It’s been almost 8 months since we entered into the world of foster hood, and although 8 months doesn’t seem like a long time in the grand scheme of things, I feel like a seasoned vet. We’ve learned quite a lot about the rescue world and fostering since then, and for anyone wondering what it’s all about, I wanted to share the good, the bad, and the ugly.

#1 – You can say goodbye to a lot of your free time.

Between vet visits, grooming appointments, people coming to your home to meet your foster, and multiple home visits (which you may or may not opt to do), you will find your days filling up very quickly. On the flip side, your foster may come to you fully vetted without any health issues, and after going through multiple applications, you may decide that one person really stands out so you only need to do the one visit.

#2 – If you do choose to do your own home visits, you will know exactly where your foster is going.

Although these visits do take up quite a bit of your free time and can be a bit of a pain, I wouldn’t have it any other way. Being able to see and visit the home where your foster may end up living helps to decrease the anxiety you feel when they leave. This is definitely one of the pluses to volunteering with a foster-based rescue over a shelter.

#3 – You will inevitably find yourself spending your own money on your fosters.

Although rescues usually will pay for vetting and food (the latter is not the case for many rescues however) you will still spend gas money driving to and from various appointments and visits. If you don’t have a car, then there is usually a volunteer driver who will take your foster dog to the vet, and a home visit team who will do your home visits.

Hopeful Hearts pays for all vetting, food, and most supplies, but sometimes those supplies run out or they just don’t have them. In those cases, we’re asked to keep the receipts and submit them. Have I ever done that? No. I’d much rather have the rescue use that money on a dog needing vet care.

Having said that, every time we bring a new foster home, we usually make a trip to the pet store. We’ve spent money on things like new collars for our fosters (Crazy Beautiful Collars is an addiction of mine), leashes, a playpen and monkey sweater for Snoopy (that he ended up hating), toys — you name it. But that’s our own choice.

#4 – There will be messes.

I have stepped in pee, poo, and puke (the three P’s) more often than I care to remember, and it feels like we’re always cleaning. Sometimes I think we have a houseful of furry babies running around.

You will come to realize that having a squeaky clean and beautiful home is not always a reality when fostering. A few days after multiple fosters arrived at our home for the first time, I had to say goodbye to our rug (it got peed on) and any notion of replacing said rug on the main floor. Between the three P’s, dirty snow and muddy footprints, it just wasn’t worth it.

There may also be damage to your belongings if your foster is destructive. Crates will become your new best friend, but if your foster has an immense dislike for crates, a great alternative is the playpen.

#5 – Your own dog’s behaviour may change.

Once upon a time our dog Halladay used to be impeccably housetrained. We would leave him alone in the house for 8+ hours, come home from work, and there wouldn’t be a single accident. Now that we have a different dog in our home every month or so, sometimes with questionable bathroom habits, Halladay has begun displaying his own less than stellar bathroom habits.

For example (yes, there is an example), the other night I was lying in bed, going through emails on my laptop. Lara was sleeping in her bed beside me, and Halladay and Wookie were wrestling. Suddenly Halladay stopped playing, went to a corner of the bedroom and began doing his poo spin. Thankfully I stopped him in time and got him downstairs and out to the backyard.

Clearly someone needs a refresher in housetraining.

On the flip side, if your dog is an only dog like Halladay used to be, you will dance with happiness when you find your beloved dog and foster getting along, and a few days later, even playing. As much as your dog loves you, nothing replaces their need for doggy companionship. It’s the same thing with humans. As much as I love my dogs, I could not survive wholly on their companionship.

When Wookie and Halladay began playing on Day #2, we really did do a happy dance. Wookie was the first foster that ever wanted to play, and I think Halladay felt like he hit the jackpot.

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The night before my first ever foster dog was to arrive, I received a phone call from Hopeful Hearts‘ foster coordinator. She said there was this teeny tiny maltipoo at the same Quebec shelter as my soon-to-be foster, and did I possibly have a room for another furry little body? She warned me that he had little man syndrome, but I thought, how much trouble can a teeny tiny maltipoo be?

While sitting in the Quebec shelter waiting to be adopted, this teeny tiny maltipoo developed kennel cough. By the time the staff noticed how sick he was, he had to be put on an IV and spent the rest of his time in the emergency shelter with the very amazing folks there.

The moment he walked into my home, this teeny tiny maltipoo stole my heart. I was told that his name was Lucky, which made me angry and then incredibly sad. We spent the first few days calling him “Little One”, then moving onto “Lo”, and then finally deciding on the name Snoopy. The first time I called him that he immediately looked at me, so it stuck.

Snoopy was on a buffet of meds when he arrived, so he was barely eating. I bribed him with chicken, hamburger, rice, yogurt.. you name it. He just wasn’t interested. We were fortunate if we could get him to eat a tablespoon of food a day. All he wanted to do was sleep, and he very much resembled a stuffed animal in those days.

I did a little happy dance the first time Snoopy showed any real interest in food. In no time at all he was gobbling down boiled chicken and rice, then wet food, and finally, his beloved Chicken À La Veg Fromm.

After his appetite increased he became more lively, doing twirly little dances when he saw his leash, knowing it was walk time. When Snoopy started doing zoomies around the house, I knew we were in the clear. However as his health began to improve, we got to know the real Snoopy.

The first time he bit me I was completely gobsmacked. I was in the process of claiming my space (thank you, Cesar Millan!) by trying to shoo Snoopy out of the kitchen when he did it. He latched onto my foot with his teeth and started flailing around like a little alligator. After that he bit us for various other reasons — I nudged him when he was sleeping, tried to take away a kleenex that he managed to steal from the garbage can, said “no” to him when he peed on the floor, and once he even bit me because I looked at him funny. No joke.

I was flabbergasted. But then I got a chance to read his intake file.

At six months old, Snoopy was purchased at a pet store by his owner. He was left alone 10+ hours a day, and had only met a total of 2-4 people in his 4 years. It was also very clear that he had never been socialized, as he didn’t understand how to be around other dogs. He had never been taught how to use stairs or to go to the bathroom outside, and he didn’t have the slightest idea what to do with a dog toy. Three and a half years later when Snoopy’s owner’s new girlfriend moved in, Snoopy bit her, and that was it. He was dropped off at the shelter in Quebec and they didn’t look back.

After reading his file, we vowed never to give up on him, and to continue working on his issues no matter what.

The first thing we did was teach him how to use the stairs. Then we started taking note of his “triggers”, and instead of avoiding them, we purposely put him in those situations where he would normally bite. With a lot of patience and a ton of praise, Snoopy eventually went from a dog who bit us a few times a day, to once every couple of days. With the help of some very amazing people (Alana & Marco from Bark Busters), his biting issue is now a thing of the past.

It’s been five months since that teeny tiny maltipoo walked into my life, and I am now faced with the daunting task of having to say goodbye, as he has captured the heart of one very lucky lady. I know that her life will forever be changed, like mine was, the moment Snoopy walks into her home.

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Mel keeps a blog where she writes about her life as a foster Mom. You can read it here. And you really should read it – it’s awesome and so inspirational.

In the fall, Dogs at Camp, which offers daycare and overnight care for dogs, opened in Stitsville just outside of Ottawa. Paddington, Corduroy, Thomas and I had the pleasure of attending and everyone had a great time. Their facility is large and has lots of room for dogs to play and run away their energy.

One amazing thing that Dogs at Camp is doing to help the Ottawa dog community is they are fostering dogs for BARK Rescue. What an amazing concept!! The foster dogs get to run and play and have a great time before finding their forever homes. I commend Dogs at Camp for doing this – you are making a huge difference in the lives of dogs and that’s so great!

Soon after they opened, Dogs at Camp launched a blog and I think it’s so much fun! Check it out here.

I often post on here about charities doing fundraisers because they need money, but something I don’t post about enough is that most of the dog rescue organizations in Ottawa also need foster homes. Many shelters these days don’t actually have a shelter, but have their dogs rehabilitated in homes that are lovingly opened up to them by some amazing families.

Fostering a dog can bring up a lot of questions, and fears. What if I grow too attached? What if I can’t do it?

I am friends with an amazing pet photographer who is based out of Southern California and recently she took the leap and fostered a dog. This dog is named Harry, and this is Grace’s story of their journey together.

***PLEASE NOTE: Harry is available for adoption in Southern California. He is NOT in Ottawa.***

I’ve always considered fostering, but the thought of it honestly freaked me out. I couldn’t imagine taking care of a dog and inevitably growing to love him, only to give him up to his forever home. So while it sounded really awesome in theory – I knew I just didn’t have the guts to do it.

I feel like if me, miss scaredy pants, can bite the bullet and foster, anyone can! It’s a really amazing experience.

But on Christmas Eve 2009, Los Angeles Best Friends Animal Society volunteers went to the Balwin Park Shelter and rescued a group of dogs from euthanasia – including this little Bischon-Poodle mix named Harry.

Poor guy was in REALLY bad shape. He was lifeless in his cell at the shelter, and upon closer examination volunteers discovered he was badly wounded. It looked as if he’d been dragged on asphalt by a car, resulting in a big, painful patch of road burn on his side. He had also developed hot spots around his back legs and tail, probably from all the anxiety of being in the shelter.

They bathed him, groomed him as much as they could, and off he went to the vet for boarding.

With so much recovering Harry needed to do, it seemed that it would be best for him to heal in a foster home instead of yet another scary, cold cage in boarding. My friend and Studio Manager thought he’d be a perfect fit for my house. Maeby and Zoey love small dogs and I work from home. The ONLY REASON I really had to say no was my own selfish anxiety about growing attached to Harry and eventually giving him up.

So I sucked it up, got over my fears, and in early January I went to the vet to pick Harry up.

See the giant patch of road burn on his side? Poor guy had wounds on his legs too.

It’s been about 7 weeks now since Harry has come to live with us. He had to wear a cone for the first month, learn to be in a crate, and learn to be home alone. I can’t lie – it’s been a long journey. He had EXTREEEEEEEEME separation anxiety and couldn’t stand being in a crate. Once when I was out of the house for an hour, he actually CRACKED the bottom of the plastic crate trying to get out!

But our little man Harry come a long way in the last 7 weeks!! His wounds are completely healed, his hot spots are gone, and he loves hanging out in his crate even if I’m home. Harry is extremely obedient – if I tell him to “go inside” his crate, in he goes. He learns commands very quickly – I taught him sit, stay, and shake in a matter of minutes. Harry loves all dogs big and small and doesn’t have an aggressive bone in his body. He has complete respect for Maeby and Zoey, and doesn’t have rude doggie manners other than trying to snatch food from my hand (but he quickly learned not to do this too). His favorite thing in the world is cuddling and having his belly rubbed. Best of all, Harry is 100% potty trained! He still has some minor separation anxiety issues (especially compared to how he was 7 weeks ago) and loves to follow me around from room to room. We’re trying out best not to enable his clingy-ness by only giving him affection when he’s calm, relaxed and not asking for it.

Harry is still a little withdrawn and hasn’t completely emerged from his shell. He doesn’t quite know how to play, but every once in awhile something in his head clicks and he goes bonkers playing with Maeby and Zoey. He’s come such a long way since I met him 7 weeks ago and I know he’s ready for his forever home. Overall Harry is an AWESOME DOG and whoever gets to adopt him is one very lucky person!

My hope is for Harry to get adopted in Los Angeles so I can have a photoshoot with him and his new lucky owners someday. But until that day comes, we’ll continue to love him and get him ready for his new life.

And check out how handsome our little man Harry is now!

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I got this information from several sources and readers ~ thank you for sending it in

About 60 dogs are now in Ottawa. Many Ottawa Canine rescues have stepped in to help out and foster these dogs to get them healthy so they can go to their forever homes.

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If you are considering adding a new family member to your brood, please consider one of these beautiful dogs. 22 out of the over 100 dogs rescued are confirmed to be pregnant so adopting a puppy is a great way to adopt as well.

Dontations

Anyone can donate to BARK through PayPal on their website on the memberships and donations page.

Cheques can be made out to “BARK” and mailed to:
2229 Braeside Ave Ottawa, K1H 7J6

Toys etc can be dropped at the Braeside address as well.

Video by: Scott Parker, The Ottawa Citizen taken from this article.

(Ottawa Dog of the Week for August 3rd/09)

“Melly was surrendered to the Canadian Chihuahua Rescue and Transport (CCRT), a dog rescue group I co-founded 10 years ago, in July 2007 from the Ottawa Humane Society, where she came in as a stray. I picked her up and instantly fell in love with her – all 20 pounds of her! She was morbidly obese and needed to go on a diet big-time! She stayed with me for a few days until she could hitch a ride to her foster home in Elliot Lake, ON. Sadly, during those few days, my 14 year Chihuahua Newton passed away and I was devastated. It helped to have Melly with me and while I considered adopting her at the time, I was grieving so much for Newton that I thought it best to not make any big decisions.

Melly went to her foster home and was able to lose 6 pounds in just a couple of months (why can’t I do that?). I stayed in touch with her foster mom who sent me regular updates and photos – I fell more and more in love every day.

Finally, on October 11, 2007 (my birthday) I realized that I was ready for another dog and it had to be Melly. I officially adopted her and made the 7.5 hour one way drive to Elliot Lake to pick her up. I couldn’t believe it when I saw her – she looked sooo slim and trim. I returned to Ottawa the same day (yes, that’s 15 hours of driving in 1 day) and learned something about Melly I didn’t know – she is petrified of car rides. It was an interesting ride home, to say the least.

It’s been almost two years since I adopted Melly and I can’t imagine my life without her. She has lost another few pounds and while she remains a curvy gal, she is in much better shape now. She is such a clown that I tell people she ran away from the circus – she’s truly amusing! Like all dogs, her favourite things are walks and food, but she also enjoys curling up on the ottoman at my feet while I watch TV. She was housebroken pretty much from the moment she came to CCRT and even does tricks – it boggles my mind that such a well behaved, trained dog was not claimed at the Humane Society by her owners. They obviously loved her very much to take the time to train her – but their loss is most certainly my gain!

Melly is a great example of a wonderful, older dog in rescue that is just dying to be a part of a family. Hopefully her story will encourage people to consider adopting an older dog when they are looking to add to their furry family.” – Melly’s Mom, Nathalie

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