Monday, April 19, 2010

No Longer A Foster Dog


Well, Sparky is no longer my foster dog. Yes, that's right, I failed fostering 101 again and adopted him.

It would be so easy to keep every dog you foster because there is no way you don't get attached to them when they're in your house day in and day out, but you want to be sure there is something special about them before you think of keeping them forever. Sparky is a great little dog. He's 5 1/2 years old so past the potty training stage, he knows the doggy door which is a plus, and he has a good personality which makes it easy for him to get along with Charlie.

Sparky is funny because when he's vocal he growls! Not in an aggressive manner at all, but if he wants you to get his toy and throw it he will growl, growl, growl! So tough! He is actually a real sweetie. He likes nothing more than to be sleeping in your lap. At night he can't get close enough when he sleeps. He would be a champion snuggler!
The photo I posted above of Sparky is from his session at Strain Photography. Charlie won the best pet category of their recent photo contest so I decided to use it on Sparky and of course the shots turned out wonderfully.

So, welcome to the family little Sparky man!

Sunday, March 28, 2010

The Perfect Dog - Fozzy Bear




He wasn't a Bichon, but he was perfect. His name was Fozzy Bear and he was a white Toy Poodle who I had had since he was 8 months old. I saw an ad on the classifieds ad at my work with a heading that said "Used Dog For Sale". His former owners were out of town alot on the weekends and didn't feel it was fair to him to have to stay crated while they were gone so they decided to find him another home. I went to see him and he was like a wild child! One of the most hyper dogs I had ever seen. But he was so friendly and happy how could I not decide to take him!
Fozzy came home with me and on his first night when it was bedtime I put him in his crate and he began to cry. I tried to ignore him hoping he would settle down, but he didn't. Needless to say, his nights of sleeping in the crate were over and the slept on the big bed the rest of his life!

Fozzy was such a good boy, never getting into anything he shouldn't or bothering things. The one he did love was to play! Oh, and how he loved his toys. The soft plush ones were his favorites but he did have one plastic Santa ball that I threw for him until the paint came off! After a few years I got him a little plush slipper that was actually a puppy toy but he loved it. He loved it so much the stuffing eventually came out and he got into the habit of of sticking his nose where the foot should go and then flipping it up and catching it. I always called it "flipping his slipper". He was so smart that I could tell him to get his slipper and flip it and he would! He was too funny.

Eventually I got into Bichon Rescue and he tolerated the dogs I fostered. He had a problem with the Bichons because they were such a happy breed, just looking for a good time and he was so smart you could just see that he had NO patience for them! He always looked at me as if he were asking, "Now when is their checkout date???"
Throughout his years, Fozzy had surgery for Bladder stones and a round or two of pancreatitis. In February of 2009 he was acting very lethargic and wobbly so I immediately took him into the vet thinking he was probably having another bout of Pancreatitis. They did blood work and found that his blood sugar was through the roof. So in addition, he now had diabetes. I hated the thought of him (and I) having to deal with this but I was, of course, prepared to do whatever I needed to to keep him healthy and with me as long as possible. This all happened on Monday and he was one sick little boy. I check on him by phone Tuesday with plans to see him on Wednesday. They said he was stable so I wasn't too worried about him, but of course concerned. Wednesday morning I had gotten to work and had just gotten my day started when Dr. Shaddox called. He said he had some bad news...Fozzy had passed away during the night. I seriously couldn't believe what I was hearing. Dr. Shaddox seemed to be surprised as well as he had seen him on Tuesday evening and said he was alert. Apparently everything that was going on was just too much for his body to recover from and he passed away in his sleep. I felt so bad that I didn't see him on Tuesday. That has always bothered me and still does if I stop and think about it. Fozzy was 11 years old.
I fully expect that at some point I'll again have a Poodle but they won't be perfect. I've already had one of those and his name was Fozzy Bear.

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

My latest foster dog Sparky


Sparky needed the help of Small Paws Rescue after he found himself without a home and a couple of failed attempts of getting a home through no fault of his own. He is housetrained, minds pretty well, but has trouble resisting a perfectly good looking roll of toilet paper! His favorite thing to do is curl up either by you or on you with being on you his preference. Sparky will be going up for adoption soon and I have no doubt he won't be around long. What a sweetheart!

Sunday, February 7, 2010

Charlie


Well, I started off with good intentions but that's about as far as it went. It's 2010 and I'm going to get back on track.

Charlie. I started fostering Charlie for Small Paws a couple of months after Humphrey died in 2006. He had been surrendered by a family in Northwest Arkansas because of accidents in the house. Once in rescue we determined he had a bad bladder infection so no wonder he was pottying in the house! He couldn't help it! I wish owners would always rule out a medical issue before automatically assuming it's a behavioral issue. Might keep some dogs in their homes but I digress. Charlie was up for adoption and someone was interested in him but when it came right down to it I could not let him go. Needless to say, I failed fostering 101 again!!! He is the absolute sweetest thing there ever was. He has never met a stranger (man or dog) and loves everyone. All he wants is to be close to his person. It's hard to believe he is going to be 9 years old this July as he acts as though he's about three!