Fostering: It isn’t just for humans
ByIn January this year we lost our best friend and loyal family pet, Jesse a 12-year-old Border Collie, to cancer. No other dog could ever replace Jesse and for months we said that we would never get another dog. Things changed when we started looking at all the animals in need around the province where we live.
A month ago my wife signed us up to foster dogs — basically dogs that are on their last legs and will be put to sleep if homes cannot be found for them or dogs that are emergency cases and need immediate assistance. Two weeks ago, we got a call from a rescue shelter that they had an emergency case and we agreed to help out.
Twiggy is a 6-year-old Border Collie that was given away by her owner because they didn’t have enough time for her anymore. The owner recently got married, got a new puppy and had a baby; Twiggy was soon out the door and passed from shelter to shelter until she came to her last stop at the rescue shelter and then to us.
I wonder what will happen if the kid becomes too much trouble, will they give it away too?
Twiggy is a great dog that loves to play ball and fetch sticks. She is incredibly loyal after only a couple of weeks. Unfortunately during her time at the rescue shelter, she was attacked by another dog and had pretty severe damage to her eye — after surgery, all seems to be well.
We took her to the vet while we were on vacation last week to treat an infection in her eye and the vet noticed calluses on her legs — the vet said these were from being locked up for long periods of time in a cage. Between that and the collar that would send electric shocks to her throat every time she barked, I was getting really pissed off at the people that had her before us.
Considering what she has been through Twiggy is adjusting very well. She is great with the kids and seems to enjoy a household where she is allowed to run free. Of course there are rules and she is learning those too — although like a kid, she pushes it to the limit.
Fostering is a very rewarding experience. Twiggy will never take the place of Jesse, nor should she — she is Twiggy and she is very special on her own.
