Josie

Josie hates cats.  More than that, she hates cats she can't find "in" the tv.

Lucky Foster #5: Josie

I don’t know if I’ve already warned about this, but fostering is addicting. We always try to take a break in between fosters, but I’m a big softie and can’t stay away too long. Today, we welcomed foster #5 to our home: Josie.

Josie has been a Jasmine’s House dog since this summer. I’m can’t believe no one has snatched her up. When we were fostering Kima, I always considered Josie to be a bit of a Jasmine’s House superstar, so when we were asked if we would foster her, I jumped at the chance. I mean, who can resist those ears?!

Josie walks well on a leash, listens to us and had no problem fitting in what is now at least, her 5th home! Her only “fault”? She does not love cats. But you know what? Neither do I so I’m ok with that.

One Day At A Time

We got Abbey on Jan 18th.  She didn't know sit, lay, stay or any basic commands,  She wasn't house broken and other than being a nice girl, she didn't have much going for her.  By Jan 23rd, she learned sit, stay and as of today, she hasn't had any accidents in the house in 5 days.  We are so proud of the progress she is making.

**Update: Abbey was adopted February 7th!  Her new dad owns a restaurant near Camden Yards and knew she was the girl for him.  Go Abbey!

Kima

Well we've had her for over 2 months now, but we have a "new" foster dog.  Remember Cinnamon?  Then there was Tilly. Now, we have Kima.  She's a pit mix we're fostering for Jasmine's House and our favorite so far.

We've also had her longer than Cinnamon and Tilly combined.  No one seemed to be interested in her.  Maybe she's not as model-pretty as some other dogs but damn if she isn't the cutest thing ever.  She's funny, easy-going and super affectionate.  We've taken her to more events than we've taken Jax to.  We went to Barcstoberfest, Dog Fest, 2 training sessions with Canine Lifestyle Academy and she even went to an event in Virginia. She's quite the social butterfly.

Finally, someone contacted Jasmine's House about her....and part of my heart broke.  How was I going to let this perfect girl go to another family?  What if they didn't spoil her the way I do?  What if she was kept outside like a lawn ornament or worse - if she got loose and ended up in a shelter or hit by a car?  Should we adopt her and become foster "fails"?

If we kept her, we wouldn't be able to foster more dogs because two dogs is definitely my limit.  Also, we would incur the expense of 2 dogs - shots, preventatives, etc. for LIFE.  So, I went through with the meet and greet and boy did that help put my fears aside.  They are going to be GREAT adopters.  She will get so much love in a house as an only dog with two children to play with her. 

In the meantime, we're going to enjoy our time with Kima.  I let the potential adopters know that they are always welcome to board her with us if they need to go out of town.  And, I have already started picking out names for our next foster...

Restoring My Faith in Humanity

Last week, my aunt's co-worker found these two beautiful pitties cuddling on the side of the road in the freezing cold.  The woman who picked them up already has a dog, kids and two jobs and couldn't keep both of them, but didn't want to take them to a shelter where they could be euthanized within 3 days.  My aunt, knowing my soft spot for dogs and that I volunteer for two rescues, called to see what I could do.

The males (left) and female (right) were still intact so they would need to be fixed and brought UTD on their shots.  On top of that, their care taker wanted them to go into foster care or be adopted together since they seem to be a bonded pair.  What a challenge!  I contacted our rescues, but they were at capacity.  Then, I did the only thing I could think of - I posted the picture on Facebook.  And I got a resounding response from a community of pit bull lovers.  70+ comments, 100+ likes and 500+ shares in 24 hours.  A vet offered to neuter the male at no cost.  Someone offered to send money.  A few foster offers stepped forward.  Many people offered advice on finding their owners (not an option since they didn't have tags, weren't microchipped and none of the vets/shelters in the area reported them missing when contacted).

So what happened to them?  BARCS offered to take them as an owner surrender since the caretaker isn't a Baltimore City resident.  2 people paid the surrender fee.  They are scheduled to be fixed this weekend and a foster has taken them into her home where they are having an amazing start to a second life!

As sad as it is that someone apparently dumped them on the side of the road, the outpouring of support from total strangers ensured they wouldn't be cast aside like millions of other dogs. 

Happy Gotcha Day, Jax!

One year ago, was the first day of the rest of Jax's life.  We broke him out of the county animal shelter and our lives haven't been the same since.

It's been a fun year.  I'll never forget when he busted down the screen door and ran through the woods to a neighbor's house who served him NY strip steak. 

Speaking of NY strip steak, I'll never forget the time he stole a raw steak off the kitchen counter and ate it...left the plastic bag, though.

And for his first Gotcha Day, I made our bundle of muscle and joy, salmon, mashed potatoes and chopped apples.  He loved it.

 Can't you tell he was having fun?!?!

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.