Adventures in Dog Fostering

Since we returned from our trip to Italy, I got the itch to get a second dog.  As much as I wanted a companion for Jax, I thought about the permanency of adopting another dog.  Jax is already a handful and has tons of energy, because he's still young - about 3 years old.  I pictured one day trying to juggle two dogs and a newborn baby.  I think I would lose my mind.  And while some people surrender dogs when "it just isn't working out," I cannot bring myself to ever do that.

Then, I found the perfect solution.  We could foster dogs until such time as I pop a wee one out.  In addition to socializing (and tiring out) our dog, we could also help out some deserving dogs with a loving home until they find their forever homes. 

Meet our first foster: Cinnamon.  Of course, if I named her, she would be called Chelsea or CeeCee because she is a Chesapeake Bay Retriever.  We think her first family left her outside like a lawn ornament because she had mange.  Cinnamon couldn't be more appreciative of her humans for walking, feeding and petting her.  Plus she's made a great friend!  Her and Jax follow each other around and they compete over the same blue toy (even though we have 2 in the house, they always seem to want the same one).

Fostering doesn't come without its challenges.  Cinnamon likes to wake up at 5:30 am which wouldn't be so bad, if I wasn't used to waking up at 6:00.  That extra half hour is very valuable, especially since I gave up my morning cup of coffee this week.  Cinnamon also drools more than the average dog which means I have to wear shoes around my house otherwise I step in puddles of slobber. But in the grand scheme of things, she's worth it.

I don't know how long we'll have her, but it's been a pleasure so far.