the house episode. My friend came over to visit - without a dog. She sat on the floor and Maggie and P.J. made much of her and her petting them. Charlie gave her a wide berth. After she left Maggie and P.J. waited by the door for her to come back (so much disappointment in life!). Charlie sniffed all over the living room and peed right on the spot where she sat. I know it is supposed to be about dominance but was he mad about Maggie and P.J. getting so much attention or was he trying to make sure she doesn’t come back again and sit on his spot. What a kick he is.

He’ll now stand next to my two to wait for a piece of cheese. Maggie is done with her clavamox so I’m afraid that will not happen twice a day anymore. Charlie is calm enough now to sleep in the same room that I’m in during the day– that’s big progress. Regretfully, that means that P.J. will even hump him when he’s asleep. I brought him up onto my bed in the middle of the night once last week since I almost tripped over him on the way to the bathroom. He shook like a leaf. He was better when I turned on the tv – he seems to be scared of the dark. I’m going to look in the garage for a smaller light to leave on at night. If the ceiling light wears out I can’t go up and change it with a ladder.

I think he’s getting more ready to go out in public. He’s still too fearful of humans to go for a walk or to Petsmart. Soon though. The infected sore on his belly is still a scab, but healing nicely. I’m going to wait until it’s cleared up so I can put a harness on him. It doesn’t look like any hair is growing in on his ear. I hope that his other hair will hide it, but it doesn’t look like it. His bark is so high pitched and weird that the vet asked me if he’d been injured. Who knows. Back to ‘fun in the garage’. Ha.

Message from Marilyn:

When Darcy was in the barn, we left the lights on all night. She seemed better when there were lights, but now that she is sleeping in our room, she never makes a sound. We don’t leave the lights on…she has to adjust. Craig came over for the day yesterday with his three dogs…oh, they are so beautiful. His rescue, Barbie, who was a total wreck when he adopted her from us, is just wonderful and they all adore Craig. Darcy took some chicken from his hand and played all day with the pack. Last night when I started my chase to get her into bed, she just sat down and let me pick her up. I almost fell over, when I didn’t have to do the run around the patio to catch her.

She dances for her treats…it’s so cute and now she has picked up Sugar’s bad habit of barking at mealtimes. She is so funny and can’t wait for her meals…she runs in the bedroom with Sugar and they go crazy until I put their bowls down. Craig is in love with her, but can’t manage one more dog right now. Think if he could of, he would have taken her home last night. I think we are making progress, even if it’s small things, but it’s progress.

Message from Kristin:

Einstein is inseparable with Glory. He has come out of his shell so much in the last week… it is as if this ‘dam has let loose’.

On Wednesday, April 16, 2008, BratPack volunteers were called to pick up some Bichons that were rescued from a Missouri Puppy Mill. A large group of dogs was brought from that mill through Georgia and eventually to Marilyn, Fred and Kathy in Florida.

They came away with four dogs: Booger, Cotton, Lester and Precious…filthy, terrified, in need of medical attention, and unsocialized to the point of almost being feral.

Their names and lives would change from that moment forward. All are now in the hands of caring Fosters.

We will feature that story from its beginning on April 16, retroblogging it to the present…I know that will mess up the timeline a little, but please bear with us.

Then we’ll continue beyond…would you believe that in addition to these four, the BratPack has just taken in five more dogs from a Backyard Breeder who closed down…three 4-month-old pups along with their 2-year-old parents!

This is a story of teamwork. We might have to publish a score card to keep this bunch straight!