Sammy

The very first foster I ever had was a one-year-old female black Lab named Samara, aka Sammy. We got her about a week after I signed up to be an SCLRR volunteer, on July 11. She had been in a shelter and had a wicked case of kennel cough. When I met her she couldn't stop coughing.

Once she got over her coughing, she became the sweetest, gentlest, most affectionate girl ever, incredibly eager to please and wriggly and happy. The rescue expected her to be an "easy" foster -- I'd have her for about a week, throw her picture on the site, and applications would come flooding in.

Well, it didn't work out quite that way. In fact, Sammy is still being fostered by us.

What happened?

Well, a few days after I had her, I noticed that she slightly favored her right rear leg. Then one day, she went flying after a ball and came up on three legs. We ended up taking her for a consult with two doctors, who discovered that she had had a previous broken leg that had been repaired poorly and had healed badly. Her kneecap was an inch out of place, and her tibia was completely misaligned.

Her surgeon said that when he first opened her up, he wondered whether amputation would be the better option. He said he had never had to manipulate a bone that far. He inserted three pins and hoped for the best.

Sammy's rehab was full of setbacks. Her first set of pins didn't hold. She had to say in the hospital for a week and take massive calcium supplements to encourage bone growth. Finally she was allowed to begin rehab walks, but she always seemed reluctant to put weight on the leg. We kept hanging in there with her, hoping she would get better.

About three weeks ago, Sammy went back for another visit with her surgeon. At that point she was hardly using the leg at all. The x-ray revealed that her leg was loaded with arthritis. She was already taking pain meds, calcium supplements, adequan injections, glucosamine pills...and she still was not using the leg.

At that point, the decision was made that we wish we could have made six months ago, had we known what she would endure: We would have to amputate.

For months, we had been trying to save this dog's leg. Now, faced with her losing it anyway, we were more sad that she had to endure more hospitalization than that she was going to lose her leg. After all, she really wasn't using it anyway, and it was an appendage that must have been causing her considerable pain.

Her amputation surgery was Tuesday. When her foster went to pick her up Wednesday afternoon, she expected to see Sammy sad and hurting. Instead, Sammy was sitting happily in the reception area, waiting to be taken home. Her foster said she was obviously happier and more at peace than she has been in a long time.

It took her a couple of days, but on Friday she figured out how to jump on the couch unassisted, which made her and her foster very happy.

Sometimes dogs with three legs are hard to find homes for. We had a three-legged dog a few months ago named Daisey who stayed unadopted until we made a video of her playing with another dog. Once we did that, she was adopted within a week. I met Daisey, and she has the same wiggly, wriggly personality that Sammy does. I am totally confident that Sammy will find a wonderful home.

Here's the Daisey video.



And here's our sweet Sammy.

Why I do this

Dog-loving people I know often say that they could "never" do what I/we do, i.e., being a foster. The reason: They would fall in love with the dog and never be able to give it up.

Well, there's no question that it's hard to say goodbye to my foster dogs. You do become quite attached to them very quickly. But I have come to realize that there are many people out there that can give these dogs great homes -- often a better home than I could offer.

For example, I just adopted out DC to a newly married San Clemente couple. He will go surfing and camping with his new owners and get walked to the pier and the beach every day.

Jack's new owners live in Huntington Beach. The wife stays home all day with him.

Zoe's owner is retired and lives alone, so Zoe gets constant attention.

And Buddy was given to an older husband and wife in Chino. The husband is retired, and Buddy is his special dog.

And yesterday, I got emails from three out of four of those owners. After you read some excerpts below, I think you'll see why being a foster can be very rewarding.

From DC's family:

"I can't tell you what an amazing dog DC is. We are having so much fun with him. Lots of walks in town and down to the beach and pier. He pulls when he sees dogs but pulls less and less the more he meets. Everyone we meet tell me how handsome he is and I must agree he is a great looking boy! He is so well behaved in the car so I taken him around everywhere with me. We ventured out to petco to get some poop bags and he was sooo good on the leash. Thank you so much for choosing us for his forever home! We are so in love with this special boy!"

From Jack's family:

"We really enjoy him and he adds a lot humor to our days, When he talks to us is the best, Sometimes I think he talks to us, just so we'll talk back to him. He loves attention. We've also learned that if he's not by our side he's looking for something to steal to get our attention. So now when he wanders off we know what he's up to. And the sock thing is funny too, the other day I was in the shower and I saw him take my sock out of my shoe, after I got out I looked and looked and couldn't find it. Then I noticed a little bit of dirt on his nose and then figured my sock was buried outside and sure enough it was in a small neat little hole. He still keeps going to the hole tying to figure out where the sock is."

And from Buddy's family:

"Attached are more pictures of Buddy. He graduated from beginners class at Petsmart last Saturday. He was a very good student! We are so very lucky to have Buddy!"

See what I mean?

People who go to the trouble of adopting an older dog through a rescue have already proven themselves to be more thoughtful and caring than 99% of prospective owners. So yes, I miss these dogs, but it is getting easier, knowing I am doing what is best for them. Also, I help make some deserving people very happy.

DC

After having four foster dogs back to back for the last seven months, we were thinking that we would probably wait a few weeks after finding a home for Jack before getting another foster. In fact, at the time Jack got adopted, we had exactly one dog for adoption on sclrr.org. There just weren't any dogs to take in at the time.

So when our foster coordinator sent out an email a couple of weeks ago asking who wanted to foster a 3-year-old black male, I didn't respond, thinking someone else would grab him. But two days later, the coordinator called to say that no one had volunteered to take him. He was scheduled for his neuter on a Monday, and if no one agreed to foster him he would have to go back to the boarding facility.

Um...no.

The coordinator warned me that DC was a very large dog. When I first met him at the vet's office, he wasn't as tall as I expected a 106-pound Lab to be. He was just huge -- a big frame encased in big, hard muscles.

It's funny how different two male Labs can be. Jack was playful and high-energy. DC is mellow and laid-back and loves to hang out. He has never been in a crate because he doesn't need one; he's 100% trustworthy in terms of destructiveness and getting along with the other dogs.

He was an owner turn-in, but we don't know much about his background except that his previous owner became mentally ill. We do know that in less than two weeks, he has become very attached to us -- particularly to Chris. In fact, his fondness for my husband is beginning to concern both of us. Wherever Chris is in the house, DC is right there. When Chris leaves, DC looks out the window until he returns. When Chris goes to the bathroom, DC waits right outside the door. When Chris watches TV, DC puts his gigantic head into his lap and falls into a deep sleep. On one such occasion I took their picture, which I included in his adoption bio.

If our circumstances were different, DC might be my first "foster failure" -- that's what rescuers call adopting your own foster. He's a big huggable teddy bear and he loves us. I am going to be extremely picky about who he goes to. I want someone who will let him on the furniture and let him sleep with them, because that's what makes him happy. He won't need long walks or daily sessions chasing a ball. He just wants human companionship. In return, he will give boundless love and loyalty.