Only Good Things

We've had many foster dogs grace our life.  They come from all over. Each has a story, some with lots of history, some with just a little.  All have stories they could tell if only they could speak.

All of them are special, but some are extra special.  No really, I speak the truth. Okay, I may say that with each and every one.  Here is another truth, I love a good rescue story and I hate a rescue story. This is today's story.

Enter this little pointer mix.  She hales from Oklahoma. It's a miracle she's alive. Hold on to your hat, this isn't pretty.  The former owner took a hammer to her puppies killing them all in front of her.  He took a hammer to her and the other family dog. Sydney, our foster, was able to escape. Clyde took the brunt of the beating. A neighbor intervened, God bless him, and arrests were made. Did I mention about the trailer house being infested by roaches? And that the owner came back, tried to burn down the house and Clyde as well? It's ugly every way you look at it.

We opened our hearts fully expecting a pup shell shocked by trauma.  What we got is the beauty of resiliency and hope.  She is not at all timid, loves to cuddle, clearly has prior sofa and lap experience. She is affectionate and gentle.  That is not to say there is not a deep sorrow within her.  How could there not be?  What we feel is the gentle heart of a survivor who simply trusts good things are coming her way.  We will do everything to see that that happens for her. Clyde is awaiting transport to a foster home as well.  He too has a bright future ahead of him thanks to Muddy Paws Second Chance Rescue.

This is what rescue is all about.  Taking chances, trusting that love and healing will come. Sometimes it comes almost instantly, sometimes not, but it comes.  That I promise you.  For Ms. Sydney...we're not looking back, only forward.  Only good things lie ahead.

When The Right Home Come's Along....

Buddy, aka Budwheezer, was our foster dog for 15 months.  He came in as a possible hospice foster, and we loved him even if that was the journey he was on.  We loved him, like we love all our fosters, perhaps just a little more.  Because he was such a great Buddy.

But, there was a greater plan and truthfully, just what we wanted for him.  Fostering means you wait, for them to settle in, for them to feel safe, for them to learn the ropes, to gain confidence, for them to heal, for a good prognosis.  When he got his good prognosis, he went back up on the adoption ready list.  Still he waited, and it was okay with us.

With fosters you get inquiries from time-to-time on your dog.  But if you've done this enough, you know not to get excited.  You answer their questions and see if their interest grows or wanes. You breathe a sign of relief when you know it's not the right home.  If it's the right home, it will all fall into place.

So you wait, and you love them during muddy days, the days you find toads in the house, during the days they eat baby bunny's, when they howl in the middle of the night for no particular reason. When you think it will never happen, and are secretly happy about that, it does.

On that day you look at your foster, and the possibilities the forever home offers, and you know you have no choice.  Love is like that.  Give of your heart for the greater good.  Which is just what Buddy got.  A greater good, a forever home, and love that ran deep from the first time she saw him.  Now, I know, and she know's, he can always, always, always come back.  We're okay with that.  For a delightful time we were the best for him.  Now his forever home is.  Life is good.