Foster #2
I made it through my first foster in one piece. If I can get all my fosters adopted this quickly, think how many I could save. The transport comes in every 2 weeks, so I now had a week to wait before getting my next foster. I could look through dogs available to pull however, so I did. I put in my request for what I was looking for: male, over 6 months, under 50 pounds.
I found out I was getting a super cute 7 month old hound/lab mix named Mickey. The day came to go get my new boy. Mickey ended up being more like 60 pounds and he was a shepherd mix. He was gorgeous and so sweet! Some people told me he looked like a Dutch shepherd.
Mickey was a little more than my family bargained for. He had tons of energy and did not realize his size. He tried to play with the smaller dogs, but ended up intimidating them. He bounced around the house and didn’t care what furniture got in his way. I had to get a new locking garbage can because he got into the garbage. He counted surfed and stole food. He chewed up several harnesses and a leash. He was trouble. But I loved him. At night I would sit up with him and watch tv. I wanted to give him a chance out of his crate to get out the crazies. Mostly he just snuggled on the couch with me.
Now even though I loved Mickey no one else in the house did. My husband was not ready for a big crazy boy. He was too much puppy for my girls. So I knew there would be no keeping this guy. Thankfully I had some friends and family with playful younger dogs that I could take him for play dates.
When I took Mickey to the vet for his check up his shepherd side came out. He did not like the vet and ended up needing sedation to get through the appointment. I was so sad for him. He was so scared. I brought my poor drunk puppy home that night and loved on him. We would definitely have to work on desensitization. Mickey also did not like men in hats, he would start barking like crazy at Any man in a hat that came up to him. So we had to keep an eye out for triggers. One time I did appreciate Mickey’s watchfulness was during a late night walk. We had gotten a later start than normal and it had gotten dark on us. As we were walking down the street a guy was coming down the street wearing a hoodie (this is summertime and hot). Something about him made me a little more watchful. Mickey agreed, he started growling. The guy crossed to the other side of the street and we went our separate ways. I was very happy to have my big shepherd guard dog.
Mickey ended up being with me for 2.5 months. We made sure to do plenty of socialization. We walked almost daily. I found Mickey LOVED kids. When we walked and he saw a child he would try to drag me to them. He was so happy when they stopped to pet him. Unfortunately he didn’t realize how big he was so I had to watch so he didn’t knock the little ones over. Mickey was definitely coming out of his shell.
Mickey made me laugh. He was a clown. I found out that he loved to chase the hose while watering the flowers one night. He started biting at the water. I decided to try something and started spraying around the yard. Mickey chased the water snapping at it. He was having a ball and I was laughing. If there were days we didn’t get a walk in I would take him out in the yard with the hose for some exercise.
Every year Rover rescue participated in the nationwide Clear the Shelters event. All adoption fees are waved on dogs over 6 months old. We bring in as many dogs as possible to help clear out the shelters we pull from in Southern Indiana. I was going to be participating in my first Clear the Shelters with Mickey and another temporary foster I took in (more about him later). This event is crazy. There were over 70 dogs and their handlers, plus all the other volunteers. There was a DJ and a food truck. People lined up ahead of time to adopt.
Once the event started it got even crazier. People were prescreened before meeting the dogs. Handlers had to find the right fit for their dogs. My cousin and I were in charge of my 2 fosters. My cousin decided to take Mickey. I had 2 different families asking me questions about him at the same time. We settled on a mom and her young daughters. Mickey and the kids were in heaven. I was so excited for my boy.
The excitement didn’t last. Shortly after my second dog found his home I saw a dog walking up that I recognized. Mickey was being returned because he went after the cat in the household. Unfortunately in the madness it got missed that Mickey was not cat friendly. I was trying to figure out how to tell my husband I was bringing Mickey home after I had already told him he had been adopted. We still had some time left however, so I wouldn’t worry about that just yet.
I was coming out from getting the return paperwork finished and one of the other volunteers asked if I had Mickey. A couple had come specifically to see my boy. They lived on a farm. They had adopted another dog from a different event. They loved what they read in Mickey’s bio. We spent a lot of time talking. Their one reservation was that they would eventually like to add cats to the house. After much discussing they decided to give Mickey a shot. He had his second adoption that day. I recently got an update on Mickey and he is doing great. He even has a kitty sister he cuddles with. My heart was happy. Another adoption in the books. More on my other Clear the Shelters foster next time.
I found out I was getting a super cute 7 month old hound/lab mix named Mickey. The day came to go get my new boy. Mickey ended up being more like 60 pounds and he was a shepherd mix. He was gorgeous and so sweet! Some people told me he looked like a Dutch shepherd.
Mickey was a little more than my family bargained for. He had tons of energy and did not realize his size. He tried to play with the smaller dogs, but ended up intimidating them. He bounced around the house and didn’t care what furniture got in his way. I had to get a new locking garbage can because he got into the garbage. He counted surfed and stole food. He chewed up several harnesses and a leash. He was trouble. But I loved him. At night I would sit up with him and watch tv. I wanted to give him a chance out of his crate to get out the crazies. Mostly he just snuggled on the couch with me.
Now even though I loved Mickey no one else in the house did. My husband was not ready for a big crazy boy. He was too much puppy for my girls. So I knew there would be no keeping this guy. Thankfully I had some friends and family with playful younger dogs that I could take him for play dates.
When I took Mickey to the vet for his check up his shepherd side came out. He did not like the vet and ended up needing sedation to get through the appointment. I was so sad for him. He was so scared. I brought my poor drunk puppy home that night and loved on him. We would definitely have to work on desensitization. Mickey also did not like men in hats, he would start barking like crazy at Any man in a hat that came up to him. So we had to keep an eye out for triggers. One time I did appreciate Mickey’s watchfulness was during a late night walk. We had gotten a later start than normal and it had gotten dark on us. As we were walking down the street a guy was coming down the street wearing a hoodie (this is summertime and hot). Something about him made me a little more watchful. Mickey agreed, he started growling. The guy crossed to the other side of the street and we went our separate ways. I was very happy to have my big shepherd guard dog.
Mickey ended up being with me for 2.5 months. We made sure to do plenty of socialization. We walked almost daily. I found Mickey LOVED kids. When we walked and he saw a child he would try to drag me to them. He was so happy when they stopped to pet him. Unfortunately he didn’t realize how big he was so I had to watch so he didn’t knock the little ones over. Mickey was definitely coming out of his shell.
Mickey made me laugh. He was a clown. I found out that he loved to chase the hose while watering the flowers one night. He started biting at the water. I decided to try something and started spraying around the yard. Mickey chased the water snapping at it. He was having a ball and I was laughing. If there were days we didn’t get a walk in I would take him out in the yard with the hose for some exercise.
Every year Rover rescue participated in the nationwide Clear the Shelters event. All adoption fees are waved on dogs over 6 months old. We bring in as many dogs as possible to help clear out the shelters we pull from in Southern Indiana. I was going to be participating in my first Clear the Shelters with Mickey and another temporary foster I took in (more about him later). This event is crazy. There were over 70 dogs and their handlers, plus all the other volunteers. There was a DJ and a food truck. People lined up ahead of time to adopt.
Once the event started it got even crazier. People were prescreened before meeting the dogs. Handlers had to find the right fit for their dogs. My cousin and I were in charge of my 2 fosters. My cousin decided to take Mickey. I had 2 different families asking me questions about him at the same time. We settled on a mom and her young daughters. Mickey and the kids were in heaven. I was so excited for my boy.
The excitement didn’t last. Shortly after my second dog found his home I saw a dog walking up that I recognized. Mickey was being returned because he went after the cat in the household. Unfortunately in the madness it got missed that Mickey was not cat friendly. I was trying to figure out how to tell my husband I was bringing Mickey home after I had already told him he had been adopted. We still had some time left however, so I wouldn’t worry about that just yet.
I was coming out from getting the return paperwork finished and one of the other volunteers asked if I had Mickey. A couple had come specifically to see my boy. They lived on a farm. They had adopted another dog from a different event. They loved what they read in Mickey’s bio. We spent a lot of time talking. Their one reservation was that they would eventually like to add cats to the house. After much discussing they decided to give Mickey a shot. He had his second adoption that day. I recently got an update on Mickey and he is doing great. He even has a kitty sister he cuddles with. My heart was happy. Another adoption in the books. More on my other Clear the Shelters foster next time.
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