On Fostering a Dog

Last Easter I decided I would like to foster a dog. Before the holidays, lots of pet owners dump their dogs because they don't want the expense of putting them in a kennel for a week or two. These dogs fill the pounds and lots of them end up on death row. Fortunately, there are rescue groups who take the dogs that would otherwise be euthanized. This is how we got Sophie and this is how Sophie looked when we first got her, fat, dull coated...:

She was so fat that she could barely waddle around. I think her past owner just left her in the backyard and fed her fattening food without ever exercising her. She weighed 28.8 Kilos when we got her; and she's now at a semi-svelte 23.8 Kilos. She lost 5 Kilos, but unfortunately needs to lose 3.8 Kilos more before she can be desexed safely. I didn't expect to have a foster dog for this long.

Don't get me wrong, I love Sophie. She's a great dog in many ways, she just needs to be the only dog in a household because she's BOSSY. Photo below of slimmer and bossy Sophie:



Good old Sammy (the "questionnoodle") is pretty mellow, and when Sophie pushes him too far, he'll let her know that he's not at all pleased. Poor Karma (Australian Shepherd), though, gets submissive to her and slinks away.

I mentioned that Sophie still needs her desexing surgery. Unfortunately, there is no such thing as doggie menopause. It's the ethical thing to do when you are re-homing a rescue animal, but it's also safer for her in terms of less chance of mammary tumors, etc.

Do I recommend fostering a dog? Without question. Rescue organizations usually have full houses at their facilities, so they need foster carers to take up the slack. It's also better for a dog to be in a home than in kennels with tens of other dogs. I'll cry when Sophie is adopted and leaves us, but I knew it was a temporary arrangement when we got her. Besides, there are lots of other doggies waiting for love, good care and a safe haven, and we have plenty of that.