A Happy End (of a year) to all

[Jarka, Monty & Auggie]

Some of you who are my friends on FB know that I volunteer for our local animal shelter taking pictures of the dogs.

I have been doing this since April and even though I feel bad for all the wonderful dogs suck at a shelter, I managed to keep my cool. Until early November 6th, when I noticed a small poodle mix was brought to the shelter as a stray. I was there the day after they checked her in, and for some reason I just had to see her. She was in the "found" area waiting for somebody to come claim her. No collar, no chip.

She was very scared and we could barely get her out of the kennel to take pictures of her. But once she was outside, she let me pick the weeds and stickers out of her ears. She seemed freshly groomed, but very scared of people.

I went home and could not get her out of my head. Days went by and all I could see was her sad eyes. Normally, if found dogs are not claimed within two weeks, they are up for adoption. Her date was November 14th. I checked with the shelter before this date and was told that she won't be adoptable because of her extreme fear. And that they will will working with her to overcome the fear. After this information, I became even more restless and I've decided that I want to foster her. Unfortunately, the people whose approval I needed were out until the 19th of November.

Now, I'm a first time dog owner. I've never fostered dogs before. I have never adopted a shelter dog either. And I've never felt the urge to do that. But I just could not get this girl out of my mind. So I told my husband my plans and he was okay with it. He said to get ready for pee and poo in the house...and in all honesty, I had no idea what I would do with a very fearful dog.

I brought her home on the 19th of November and named her Cookie. After 30 minutes, Cookie was snuggled up to me on the couch. Monty and Auggie were great in giving her space (well, Auggie had to get a reminder from Cookie a couple of times, but he got it pretty quickly). When my husband came back from work that day, I could feel Cookie trembling in fear. I dragged out our old crate and set it up in the kitchen. Cookie spent the first night sleeping through the whole night in the crate. I bet she was just so exhausted from being in the noisy shelter environment. My husband was leaving for work at 6am in the next morning. We let Cookie out of her crate at that time and her tail was going millions miles a second. After my husband left, there was no way she would go back in her crate. So I took her upstairs and she immediately hopped on the bed and slept between my legs till 8:30am. She was sleeping with us in the bed for the subsequent nights.

There was no sign of fear once Cookie knew she was home. She was potty trained. She was the biggest snuggle bug of all. Always by me and with me. She warmed up to my husband the next day and would lay on his belly watching TV. She learned to use the doggy door the next day just by seeing my boys go through. And soon enough, she joined them in barking at the neighbor's dogs.

I love my boys to pieces, but they don't snuggle. They come for their pets when they need them. This girl was constantly in my lap, snuggling at all times. It was so cute. All she wanted was love. My husband was falling in love.

We got to the point where were were considering keeping her. At the same time, I got a message from a family who was interested in her. A freshly retired lady whose husband still works. She felt alone spending the whole day at home and needed a snuggle buddy. We went to see them, but Cookie was scared of them, as expected.

So I made a video of her progress for them to see. She was a totally different dog at home.

https://vimeo.com/112649869

The story short, after a trail week with Cookie, the family decided to adopt her. A perfect situation. Cookie would be the only dog at the house and the mom is there the whole time. Walks by a golf course every morning and lots of love throughout the rest of the day...

I cried for the next two days after we dropped Cookie off. I felt like I betrayed her since she was so scared of her new owners. Fortunately, they kept in touch on how she was doing and I'm happy to report that Cookie is back to her old happy self. I'm still sad that she is not with us. My heart aches for her companionship, but my brain is telling me this is the best outcome. I can' have three dogs, with one being so needy for attention the whole time.

I'm at peace with my decision (until I look at Cookie's pictures and videos) and I do believe this was meant to be. I don't think I'm a foster parent material. I'm too sensitive for that. But I do believe that shelter dogs need a chance. And I'm really happy to be able to find a loving home for Cookie.

You might see a scared dog at a shelter that nobody would want to adopt, but they might be a very loving companion once they know they are safe. Cookie sure was. I've never seen a dog with such a loving personality in my whole life.

So, this is a happy ending for one shelter doggy and a person who's never fostered dogs before.Big thanks to all of you out there who foster dogs on a regular basis (and are able to let them go to their furever loving homes).

[Lonnie & Libby Lu]

Jarka, this is story is beautiful and Cookie seems to be a real sweetheart!  I loved the video and it says so much about your love for dogs.  Thank you for giving her a second chance and then giving her to a wonderful family.

[Gail and Bailey]

Cookie is such a sweet looking pup!  Bless you for helping her have a good life!  

[F, Calla & Luca]

What a lovely story Jarka. You and your family did a great deed.

[Becka]

You guys rock--you made a world of difference for the dog and for the new owner. This warms my heart so much.

[Carol and Banjo]

What a beautiful thing you did for this little sweetheart Jarka.   Wishing you and your family a Merry Christmas and a wonderful, healthy New Year!

[Leslie J]

I love this story. It is such a reminder that all of us may not be able to always engage in rescue or other forms of charity, but if each of us seized a moment and saved one dog (or cat or human or...) the world would be a better place by leaps and bounds!

[Shoney & Ruby]

Cookie is so sweet! Thank you for rescuing her!

[BG and Gavin]

I could have watched that video all day. We had a dog at our shelter who was awesome but kept getting passed over for months until the shelter posted a video of him to fb showing off his wonderful personality. He got adopted that very day. Fb and video is a powerful combo. Thanks for helping Cookie along her way. I am certain you also helped a human along their way too.

[Deeann Roesser]

What a wonderful thing you and your husband did for that little dog. Not to mention the people who eventually adopted her. Bless you for your selflessness!

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

I love you for doing this for Cookie.  You are awesome, Jarka....and so is that hubby of yours.  Merry Christmas!