Frightening Foster

My husband warned me not to get into fostering.  I couldn’t help it!  I just have so much love to give our furry friends.  And I am always looking for ways to help these poor creatures.

After searching some local groups’ websites, I made my decision to become a foster parent.  The rules were fairly simple:  You must bring the dog to at least 1 adoption event a month and you must not take the dog to a different veterinarian than the one listed on the foster agreement.  Easy enough.

I was so nervous when we attended our first adoption event.  These are held every Saturday from 11:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m.  There were so many dogs!  Which one would we choose?

We watched the other volunteers in action.  They made quick work of assembling metal crates and placing fact sheets with photos of each dog on top.  Matt and I did our best to read the stories and memorize them.  Pretty soon, we were connecting with new people and verbally “advertising” the dogs.

I made sure to always highlight things that I noticed, such as being good with children or not barking excessively.  The nerves melted away as my mission to find forever homes for these deserving dogs took center stage.

During the day, I had taken to an older Terrier named Toby.  His is a sad story.  Toby’s owner recently passed away and no one in the family wanted him.  There was absolutely nothing wrong with Toby.  He was a healthy, happy pooch with lots of love to give.

It was decided that Toby would be our very first foster.  I was quite giddy on the way home.  It was like adopting a new dog.  Our fur babies took to Toby right away and Toby was thrilled to have so many pooches to run around with.

We brought him to the next adoption event the following Saturday.  Everyone passed him by because of his age.  He is already 8 year old.  And while I felt bad that Toby didn't find his forever home, I was glad that he would at least get to come back home with us.

At work, we have an electronic bulletin board where we can post items for sale, inquire about items and services and post upcoming events.  I decided to share Toby's biography (that was listed on the group's website) and photo.  My mom did the same at her place of employment.

I received a call from a co-worker of my mother's.  This woman's dog had recently passed away and she and her husband were finally ready to adopt again.  My heart soared.  This is what fostering is all about!  Connecting the perfect people with the perfect pup.

We set up a time for them to come and meet Toby.  They loved him!  But, they wanted to see how he would react to their granddaughter, since she would be frequenting the house.  We quickly set up a meeting for the following evening.

Then, disaster struck.  The woman rang our door bell and my husband opened the door and stepped back.  She proceeded to hold the door open for her granddaughter who was entering our home very slowly.  Before I knew it, Toby had pushed past the little girl and ran out into the street while the woman just stood there, still holding the door open.

Matt and the lady's husband raced after Toby.  They called for him, but, he kept running in circles.  "Lauren, come outside," Matt screamed.  "He'll come to you."

Sure enough.  I walked outside, stood at the corner and yelled: "TOBY!"  He happily came running up next to me.  "Well," said the woman's husband, "I think you just sealed your fate, buddy."

To be honest, I'm glad that the couple didn't still want Toby.  They had confessed at the previous meeting that they wanted a dog that was EXACTLY like their old dog. She didn't need to be on a leash or have a fenced in yard (even though they lived by a highway).  I fear that they wanted a robot, not a dog. 

Besides, with as well trained as my dogs are, if I stand at the front door and hold it open, they will run outside.  Remember, dogs are natural creatures.  They love nature and following as many of the wonderful smells as they can.

The next day at work, I received an e-mail from a woman in another department who was interested in Toby.  This time, we decided to set up an in-house visit.  The woman had recently become widowed and was looking for a companion for her Schnauzer.

As we stepped into the house, I could not believe my eyes.  It was gorgeous!  There was a huge living room with a beautiful fireplace.  Not to mention the nice tile flooring.  And the backyard was fairly big and, most importantly, fenced in.

The woman showed me that she even had a doggie door.  She had even invited her best friend over who brought Toby a brand new toy!  I was excited.

Toby loved the tiny Schnauzer and seemed to take to the woman.  Plans were made for a trial run in two days.  We would let the woman "try Toby out" to see if he would be a good fit.

Tears filled my eyes as I dropped Toby off.  I knew that he would be well taken care of.  But, things would seem so different at home without him.

The next day, I was preparing to go to work when my cell phone rang.  "Lauren?" the woman asked.  "Toby's gone."

My heart dropped to my stomach.  "G-gone?" I stammered.

"Yes.  I said goodnight to him last night and then this morning, he was gone," she replied.

"How did this happen?" I questioned.

"I don't know.  Well, there was a small hole in my fence. But, I was going to get that fixed this weekend," she stated.

ARE YOU SERIOUS?  Matt and I walked around the woman's backyard and looked to see that she had a chain link fence.  We didn't go up to the fence and inspect it.  Why didn't she tell us about the hole before?  We would have been more than happy to either a) Hold Toby for her until she was able to get the fence repaired or b) Helped her repair the fence.

But what happened next stunned me the most.  She said, "What are you going to do?"

Me?  ME?  What does she mean "what am I going to do?"  She lost the dog, not me.  She then proceeded to say that she was getting ready to leave for work.  I informed her that I had recently been hired and needed to go to work, too.

I was stressed the entire day.  All I could think about was poor, lost Toby.  I quickly created some "Lost Dog" fliers and posted one on our bulletin board.

That night, as soon as I got home, my mom picked me up and we drove around for hours in the dark.  I stuck my head out of the passenger side window screaming his name and shining a flashlight on every bush and alley.  I also handed out "Lost Dog" fliers to the local vets, grocery stores and restaurants in the area.

Needless to say, I barely slept that night.  I made sure to contact the rescue group and inform them of the situation. They assured me that this was not my fault and that no one was mad at me.  That didn't comfort me at all.

As I logged in to my computer, I noticed that my e-mail box was full of e-mails about Toby.  One co-worker suggested alerting Kennelwood Pet Resorts.  They actually issue a MIMI ALERT to all of their customers as well as post it on their Facebook page.  The people at Kennelwood were fantastic and advised me to keep "liking" Toby's alert to keep it up near the top of their page.

My husband and I drove around again that night, this time in the rain.  I had made up more fliers to hand out to the local libraries, police stations, etc.  I screamed for Toby until I was hoarse.  And cried myself to sleep again.

But, the next day at work, reports of Toby sightings came flooding in.  One person said that she always carries a leash with her, but, Toby got spooked when she approached and ran off.  What made me hopeful was that the sightings were all within the same area.  Toby wasn't going too far.  He was just very good at hiding.

Matt and I decided to organize and early morning search party for that Saturday.  We drove around again on Thursday night, hoping for a miracle.  None came.

Meanwhile, what was the woman who lost Toby doing?  Absolutely NOTHING.  That's right, nothing. She didn't offer to make fliers, post fliers, drive around and search.  She just went to work every day like normal and then went home.  How heartless can you be?  That dog was like family to us and this woman acted like it was no big deal.

It was now Friday afternoon and I had about an hour left of work.  There was much to prepare for the impending search party.  That's when I got the call.

"Lauren!  This is *Suzy. Toby's been hit by a car.  Someone took him to Four Paws Animal Hospital and YOU have to go and pick him up because they close at 4:00 and they do not keep dogs over night!  You need to call the rescue group right away.  They want to talk to YOU!"

Yes, ladies and gentleman. Suzy is the woman who lost Toby.  She called me and screamed that entire message into my ear.  She had completely washed her hands of Toby.  Convenient since I didn't know if Toby was even alive when she called.

I was furious.  And who wouldn't be?  Now, I was going to have to call the rescue group on my work phone and ask my new boss if I could leave early to take care of this whole mess that Suzy caused in the first place.  I politely, but firmly told Suzy that we were no longer going to be fostering because of her and this whole situation.  I think she realized that there was no way in heck that she was getting Toby back.

I quickly called the rescue group only to be chewed out.  "Who authorized Four Paws to take care of Toby?" a woman barked at me. 

"No one!"  I shouted. "A good Samaritan found him on the side of the road and took him to the nearest animal hospital."

"Oh, well, you need to transfer Toby to *Happy Pals Animal Hospital.  That's who we have our agreement with."

I hung up and then dialed Four Paws Animal Hospital. Toby was alive, but, his back leg was broken.  And, his liver may have been damaged.  I knew I would need help with the transport.  Thank goodness for my mother-in-law.  She does not work and agreed to take me as soon as I called.

My boss was super fantastic and told me to go and not worry about docking myself the 30 minutes.  We raced to Four Paws and Toby perked up as soon as he saw me.  My mother-in-law had the brilliant idea of bringing a laundry basket to keep Toby in so that he wouldn't move his leg around too much.  Toby tried to jump out of the basket as we were leaving the hospital because I was walking behind him and he couldn't see me!

On the way to Happy Pals, Toby seemed content in his basket.  I kept petting his head and thanking God that he was not a pancake.  The people at Happy Pals were expecting us and took Toby right away.

A few days later, we picked Toby up.  He now had a pin, rod, screw contraption sticking out of his leg. The vet told me and Matt that we would need to try to get Toby to start walking on that leg so that it would heal.  Luckily, his liver was fine.

In the meantime, the rescue group was not upholding their part of the agreement. We were supposed to be supplied with food.  They always seemed to "forget" to put it in the van.  We even ended up paying for special food for Toby after his surgery.  What about our own fur kids' needs?

But, we loved Toby and wanted him to get better.  And we wanted to adopt him.  Over the next two weeks, Toby got stronger.  But, so did the smell coming from his bandage.

"Look at his paw!" my husband exclaimed.  "It's huge!  That bandage is on way too tight."  Sure enough, the super smart people at Happy Pals wrapped the bandage too tightly around Toby's paw.  His blood flow was constricted and his paw felt cold.

We had to take Toby back to the vet for an impromptu visit. Turns out, his leg was infected! That is where the delightful smell was coming from.  And yes, they HAD bandaged his paw too tightly.

Weeks passed and Toby grew stronger.  I don't know how we did it, but, we taught him to use his repaired leg again.  I e-mailed the rescue group and announced our intent to adopt Toby.  Their reply left me stunned.

Apparently, an elderly woman saw one of the "Lost Dog" fliers with Toby on it and claimed that she had tried to adopt him months ago via the application on the Internet.  I was told that Toby was hers.  What happened to "the foster parents get to pick the forever home?"  I guess they were going to ignore that part of the agreement the same way that they ignored the "providing food" part.

The worst part was that we didn't even get to meet the woman who adopted Toby.  And I made my husband take Toby to the adoption event that day.  I couldn't bare to let Toby go again.

I assume that he is happy and healthy.  At least, that's what I tell myself.  But, Toby will always have a piece of my heart.


*Names have been changed

Adventurous Adoptions

Adoption days are always exciting.  People cram together to get a look at the adorable animals looking for forever homes.  Dogs wag their tails in anticipation.

 

Being a former foster mom for a local animal rescue group, I was able to participate in many such days.  But, it wasn’t always easy.  Not just the idea of letting the foster dog go for good, but seeing some of the potential adopters.

 

My husband and I had just finished placing our first foster dog.  And after the horrific events that took place (see my “Frightening Foster” blog post), we were very nervous about fostering another pooch.  Matt had his eye on several of the larger dogs.  Still, I was drawn to a small, long-haired Chihuahua.

 

Tiggy was her name and she was the shiest dog I have ever met.  She was so frightened of everything happening around her that she had to have a towel placed over her crate.  “Well, she’ll never get adopted like that,” I thought.  So, I took her out of the crate and clipped a leash to her collar.

 

I held that dog for 3 hours straight.  She seemed quite content and very mellow.  Several people inquired of her and even took photos with their iPhones.  I thought she would definitely be snatched up by the end of the day.

 

Then, a large family approached.  The parents barely spoke any English.  I watched as they walked from crate to crate, surveying the dogs.  The children caught a glimpse of Tiggy and were thrilled.

 

“Chihuahua!  Chihuahua!” they screamed.  I told them to pet Tiggy gently as she was very shy.  One of the children asked if he/she could hold Tiggy.  I said, “Sure,” and ensured that she was being held properly.

 

What I saw next horrified me.  The children walked over to their parents with Tiggy.  The father and mother began to poke Tiggy and started laughing.  One of the younger children began to pull at Tiggy’s ears and tail.

 

I could not believe what I was seeing!  No one had ever taught these children how to treat an animal.  What kind of example were these “parents” setting?  I knew that no matter what happened, I would not allow Tiggy to become a member of this abusive group.

 

Thankfully, the children returned Tiggy to my waiting arms.  I decided then and there that she would be our next foster.  And she fit in beautifully with our then 5 fur babies.

 

I also learned quite a bit about Tiggy’s past from her behavior at home.  She was found as a stray in Clinton County, IL.  And she must have experienced some type of abuse because she is terrified of loud noises and sudden movements.  The simple turn of a notebook page is enough to have her scampering for cover.

 

Tiggy was special and needed to go to a home that understood that.  My Grandmother had just lost her dog, Benji, a few years earlier.  She was also diagnosed with Mantel Cell Lymphoma in 2011.  Tiggy would make the perfect companion.  She never barks and loves to snuggle.  My mom decided to do a gift adoption.  The two have been inseparable ever since.

 

Since I have been through many dog adoptions myself, I knew that it would require a lot of paperwork.  And having seen that one family in action, I can understand why.  People that are not truly serious about owning a dog will not take the time to fill out all of the necessary paperwork.  Plus, many require on-the-spot reference calls before they will let you walk out the door.

 

In order for us to adopt Domino, we had to take photos of every room of the house that we were moving into, including the backyard.  This was in lieu of a house visit since the rescue group is almost two hours away from where we live.  At the time, the person we were buying the house from seemed to think that was a bit extreme.  Personally, I wish that more rescue groups would be this through.

 

With the recent jump in animals on Craig’s List, I think we, as animal lovers, should step up the requirements to adopt a pet.  You never truly know who you are adopting to.  Anyone can pretend to be loving and sweet for one day.  But, what goes on once the dog/cat is at its new home?  Are they chained outside in the bitter cold?  Do they get to snuggle under the covers of a king size bed?  Hard to tell from just a paper application.

 

We need to have stricter policies in place to help protect the animals.  Many have already endured abuse and abandonment.  They do not deserve to have to go through that pain again.

 

And if you have nothing to hide, you will breeze through the adoption process.  Several groups that we adopted from called our vet.  We are always met with smiles by the receptionists and the question of “Who did you bring today?”  I am never afraid that we will receive a bad report. 

 

If you really are an animal lover that cares about the fate of these lonely dogs and cats, it will show.  You will not have to try to be someone that you’re not.  And in adopting from an animal shelter, you will be saving two lives (the dog/cat you adopted and the new dog/cat that can be sheltered in its’ place) instead of one.  Please adopt; don’t shop! 

Turbulent Therapy

Adriel and I have been volunteering with Therapy Dogs International for four years.  As a certified Therapy Dog, Adriel is allowed to visit hospitals, schools, and other locations.  She provides touch therapy to patients of nursing homes and hospice centers and lends an ear to children in local kids clubs.

And we have enjoyed every minute of it!  I love seeing people's faces light up as Adriel enters the room.  I should point out that Adriel has a very distinctive feature.  Her tongue is longer than her head, so it always sticks out.  Kids adore her for this.

I am constantly looking for new places to visit.  In my quest, I contacted a local hospital.  I was hoping that Adriel would be able to visit the children's wing.  Imagine my delight when the hospital replied that they were just creating a therapy dog program and that they would be honored if Adriel and I would be their second dog/handler team.

This truly brought joy to my heart.  Until I received a rather large packet in the mail.  The packet contained information about joining the hospital's auxiliary.  There was an application to complete and I had to have three reference letters.

I was shocked.  Adriel and I passed a two hour test.  She was also awarded her Canine Good Citizen certificate by the American Kennel Club.  Why did I need to fill out an application?  But wait, there's more!  As it turns out, I also have to pay yearly dues and had to purchase my own uniform to wear when visiting.

This should have sent up red flags in my mind, but, all I could think about was the people that Adriel could make smile and feel better.  I jumped through all of their hoops and was accepted into the group.  However, I soon found out that the visits were not what I had bargained for.

On our first visit, the Activities Director (and newly knighted Therapy Dog Program Coordinator) actually walked us around from room to room in the care center (they do not yet have a program set up for the actual hospital).  Adriel and I were introduced to each patient.  We were there for almost two hours spreading love and smiles.

But, I was told that I would be on my own for every visit thereafter.  Which would have been fine, except that the Director "forgot" to put on their events calendar that Adriel and I were coming.  What does this mean?  It means that most of the patients were asleep or not in their rooms because they were busy with some other activity.

I tried not to be disheartened.  "The program is new", I told myself.  "Give it time."  But, time only made it worse.  For our visits, we are supposed to be given a list of all of the patients and their room numbers.  As I ask each patient if they would like to visit with Adriel, I check off the people who accept a visit.  Which would have been great...if the Director would have remembered to put the list in the place where he/she said it would be.

On days when I could not find the list, I was forced to go home without visiting anyone.  I addressed this issue with the Director (and his/her supervisor) several times.  I was finally told that the Director would "try to remember" to put the list out, but that I could bring a piece of paper and a clipboard with me and just write the room numbers down.

Ummm...let's see, I have my purse slung across my body and I am carrying my dog from room to room.  How would I manage to carry a clipboard?  And why should I have to bring supplies?  I am bringing the most important ingredient:  the dog!

To make matters worse, no one wanted to see Adriel anymore.  I asked if this was normal and the Director explained that since it was a care center, people are constantly moving in and out.  This made sense, but, it seemed like a waste of everyone's time (especially Adriel's).  There were visits where I wasn't be able to check a single person off of the list.  How sad is that?

Then, it happened.  I contracted C Difficile from the care center.  I will spare you the gory details of this horrific infection.  If you want to learn more, please ask Google.  Since I had the infection, I was not allowed to continue visiting until I recovered.

While feeling the worst that I ever have in my life, I received a letter from the auxiliary in the mail.  A new procedure was being put in place in which everyone is now required to receive a flu shot in order to continue visiting.  I have never had a flu shot in my life, and I don't intend to get one now.  I understand that the hospital is simply trying to protect their patients, however, when Adriel and I visited a hospice patient at a care center in Missouri, I was only required to have a TB test.

I work full time.  How in the world am I supposed to make it to the free clinics that the hospital is offering?  They are either too early in the morning or end too early in the afternoon.  Plus, I missed a full week's worth of work thanks to the C Diff.  I didn't have any vacation time to spare in case my body reacted to the flu shot.

Furthermore, I discovered that in order to resume our visits, I would need a letter from my doctor stating that I no longer had C Diff.  Easy enough.  Or so I thought.  My doctor told me that the only way he could write the letter was for me to bring in three stool samples within the same week and have them sent to be tested.  If all three tests were negative, he could write the note and I could continue visiting.

There's only one problem with this.  Our insurance does not cover the entire cost of the C Diff test.  We typically receive two bills.  While these bills are not vastly expensive by any means, three tests would equal $64.  How did volunteering (a free giving of one's time) turn into an expense?

I find it very interesting that a few months ago, I received an e-mail from T.D.I. stating that they are very displeased with many facilities that are requiring T.D.I. volunteers to join another group in order to perform their T.D.I. sponsored service.  And I can certainly see why.  Between all of the shots, dues, uniform costs and literature requesting that I donate money to the group, it does not make volunteering that appealing.

T.D.I. has re-issued an MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) for T.D.I. members to take to their facilities to complete.  The MOU states the following:

"As you most likely know, all of our rules and regulations and forms evolved over the many years TDI has been involved in the testing, registration and regulation of our therapy dog handler teams. This is an ongoing process. Times and situations change and we as an organization have to be able to adapt. The MOU was created to have some kind of an agreement between the facilities you visit and TDI. This measure was taken since OTHER organizations started to approach and negotiate contracts with facilities where you, our volunteers, have served faithfully for many years and are still serving.
This has happened at some key hospitals. Suddenly, our members are forced to join another organization if they want to continue visiting at a facility they have served for many years. Loyalty and dedication of the existing volunteers apparently means nothing to some hospital administrators. To force volunteers to join another organization is a very aggressive and unethical marketing strategy.
How can we prevent this and protect our volunteers? The best way is to have an agreement signed by the facility(ties) you visit before another organization comes in."

Adriel worked hard to become a therapy dog.  And I truly believe that she loves every visit.  I think it is a shame that some places are making it so difficult to engage in therapy dog volunteering.

Clearly, I have ended my brief stint with the hospital.  Adriel's presence was not being appreciated or fully utilized.  But, I will still never forget two of the patients in particular that said, "God bless you for what you're doing." 

Frozen Fandango

I live in a small town in Illinois called Freeburg.  We were just hit with one of the worst winter storms of all time.  Snow and ice have covered the town.  Plus, we are under a Wind Chill Warning until Tuesday, January 7th.

Since the wind chill is -7, I knew that I would have to exercise extreme caution when letting my fur babies outside to potty.  My husband had carefully carved a path through the 12 inches of snow for the dogs.  I opened the door and they raced happily outside.

I quickly ran downstairs to grab their food.  When I returned, they were pawing at the door.  Flinging the door open I heard a sound.  A sound I had never heard before.  That's when I saw Adriel...with her tongue frozen to the door. 

Adriel was born with a birth defect in which her tongue is longer than her head, so it always sticks out.  However, she can pull her tongue inside of her mouth when she feels like it. 

Screaming, I told Adriel to hold on.  I was still in my pajamas due to the snow day from work.  I knew that I needed to get a glass of warm water to pour on her tongue.  But, somehow, she managed to free herself and came bounding into the house.

At the risk of being too graphic, blood was flying everywhere.  I was officially in panicked parent mode.  I called my mother (who was also off on a snow day) and she told me to put a warm wash cloth on Adriel's mouth to control the bleeding.

I hurriedly grabbed the rag and began placing it on Adriel's mouth.  In just seconds, the rag was saturated.  Blood was on my arms, the wall, and all over Adriel's Snoopy pet bed.

But, miraculously, Adriel pushed my hand away and dove head first into her food bowl.  Even as blood dripped onto her food, she continued to eat.  I was stunned.

I managed to peel her away from her dish long enough to apply the rag again.  Thankfully, the bleeding slowed and then stopped.  I did call our vet to see if there was anything else that I needed to do.  I was informed that Adriel probably ripped off the top layer of the skin on the side of her tongue.  The wound will heal with time and the only thing that I need to do is watch for signs of infection and make sure that she continues to eat and drink (no problem there).

As I watched Adriel sun bathing on the couch, I felt horrible.  I must be the worst dog mom on the planet.  How could I have let this happen?  What were the odds that Adriel would try to reenact the famous scene from "A Christmas Story?"

I soon realized that Adriel's mishap was just that:  a freak accident. And I did everything within my power to help her as best as I could.  Now that the bleeding has stopped, her tongue doesn't look bad at all.  She even gave her "sister," Penny, a "bath" later in the day.

I have learned many things from this horrific experience.  First, when the weather is extremely cold, bundle up and go outside with your dog (s).  This will ensure that your pooch will not have a mishap like mine.  Second, should your pet injure himself/herself, try to remain calm.  If I would have become hysterical, I would not have been able to think clearly to help Adriel.  Third, be sure to check with your vet any time that your pet (s) experience any type of trauma.  My vet was very compassionate and gave me all the advice that I needed over the phone for free.

Adriel spent the rest of the day happily sitting on my lap.  She even gave me as kiss as if to say, "It's okay, mom.  I'm fine and I love you."  I am so glad that pets are more forgiving than people.