My first foster.
Happy 2020 Everyone!
In 2019 I endeavored to start a blog, but didn’t get very far. I want to blog about my adventures being a dog foster mom for Rover Rescue in Aurora, IL. I have been fostering for over a year and I did not realize how rewarding it would truly be. I have so many people tell me they could never do it, they would get too attached. I look at is as I get to have so many more dogs in my life because of fostering. So this blog will hopefully help educate people about fostering.
I had a friend ask me about fostering several years ago. At the time I was getting ready to get married, buying a house, and starting a new family with my husband, his dog, my dog, and myself. It was not the right time, but it put the bug in my ear. I decided is was something I wanted to do. So probably about 6 months after we got married and our dogs had settled in I made the leap. I decided to go with Rover Rescue because my mom had recently adopted a dog from them and was so happy with the group. I filled out the online application, did a phone interview, had a home check, and had my first dog within a week.
After I passed the home interview I got the email that there would be a transport the following weekend. I was asked what I was looking for in a foster dog. I had 2 females at home already so knew I needed a male. I like big dogs, but my husband is more of a small dog person so we compromised and said a dog under 40 pounds. As much as I love puppies, I knew I didn’t have the time or energy for a puppy, so we decided over 6 months. I put in my request and then got the email with dogs looking to come into the rescue. There was an adorable corgi/heeler mix that I said I would take. At this point my dog had already been chosen for me and if I took the corgi mix I would get 2. So I stuck with the original dog they picked, a beagle. Well as it came time to find out who we were getting for sure, I found out the beagle tested positive for heartworms so I was getting my corgi mix. I was so excited.
The dog was named Freeway because he had been loose by the freeway for 6 months before finally being caught. He had had a hard life, but I was determined to make it better.
The morning of our transport came and I was like a kid on Christmas morning. I could not wait. I get the call that transport is an hour away. I was told that my dog was an escape risk and had to stay in his carrier until safe inside the house. At the time I owned a Ford Fusion and was not sure how a large travel crate would fit into my car. So I called my mom to help transport the pup back to my house. We loaded the crate in her car and were off. When we got to my house we took the carrier inside. I sat on the floor and opened the door. Freeway came out of the crate and rested his head on me. He seemed to know he was safe.
I fell for this short little cattle dog inside a corgi body quickly. He loved to snuggle. The first night home we crated him in our bedroom. He was very upset. As soon as I moved the crate right next to the bed he settled down. He just wanted to be close. He also made me laugh. One time I looked up to find he took all the dog toys out of the toy bin and lined them up in front of him. He was truly a herding dog. The first time we walked a bike past up and he wanted to chase after it. I was doubting my ability to give this boy up.
It was probably for the best that before Freeway had been with me a week I got not 1 but 2 calls about him. One was a college kid living at home with his mom and brother that was looking for either a cattle dog or corgi. The second was a couple looking for a friend for their cattle dog. I set up the interviews. Freeway literally chased the first family away. He was not a fan and I was discouraged. But I called the second family and they came with their cattle dog. It could not have gone better and Freeway went away to his new home. My first foster was adopted in less than a week. I think if he had been with me any longer he would have been my first and only foster.
As this blog goes on I will tell you about my different fosters. I will share the good and sometimes bad of fostering. If you would like to see pictures of my fosters feel free to find me on Instagram @annieoakleaf82. Thanks for reading. I am not always best at putting my words to paper, but will try.
In 2019 I endeavored to start a blog, but didn’t get very far. I want to blog about my adventures being a dog foster mom for Rover Rescue in Aurora, IL. I have been fostering for over a year and I did not realize how rewarding it would truly be. I have so many people tell me they could never do it, they would get too attached. I look at is as I get to have so many more dogs in my life because of fostering. So this blog will hopefully help educate people about fostering.
I had a friend ask me about fostering several years ago. At the time I was getting ready to get married, buying a house, and starting a new family with my husband, his dog, my dog, and myself. It was not the right time, but it put the bug in my ear. I decided is was something I wanted to do. So probably about 6 months after we got married and our dogs had settled in I made the leap. I decided to go with Rover Rescue because my mom had recently adopted a dog from them and was so happy with the group. I filled out the online application, did a phone interview, had a home check, and had my first dog within a week.
After I passed the home interview I got the email that there would be a transport the following weekend. I was asked what I was looking for in a foster dog. I had 2 females at home already so knew I needed a male. I like big dogs, but my husband is more of a small dog person so we compromised and said a dog under 40 pounds. As much as I love puppies, I knew I didn’t have the time or energy for a puppy, so we decided over 6 months. I put in my request and then got the email with dogs looking to come into the rescue. There was an adorable corgi/heeler mix that I said I would take. At this point my dog had already been chosen for me and if I took the corgi mix I would get 2. So I stuck with the original dog they picked, a beagle. Well as it came time to find out who we were getting for sure, I found out the beagle tested positive for heartworms so I was getting my corgi mix. I was so excited.
The dog was named Freeway because he had been loose by the freeway for 6 months before finally being caught. He had had a hard life, but I was determined to make it better.
The morning of our transport came and I was like a kid on Christmas morning. I could not wait. I get the call that transport is an hour away. I was told that my dog was an escape risk and had to stay in his carrier until safe inside the house. At the time I owned a Ford Fusion and was not sure how a large travel crate would fit into my car. So I called my mom to help transport the pup back to my house. We loaded the crate in her car and were off. When we got to my house we took the carrier inside. I sat on the floor and opened the door. Freeway came out of the crate and rested his head on me. He seemed to know he was safe.
I fell for this short little cattle dog inside a corgi body quickly. He loved to snuggle. The first night home we crated him in our bedroom. He was very upset. As soon as I moved the crate right next to the bed he settled down. He just wanted to be close. He also made me laugh. One time I looked up to find he took all the dog toys out of the toy bin and lined them up in front of him. He was truly a herding dog. The first time we walked a bike past up and he wanted to chase after it. I was doubting my ability to give this boy up.
It was probably for the best that before Freeway had been with me a week I got not 1 but 2 calls about him. One was a college kid living at home with his mom and brother that was looking for either a cattle dog or corgi. The second was a couple looking for a friend for their cattle dog. I set up the interviews. Freeway literally chased the first family away. He was not a fan and I was discouraged. But I called the second family and they came with their cattle dog. It could not have gone better and Freeway went away to his new home. My first foster was adopted in less than a week. I think if he had been with me any longer he would have been my first and only foster.
As this blog goes on I will tell you about my different fosters. I will share the good and sometimes bad of fostering. If you would like to see pictures of my fosters feel free to find me on Instagram @annieoakleaf82. Thanks for reading. I am not always best at putting my words to paper, but will try.
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