A GENTLEMAN WITH SNUGGLY INTENTIONS

 

We foster to create a bridge between a pup’s past life, where he was often abandoned, and his future life, where he will ideally be cherished. We welcome them knowing they will arrive wrapped in a bundle of anxiety, fear, and distrust.  We expect a few (or maybe several) sleepless nights to start, and know that the demands of the next day will still start early, end late, and take several zig zags during the day.  But again, we are fostering to create a bridge.  A bridge.  Solid, safe navigation crossing from one uncertainty to security. 

 

Our latest foster pup, a Golden/Labradoodle named Rocky, came as an excited and excitable 50-pound ball of love.  His posture is regal, with his long legs allowing him to reach your shoulders in a heartbeat.  Yet he has none of the aloofness of royalty, as his favorite position is sprawled on the couch next to you with his head and front paws in your lap.  Two days after arrival he was scheduled for his neutering visit to the vet, and he came back almost as energetic as before his procedure.  Perhaps as a testimony to his unwillingness to do anything to upset his new home life, he displayed amazing resiliency and demanded very little attention, never really complaining or requiring special attention.  No cone for Rocky… he stayed away from his wound and asked only for hugs and snuggles.  His foster brother Jack shared Mommy’s bed with Rocky, and while we’re not clear that we believe her insistence that she was not encumbered while sleeping with 100 total pounds of doodle in her bed, she’s sticking to her story that Rocky’s snuggles are well worth a little diagonal sleep positioning.

 

After 3 weeks of enjoying Rocky, we have been asked to inventory his characteristics, assess and describe his personality, and answer some pertinent questions about care and feeding so the California Doodle folks in charge of adoption can begin the search in earnest for Rocky’s Forever Family.  We have said we will keep him as long as necessary to find a perfect FOREVER family, as he certainly deserves that.  But as with every foster journey, Rocky’s with us, as filled with fun and adventure as it has been, has always been destined to end with a video conversation with the potential new family, a meeting, and a goodbye.

 

So we decide to do it again, knowing our tears will barely be dry when we get the next call from our Doodle Rescue friends who have saved yet another abandoned doodle from a shelter and a very uncertain future.

 

We seriously toyed with the idea of keeping Rocky.  Jack and he, as doodles of almost the same size, age, and level of enthusiastic energy, have become fast friends. Even Honey, our sweet feisty Chihuahua who determinedly leads our walks by taking 5 strides for every one of Rocky’s, has developed a kinship with Rocky.  And in the event of a tussle with Rocky, she knows her big brother Jack will stave him off and protect her.

 

But in considering keeping Rocky we faced the realization that we would be abandoning our initial mission in becoming foster parents… to help bridge each traumatized, neglected, or abandoned doodle from his awful past life to the promising new one that awaited him.

 

We have met others who do this work and see it as noble and meaningful.  We see in them the commitment and love of animals that drives the sacrifice of time and treasure required to do this work. And through that lens we recommit ourselves to welcoming the joy, savoring the adventure while it lasts, and mustering the courage to let it go.  And let it go we must. 

 

We will soon say goodbye to our sweet Rocky, as he will no doubt be adopted as soon as he becomes available.  That day will be a victory for the process, and will underscore the importance of the bridge… its strength, its safety, and its ability to route those that cross it with ease, that they may continue their journey to a new forever home and live the life they deserve.

                               

              

 

By the way, as our fostering continues, you may expect to see us out and about in my Jeep (the license frame to which says “This Jeep is for… rescues and adventures with pups.”)  And we will always try to expose our fosters (along with our own pups) to a variety of venues for external stimulation. You will find us at outside cafes and restaurants, with pups sitting by our side or lying down; we may be touring around our local malls encountering passersby without incident; and our pups will continue to enjoy pup cups going through the drive through at Starbucks and on the outside veranda at Temple Coffee and Chocolate Fish, 2 local coffee shops where they can learn to socialize with other patrons. If you see us, come over and chat! We’d love to introduce you. With foster pups, there’s always plenty of love to go around!