There’s like hella dogs in here.

Sherman Update:

Sherman is really coming into his own. He has a ton of puppy energy and he has so much more fur, it seems like he gets more fur every day. He continues to get ointment and medication but he actually looks like and acts like a dog. 

House training has gone pretty well, he still leaks when he sits sometimes but he's really getting the hang of being here.

DAY 1 

Progress, Progress, Progress

Fostering with other Dogs:

I know I've mentioned this before but Sherman isn't the only four legged creature in our home. Chelsae and I have had dogs throughout our entire relationship and marriage:

 It started with Ethel, she's a very sweet beagle/ american bulldog mix. She's medium dog height but shes thin and has long skinny legs. She's the sweetest dog you've ever met and all she wants to do is be a lap dog. Chelsae had her before I came along but I quickly fell in love with Ethel too. Chels is the love of my life and Ethel was a perk of the relationship. To this day Ethel still greets me when I come home and she can be a little pushy when she wants attention but she won't ever turn down a belly rub.

Next came Bailey, our Beagle (she's purebred and there's papers for her somewhere but we don't really care about that). We actually got Bailey the day after we moved into our first place together. We had talked about getting a second dog so Ethel would have some company when we were both away from the house and it just worked out. One of our friends inherited Bailey and due to a renting situation gave her to us. Bailey is our oldest. She can be a crotchety old lady and demands to be fed earlier and earlier every night but she's basically our cat. She loves to sleep and loves to eat. She rarely asks to be pet, but when she does we make sure to give her some extra time, just her. She's also the more "motherly" of our pack. She will let my girls basically do whatever they want. Her patience is incredible.

Lastly came George, a Basset/Rottweiler mix. He is definitely our goofiest looking dog, and the only other male in the house besides me. George has typical Basset coloring and floppy ears but he kinda looks like a Rottweiler  with short stubby legs. George is our youngest and was our first "foster". A while after Chelsae and I had been together we decided we would try fostering. We reached out to a couple rescues to see if we could foster through them (we were very new) and either didn't get a response or were told we lived too far away. So we did what reasonable people do (j/k).... we found George on craigslist and decided we would just foster him ourselves, it couldn't be that hard right? We "fostered" George for almost 3 minutes before I decided we needed to keep him. 

I've often talked to people about our journey in rescue and I get a lot of different responses to why people say they can't foster. The most common is definitely that they "could never give the dog up". This is what we call a "foster fail", not because the dog failed but because the person failed to give the dog up. It happens and it's not a bad thing. I'm a firm believer that every dog person is looking for their dog, and every dog is looking for their person. Sometimes that process starts with rescue in mind but ends with the dog staying forever. For us, we try as much as possible to keep the mindset that if we keep a foster then it would prohibit us from continuing to save more dogs, that has seemed to work for the last couple years.

The second most common response I get to why people can't do rescue is because they already have a dog/dogs. I get it, this was my initial hesitation when we brought home our first rescues, and I understand that sometimes it may not work out with your resident dogs for whatever reason (there's always room to help in some way though). But from my experience I couldn't imagine doing rescue without the help of Ethel, Bailey and George. 

Anytime we bring a new dog home there is an adjustment period. We practice social distancing and let the new dog decompress and get used to their new situation without the added stress of having to meet stranger dogs. It took some time to learn just how much time was needed and what to watch for, but once introductions are made it seems like we all have our own roles in helping the foster learn basic things. 

Chelsae and I teach them how to take direction from people, that they can trust people and that they don't need to worry about where their next meal is coming from. 

Maddy and Morgan teach them how to deal with kids. How to have a little patience and play gently with kids.

Bailey teaches them to respect their elders and boundaries. She's not unfriendly to other dogs but she doesn't necessarily like her personal space invaded and she definitely doesn't like to "ruffhouse." Bailey also is the one that will teach the new dog how to go around the kitchen and lick up every crumb that drops.

Ethel is our "tester" dog. She gets along with everyone and she's very submissive. She takes a bit to want to play but she is very good at introducing new dogs to our pack.

George is our rockstar!! He seems to take every dog under his wing and teaches them the ropes. He will teach puppies how to play with boundaries. He helps teach house training. He can be a companion, a teacher, a "fatherly figure", how to do yard patrols, not to mess with the girls, when it's time to play and time to rest, and so many more things only another dog could teach. 

We haven't been without issues with previous fosters but I can't imagine doing it without my pack.