Confessions of a First Time Foster

Friday was a wonderful day.

It turned out that all three of us (Papa and me and our friend in Chicago) had enough energy — for the first time since Angel arrived — to play our normal Friday night over-the-phone roleplaying game. It didn’t seem like we covered that much ground; an awful lot of time had to be spent in trying to remember where we’d left off and what so-and-so had actually said and so forth. But we’re back in the groove now!

Maybe. “The groove” involves staying up till 1:30am our time. And normally, sleeping in till at least 9:00 on Saturday. Angel had different ideas, and by 7:30 Papa was annoyed enough to reset the alarm and wake me up, too. Our schedule was cockeyed all day. To give you an idea, we went out for lunch and realized on the way home that it was 5:40 and we’d just had dinner. Poor Angel didn’t stand a chance of getting out consistently in time.

And more dog neglect occurred on Sunday, when our normal cadre of friends arrived for board gaming. We started that morning at 7:30 too, although we were considerably less groggy, having gone to bed in plenty of time for an early rising. It didn’t help that I wasn’t sure if we were on Angel’s weekday schedule, just starting an hour late, or if all the times should be advanced an hour. (Hmm, more research. First let’s get the weekday schedule down ironclad.) But I have to admit, mostly we just kept forgetting the time in the excitement of the game. Especially my excitement. I won both games!

The guy who usually wins is Paris’s “godfather.” He’s told us that he wants to take Paris if anything should happen to us. He adores her. But he couldn’t understand why we like Angel so much. Or why she should be so easily scared. I told him that if he’d lived two-and-a-half years in a crate, he’d be scared of the big wide world too. Later, I realized that I had to convert years. And the first year of a dog’s life takes you through to what? 16? in a human life. I think that means that each additional year of a bichon’s life counts as four human years; 17 is really old, and so is 80.

So I should be saying, what if you spent the first 20 years of your life in a tiny basement room, not allowed to leave for any reason. (We’ll say your parents talked to you and gave you language. But certainly, you never had friends or went to school or even went to the bathroom.) And then a lady came along and said she’d give you a better home. Only she put you in a tiny room in the garage, and let you run around in her yard for half an hour a day. Well, that would expose you to the sky for the first time, and trees, so it’s not insignificant. And she held you some, too, which was a novel experience. And that lasted for two years before she gave up. Now you’re 22 years old and you’ve never seen the inside of a house. You are not going to just pick up a normal life without blinking. You may eventually be like Paris, who was pampered from birth, but it will take you time and love to get there. (By my count, Paris is 27.) And you may never take the same things for granted that she does. That doesn’t make you less wonderful as a companion, in my book.

Yikes! By this count, Cognac is a staid 40 to 44. And Angel keeps trying to get him to play with her! With some success, I should note.

Message from Marilyn:

There were dogs everywhere and these are not mine…mine were at the house. Steve, April, Craig, and JoAnne…who is the grooming expert…and of course Fred having a snack. Couple of the dogs are Craig’s and one belongs to JoAnne. It was mayhem, but we had a good time.

These five dogs are very special and all as sweet as can be. Mom is a doll, and is sick of her puppies. She yearns for attention.

Message from Marilyn:

Not sure of all the names yet. Dad is BamBam and has the huge mat on his tail.
Mom is adorable and is Pebbles…how did you guess?
Baby girl is: Lady
Chunky boy is: Teddy
Tiny boy is: Alfred…and let me tell you this boy is a love.

Both females are more shy, but just fine this morning. Dad is a love and so is Chunky boy, but Alfred…oh my, he needs to leave here soon.

They all need baths and some poop removal from the butt…later today. For now they are getting settled and seem quite happy. I need to go out and get puppy food. This morning they all ate what my kids eat., Low Cal. California Natural…so, need puppy food ASAP.

We got home very late and spent about an hour getting them settled. They all threw up in their crates on the way here…so, we were doing laundry at midnight.

The pictures are mostly Fred with the pups…he put new collars and tags on all of them. Ok, need to go shopping and then a nap.

(later)

This morning after we fed all the dogs, etc., I went back to bed for a bit and fell asleep. When I woke up, I looked down and right next to me on a little rug by my side of the bed, was Miss Darcy fast asleep. Now, I think this is progress and have a good feeling today. She is trying and hopefully she is feeling more comfortable and wants to be with me.