Jeri Smith-Ready

Three dog nights

And days.

If you check the sidebar, you'll note that we have two fosters now. How did this happen? I ask myself the same question, as I wade through a sea of fur-drenched beasts.

Sunshine is a nine-year-old Belgian Shepherd mix who ended up in a shelter after running away from home. Her owners came to pick her up but didn't want to pay the SPCA boarding fee for the nights she had stayed there, so they just signed her over to the shelter.

Pardon my Anglo-Saxon, but can you believe that shit? We live in such a disposable society that a dog who has given nine years of life and love can be tossed out like an old chair. Less than a decade ago she was a wee ball of black fluff, probably adored and cooed over. Now she's garbage, somebody else's problem.

Because she was a senior dog and the shelter knew that no one was looking for her, she went right to the top of the PTS list.

And folks, in animal rescue, PTS doesn't exactly stand for Party 'Til Sunup.

It's rare that our organization will tell us, hey, this dog will die if it doesn't get a foster. Actually, this is the only time I can remember that happening. Because I have a soft spot for seniors and black animals,* I offered to take her.

After all, Brutus has become one of the family in everything but name, and older dogs are usually calm and cause little problem. From what I've heard, senior fosters and adoptees are just so grateful to have a home where they're wanted, they behave beautifully.

I was right. Though it was tough the first couple of days to manage the dynamics of three dogs (which officially counts as a "pack"), especially with a burst pipe in the basement that cut our living area nearly in half, everyone seems happy now.

I figured Sunshine would be with us a very long time, if not forever. After all, she's old, large, and black--three major strikes against any rescue dog. But she already has a very nice lady interested in adopting her, and she may go to a new home as early as next week. Keep your fingers crossed for this lovely old girl. I'll keep you posted.


*and, let's be totally honest, because two days before I drove past a similar-looking dog lying by the side of the highway that had been hit by a car. Like everyone else, I didn't stop, even though I could have done so safely. It was probably already dead, but what if it weren't, or what if I could have kept it from dying alone? I felt like an asshole, and this is my way of making up for it. So I'm no angel, 'kay? Just karmically aware.

Labels: foster dogs

• posted by Jeri @ 9:06 AM
• 4 comments