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.