Our first foster dog Lilly left at the end of November and we were planning to take a break from fostering for a bit…but then the rescue sent me a picture of a pitiful pup and we’re suckers for a sad dog face, so here we are…We got Macey on January 11th and will have her until late March/early April. She was found as a stray and was on death row at Maricopa County Animal Control for being fearful.
Macey is about a year old and is a very playful pup. Well, now she is…when we got her she was SO skinny, had a pretty bad cough, and was very skittish. I’ll be honest, those first couple days were rough. We had to follow her around with paper towels wiping up phlegm all day long. She wasn’t house broken and was scared of the doggie door, so we ended up cleaning up a lot of accidents too (plus wash all of the bedding when she peed on the bed – thank God for waterproof mattress covers). Luckily the cough cleared up in less than a week and our brave little toaster started using the doggie door after a few days. Although she still has a random accident about once a week…I don’t want to jinx it, but it’s been days with no accident so hopefully she’s got it all figured out now.
She’s super sweet and cuddly, but is also very playful and full of energy. She is REALLY fast and loves running around like crazy at the dog park. She also loves playing with toys and tug of war. Seriously, that girl is tug of war obsessed. She is also obsessed with the Wobble Wag Giggle ball that Ringo got for Christmas. It’s the most annoying toy ever, but it keeps her occupied so we call it a necessary evil.
Unfortunately, Ringo and Abby are not huge fans of Macey. Abby wants nothing to do with her. Ringo will play a little, but he usually ends up getting mad that she won’t stop messing with him. I think she is just too hyper for them. So we’ve been dealing with lots of little spats between the dogs, but nothing too bad. We haven’t had any huge fights and it’s nothing like the one stressful day we had with our first foster attempt Gonzo. We briefly talked about finding a different foster for her, but we don’t think moving her to yet another home would be good for her. Ringo and Abby will just have to deal with an annoying little foster sister for another month. Of course if things start to escalate between the dogs, we’ll have to reconsider based on what’s best for everyone. We definitely don’t want anyone getting hurt.
As I mentioned earlier, Macey is set to leave late March/early April. We are fostering through the same rescue group as before – Mountain Girl Transport Rescue. Mountain Girl Transport Rescue saves e-listed Chihuahuas, pit bulls, and fearful dogs in Arizona and transports them to no-kill shelters in the Pacific Northwest and Canada. There’s less of a supply/more of a demand in those areas vs. overpopulated Arizona (Maricopa County is the second-largest shelter system in the country and has one of the highest kill rates).
Anyway, she’ll be on the next transport (the February one left last week) and I’m hoping it’ll be easier for us the second time. Adam and I did not do well when we dropped Lilly off for her transport. I sobbed the entire drive home (like 45 minutes). Adam held it together until we pulled into the driveway. We got out of the car and just held each other crying. We had a hard couple of days. I’m hoping that now that we know what to expect it’ll be easier. Plus we know Macey isn’t a good fit for our family in the long run, so hopefully that’ll help too…yeah, I’ll still probably cry.
(look at that drool bubble!)
I know not everyone is able to foster, but there are other ways you can help. Volunteers and donations are always needed. If you don’t already support a rescue organization, please consider donating to the current transport. The February transport left Arizona last week and arrived in Northern Washington over the weekend. There were 50 dogs on that transport and all of them have been placed with adopters or fosters. Donations are still needed for the return trip (you can donate here). You can also learn more about MGTR by checking out their Facebook page. If you want to see some the rescue dogs in their happy homes, check out their rescue partner PB&CHI’s Facebook page.
No comments
Thanks for stopping by and taking the time to comment!
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.