Post by GreyPoopon on Dec 15, 2007 21:02:47 GMT -5
I've failed fostering. Jessie is staying. ;D
I had hoped to find her a home with one of my neighbours. In fact, my best prospect--a couple who had lost their grey to OS in July--agreed to take her. But not 5 minutes after saying yes, they changed their minds. I don't think they're ready for another dog. Over time, most of the others withdrew, saying either that they no longer wanted to have a dog, or could not manage two. Friday morning I found out that two of the remaining three would not take her. The final prospect has known about her for over a month and not requested a meeting. It was time to admit that Jessie was not going to find a home with a neighbour.
I don't have the background to recruit and vet strangers, so she would have to go back to GRA. But the kennel is still bursting at the seams, it is a bad time of year for both adoptions (low) and returns (high), and another 9-yr-old brindle girl was recently returned. If I took her back and Bill crammed her in, she might have to wait for a long time.
Waiting until the market improved would only make things harder for both of us. Plus, she's 9: she doesn't have time to waste.
During the past week, I've seen several signs that she now thinks she's at home. Last Friday (a week ago), she suddenly decided to play in the yard with Piper. The next day she attended a dinner with several members of my family, and didn't spend more than two consecutive minutes away from a stroking hand--but she knew exactly when I left the room. Since then, she's been even more inclined to seek me out for attention. She's also been making eye contact even when close to me (she's good at a distance).
And on Monday, for the first time, she was less than fully focussed on the neighbour giving her a scratch. In fact, she gave me The Look: when my girls are getting attention from another person, they're inclined to stare right me with a semi-smug expression as if to say, "See? This person knows what I want." (Well, Minnie is smug; the others sometimes look as if they're checking that it's OK. It is. Tuesday I saw The Look again.
So, it was time to make a decision: take her back to the kennel, or adopt her.
Every time I even think about returning her, I hear Roberta Flack's version of Janis Ian's song Jessie: "Jesse, come home / There's a hole in the bed..."
I picked adoption. I called and left a message for Bill that Jessie is staying.
She'll keep her name, which she knows, and which I like. She'll go in next week for a "new pet" exam, vaccinations, and blood work. She'll have a dental as soon as my clinic will give me the Dental Month price. (I'd rather have the work done here than make two 3-hr round trips to the kennel in the winter.) But, other than that, she's pretty much part of the family already. Now that it's official, I can finish falling for her.
So, what have I learned about my ability to foster? Well, if the organization uses a foster-to-adoption model, not a blessed thing. What I did learn was that if Bill hand-picks a sweet girl for me to foster, I'd better be prepared to keep her.
Now, for the pics. I don't have many decent solo shots (the best are in the intro thread My Foster Jessie (gracanada.proboards101.com/index.cgi?board=greytpics&action=display&thread=1193868813), and the weather is too horrid to get new ones, so I've included several group pics I've caught over the past month or so.
Here's a not-very-good portrait of the newest member of the family:
Chomping on a Nylabone:
Waiting for brekkie with her fellow starving hounds Piper (front) and Cora:
At bedtime, as a pillow for Edie. If I'd had time, I would have posted this with a comment along the lines of "Um, Edie? Remember, she's a foster."
After being covered in their blankies. They were still/once again in this position in the morning:
With Betsy (Edie is in front of Betsy). The shirt is because she's been worrying a small scratch on her arm into a significant bare and red patch:
She's discovered the joy of having a giant heated stuffie. Here she is with Perry (Cora to the left, Piper walking by):
Another angle:
She's joining in the group cuddles too. This was in my office. Front row, Edie's noggin. Middle row from left, Betsy, Jessie, Piper, and Perry. Back row, Cora and Minnie:
On the dog beds in the living room. From left, Cora, Edie, Piper (rear), Jessie (front), Betsy, Perry:
Same beds, different day. From left, Jessie, Cora, Edie, Piper, Betsy, and Perry:
After they shifted around a bit, a closeup of the bums (clockwise from top left, Jessie, Edie, and Cora):
And the obligatory silly shot, of her teeth while she was sleeping:
Welcome home Jessie!!!!
I had hoped to find her a home with one of my neighbours. In fact, my best prospect--a couple who had lost their grey to OS in July--agreed to take her. But not 5 minutes after saying yes, they changed their minds. I don't think they're ready for another dog. Over time, most of the others withdrew, saying either that they no longer wanted to have a dog, or could not manage two. Friday morning I found out that two of the remaining three would not take her. The final prospect has known about her for over a month and not requested a meeting. It was time to admit that Jessie was not going to find a home with a neighbour.
I don't have the background to recruit and vet strangers, so she would have to go back to GRA. But the kennel is still bursting at the seams, it is a bad time of year for both adoptions (low) and returns (high), and another 9-yr-old brindle girl was recently returned. If I took her back and Bill crammed her in, she might have to wait for a long time.
Waiting until the market improved would only make things harder for both of us. Plus, she's 9: she doesn't have time to waste.
During the past week, I've seen several signs that she now thinks she's at home. Last Friday (a week ago), she suddenly decided to play in the yard with Piper. The next day she attended a dinner with several members of my family, and didn't spend more than two consecutive minutes away from a stroking hand--but she knew exactly when I left the room. Since then, she's been even more inclined to seek me out for attention. She's also been making eye contact even when close to me (she's good at a distance).
And on Monday, for the first time, she was less than fully focussed on the neighbour giving her a scratch. In fact, she gave me The Look: when my girls are getting attention from another person, they're inclined to stare right me with a semi-smug expression as if to say, "See? This person knows what I want." (Well, Minnie is smug; the others sometimes look as if they're checking that it's OK. It is. Tuesday I saw The Look again.
So, it was time to make a decision: take her back to the kennel, or adopt her.
Every time I even think about returning her, I hear Roberta Flack's version of Janis Ian's song Jessie: "Jesse, come home / There's a hole in the bed..."
I picked adoption. I called and left a message for Bill that Jessie is staying.
She'll keep her name, which she knows, and which I like. She'll go in next week for a "new pet" exam, vaccinations, and blood work. She'll have a dental as soon as my clinic will give me the Dental Month price. (I'd rather have the work done here than make two 3-hr round trips to the kennel in the winter.) But, other than that, she's pretty much part of the family already. Now that it's official, I can finish falling for her.
So, what have I learned about my ability to foster? Well, if the organization uses a foster-to-adoption model, not a blessed thing. What I did learn was that if Bill hand-picks a sweet girl for me to foster, I'd better be prepared to keep her.
Now, for the pics. I don't have many decent solo shots (the best are in the intro thread My Foster Jessie (gracanada.proboards101.com/index.cgi?board=greytpics&action=display&thread=1193868813), and the weather is too horrid to get new ones, so I've included several group pics I've caught over the past month or so.
Here's a not-very-good portrait of the newest member of the family:
Chomping on a Nylabone:
Waiting for brekkie with her fellow starving hounds Piper (front) and Cora:
At bedtime, as a pillow for Edie. If I'd had time, I would have posted this with a comment along the lines of "Um, Edie? Remember, she's a foster."
After being covered in their blankies. They were still/once again in this position in the morning:
With Betsy (Edie is in front of Betsy). The shirt is because she's been worrying a small scratch on her arm into a significant bare and red patch:
She's discovered the joy of having a giant heated stuffie. Here she is with Perry (Cora to the left, Piper walking by):
Another angle:
She's joining in the group cuddles too. This was in my office. Front row, Edie's noggin. Middle row from left, Betsy, Jessie, Piper, and Perry. Back row, Cora and Minnie:
On the dog beds in the living room. From left, Cora, Edie, Piper (rear), Jessie (front), Betsy, Perry:
Same beds, different day. From left, Jessie, Cora, Edie, Piper, Betsy, and Perry:
After they shifted around a bit, a closeup of the bums (clockwise from top left, Jessie, Edie, and Cora):
And the obligatory silly shot, of her teeth while she was sleeping:
Welcome home Jessie!!!!