Lark Delaney: Foster Mom!

Springtime at the shelter means a lot of things: sweeping out the winter hay we use for insulation in the pens, shoveling mud out of the breezeways and nicer weather for our walks.  It also means stray puppies, which is both a blessing and a bad thing.  We obviously love to see the little guys, but it's a harsh reminder how many animals would be spared suffering if everyone spayed and neutered their pets.

Dogs can breed all year round, but depending on their health and the weather puppies are most often born in the spring and summer, when the temperatures warm up and food is more plentiful.  Last year we had six litters of puppies come through our doors, not counting the single puppies who got picked up or surrendered. 

Our first foster puppy, Tucker

One of those puppies, a 12-week-old Australian Shepherd mix called Tucker came home to be fostered by My Husband and me late last summer.  Tucker had a nasty cough that was aggravated by living in the shelter’s concrete pens barely protected from the elements.

I had never fostered a dog before…I wasn’t sure I could do it without becoming overly attached.  But Tucker needed help.  Puppies, though relatively easy to adopt out are notoriously difficult to place in foster homes because of all the care they need.

I, however, am almost ideally suited to foster puppies until they can be placed up for adoption because I’m home all day and we have a sweet young spaniel to help socialize the visiting dogs.

We called him "Joey," as well as "Tucker"

Tucker spent two weeks with us…one week to cure his cough and another to get some obedience training.  I was surprised about not getting attached to him.  I mean, I loved him and he was a sweetie (My Husband and I called him “Joey” because he looked just like a baby kangaroo) but he wasn’t my dog.  He was some other family’s dog.  Does that make sense?

Tucker, unfortunately, got TOO comfortable in our home and started marking territory with his urine.  He went to another foster family with a huge chunk of land and a bunch of kids, and they had him another two weeks.  He was finally adopted in January by a military couple just before the husband deployed.  His new mom sent the shelter a nice letter telling us what a wonderful addition to the family he is!

So I guess we’ll see who the spring brings into our lives this time...