FINDING A GOOD HOME-SO WORRIED

[Joanna, Zoe & Bender]

This blog is dedicated to all the loving foster parents out there!  I really have so much respect for you and the patience, dedication, and love you have for all your fosters.  I really do not know how you are able to open up your hearts and lives to these precious creatures and then have to say good bye.

Last week, we brought home a dog that was in a horrible situation in hopes to find him a better home.  He was not a stray but a puppy we once knew and his life has just spiraled downwards from the time that he started to grow out of the cute puppy stage.  He was outside 100% of the time and his only human interaction was when they came out to toss food into his bowl once a day.  That bowl was dirty and his water moldy.  His living area was infested with mice/rats.  I can only imagine what it was like when they took over at night because all I saw was a disgusting amount of droppings.  He is a sweet, trusting, intelligent dog and he just wants to be loved.

We have had him for a week and I am so in love with him but we can not keep him.  We cut out all his matted fur, bathed him, and have him close to us most of the day.  He loves just sitting by us and getting petted.  I am working with a rescue to find him a foster home and I am emotionally exhausted waiting and hoping.  We are close and I expect to send him off this week or next.  This got me thinking...I am beside myself with worry!!!  What if they don't love him, what if they are not nice to him, what if they are not patient with him, what if they don't know him like I do and won't know his needs and wants, what if he doesn't like them, what if they don't bond??  There are so many "what if's" running through my head and I am just so heart broken from thinking about all these things.  I guess this is when fosters become "foster failures" but unfortunately 3 dogs is too many for us.  I wish it wasn't but I know it is.  I know it's better for him and he will have a better life but I can't help but want the absolute BEST for him.  How do you do it?

So here he is!  If anyone or anyone you know (in Los Angeles or Orange County) is interested in adopting him please PM me.  

He is 3 or 4 years old, around 35 lbs (underweight), male, neutered, terrier/golden mix(?), and SUPER sweet!

*UPDATE* I just checked facebook and they reposted their search for a foster.  I guess the ones they had didn't work out :(  I feel so devastated.

Please help to repost on Facebook if you can...

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151888930771322&set=a...

[Donna K & Quincy]

Poor baby, he is so lucky that he has you to look out for him. The fact that you are caring for him under less than ideal circumstances makes you even more special.

[Joanna, Zoe & Bender]

Thank you Nancy!  We can't foster him, Bender is agitated and mean to him.  I do think he's coming around and curious tho because the other day he sniffed his butt without attacking him :)

thank you Laurie, I just spoke with the potential foster mom over the phone today and I feel more comfortable now.  We are set to meet them tomorrow and if all goes well he will go home with them.  I am so happy and so sad at the same time :/

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

Well said, Joanne!

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

Thank you so much for helping this little guy. I like Nancy's suggestion and I bet if you had a vote in who gets him, you may feel better about letting him go. I so admire all the people who foster. Thank you again.

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Thank you for helping this guy. You are fostering him - you may not realize it but that is exactly what you are doing, and it sounds like you are doing a wonderful job! Perhaps you could continue fostering him until his forever home is found and then you could be included in the process of choosing the new home.

[Joanna, Zoe & Bender]

Anja, I'm so sorry to hear that you had to rehome one of your own.    I'm glad you found a good home for her :)  I feel so heartbroken over this guy and he has only been with us for a week.  My husband brought home a stray puppy last year and she stayed with us for about 3 wks but I wasn't nearly as attached to her as i am to this little guy!   

thank you Carol and Linda!  

Karen,  I thought so too when I first saw him but his fur is so wire-like he's definitely terrier mix.  Funny thing is after we cut off all the matted fur on his arms & legs, his fur isn't wire-like on those areas anymore.  They are really soft and almost fluffy?  It's so awful... so many dogs in need of homes.  I wish I can take them all!  I have a talk with Ben every day on what a lucky dood he is so he needs to be more friendly! 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

He sure looks very doodle-y to me. He's absolutely adorable, and he's the perfect size dog as far as I'm concerned. How awful that his family had no love or caring for him. 

I can't figure out what is going on in CA, especially Southern CA. There's barely a week that goes by that someone doesn't contact the DRC about a doodle or a poodle mix in a kill shelter out there, and they're usually smaller sized dogs. (Look at what's going on with Richard's Maltese rescue!) We're trying to find a foster home right now for a gorgeous doodle who looks very much like this guy; he's with a Lab rescue and they don't have any fosters or adopters for him right now, so's being boarded, poor guy.  

Read and re-read Joanne's words to you. She got it exactly right. 

You are the safe haven and the guardian for this guy right now while he waits for his true family to find him. They're on their way, trust that. Thank you for keeping him safe for them. 

Big hugs to you. :)

[Linda, Charlie Brown and Beau]

Praying for this little guy.  I hope someone can give him a forever home and everything he deserves.  Thank you for Joanna for all you are doing and for all the other fosters out there.

[Carol and Banjo]

Oh my, what a heart wrenching post.  Bless you for taking this darling little guy into your heart and home.   I'm praying that the perfect forever family comes into his life soon...and in the meantime thank you for all that you're doing to help him.

[Anja]

Joanne, I had to re home one of my dogs earlier this year after she had been with me for a year. I went through the same thought processes and trying to figure out ways on how to make it work between her and my other dog because I was concerned that she wouldn't be loved and treated right.  I worked with two rescues and spoke to probably 20+ people who were interested before I found the one. A condition of my rehome/surrender was that I would be able to stay in touch and see how she is doing. The new owner right away befriended me on facebook so I could be more comfortable and see on a regular basis how my pup is doing. Like Joanne said when it is the right family you will know. While I'm still heartbroken about giving her up I couldn't be happier with who she ended up with.