Bye, Bye 13; Hello, Double Seven!

“If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous he will not bite you. This is the principal difference between a dog and man.” ~ Mark Twain

Opal Hound, our first foster,
now happily adopted in New York

Could it be that AnniePie, Beano and I are only two months into fostering rescue dogs for transport down the Road to Forever? I'd hardly believe it after three dogs, but the record of blog posts since we first brought Opal home tells the story in no uncertain terms.

One fact that is not at all hard to believe; fostering is the best thing we did in all of 2013. We've been "empty nesters" scarcely more than 24 hours now--Fenway, an adolescent male border collie and our third foster, boarded the Dog Runner yesterday afternoon--and we're feeling the "hole" left in our household. Even after vacuuming the bedroom carpet to get out maybe 85% of the dark black hair Fen left behind!

Annie: With the leaving of each dog, I have experienced different emotions. I have fallen in love with each one and letting them go has been so difficult, but each parting has been such a contrast. 

We will be taking a bit of break. The next transport from Wichita Falls is not scheduled until Jan 30. We will be using the off time to get the house back into shape and to select the right dog for us and for Beano.

Charlie Beagle, our 2nd, also happily adopted.

As we've mentioned before in these posts, Beano, our 4-year-old male beagle/Boston terrier mix, has some rather strong possessiveness issues around food, treats and toys. Being an "only" dog since birth (until two months ago), he also has a strong sense of ranking as top dog around our house.

Opal, an American coon hound, challenged him only slightly in that Opal was totally laid back and willing to let Beano have his way. Oh, they had a brush up over food that raised our concern somewhat, but they resolved their differences on their own the next day.

Often all Beano needs is time to sulk and pout in his crate. Of course, we never "send" him there when squabbles erupt; he takes to his den on his own.

Annie: Opal was such a dear, sweet girl. Several days before she boarded the transport, I began missing her. I cried and cried when we brought her to the Walmart parking lot to say goodbye. I knew she would get an excellent home in New York. I  just didn't want her to go. Fortunately, Opal got her forever home almost right away.

Charlie Beagle, our 2nd foster, was a good fit. Charlie not only had an easy going manner, like Opal, he also was nearer Beano's size. These guys actually enjoyed one another's companionship.

Annie: Charlie is also a big love, but we had issues about occupied space. Charlie loved taking over my warm spot on the bed  - and he was darn near impossible for me to move. Stubborn and oh, so sweet. He has perfected the 'sad-eye' look and I am a total pushover. With Charlie, I was worried about how long it would be before he got adopted. I wanted him to get a forever home as quickly as possible. I was thrilled to pieces when we got a photo of Charlie and his new parents!

Fenway, now in transit to Helping Hounds.

Then came Fenway, a nine-months-old male border collie, who needs nothing quite so much as he needs a full time job! That goes with his breed.

There was not a thing wrong with Fenway that a 5-acre pasture would not have cured. True to his breed, Fen was 40 pounds of perpetual motion confined by a hard spell of winter weather inside a house much too small for his near boundless energy.

Fenway was a challenge for us all and a particular challenge for Beano who, on the whole, spent much more time in his crate than he did when we had Opal and Charlie. Fen's constant activity wore on Beano. Rarely in the last few days of Fenway's stay was Beano willing to play.

Annie: Fenway is a big, goofy, lovable kid. He always has a smile on his face and I believe, his only aim in life is to please. We had him the longest - almost the entire month of December. I can't think of him without tearing up ... I love this dog. Jim had to work the afternoon the transport was leaving, so one of the other foster parents picked Fen up from our house. I had been crying on and off since the previous evening, so it was probably for the best I wasn't going to actually see him loaded up and taking off. Fenway needs lots of room and would love some cooperative animals to herd (our cats just weren't up for it!). Until we get news of Fenway, I'll be worrying like a mom who has sent her first born off to college. 

As much as we loved Fenway and his exuberant personality, it became clear that dogs much larger than Beano are not a good mix.

Each dog that comes through our home teaches us a little bit more. While it may feel to us like we've been fostering forever, we are still very much newbies with much more to learn.

Here's looking forward to a great 2014 and many more super dogs helped along the Road to Forever!