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Happy
My
first foster love! Happy taught me invaluable lessons in life.
Falcon
Falcon
was a pleasure!
Teddy
Teddy
was a doll - the best cuddler!
Coy
With
love and patience, Coy learned to trust. She will always be
very dear to my heart.
Milo
Milo did
the most amazing hand stands, need I say more... And he looked great
in a sweater!
Bradley
Bradley
was so easy to that I called him my little "fish" with fur! I was so
happy when he got adopted with his buddy Mickey. |
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New Years, 2007. Piecing together the remnants of my
life AD (After Divorce), I realized somewhere along the way I had lost
meaning and direction. All my dreams and goals I had been building for the
past seven years were now meaningless. Family, children, hearth and home.
I was back to square one and I was disoriented. Starting-over? No. The idea of starting-over suggests you get a second
chance at hitting the mark you missed first time around. There were no
second chances for this one, no re-dos.
With my hands in the air, a friend came to me offering
help. As a divorce survivor herself, I opened my heart and mind to her
suggestions. She said, "Brooke, your life is not over, it's just changed.
Maybe you can't 'start-over' per se, but you sure as heck need to start
something! Start to live your life again!" She then asked me what I loved
more than anything in the world. Easy answer: my dogs,
Sage and
Ottis.
"Then go with that," she pushed.
I starting mulling over her advice. "Then go with that," she had said. But
go with what?? Sure, I loved my dogs. But how was that suppose to give me
direction in my life?
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My questions were soon answered. During my normal
peruse on Petfinder,
I ended up on
People United for Pet's website. In big bold letters they were calling
for Foster Volunteers. Fostering had been something I had contemplated
before, but the timing had never been right. I sat back and asked myself,
what about now? Was this what I needed? Could I really do this?? I had so
many fears, so many reservations. But with my friend's words in my head, I
took a chance and quickly filled out the
fostering application, emailing it to PUP before I could change my
mind.
Before I knew it, I had my first foster dog: Happy (now
Calvin). He was a wonderful dog and got along great with Sage and Ottis. I
had him only two weeks when I received email that PUP had found him a
great home and wanted to schedule a Meet and Greet.
I started crying with mixed emotions. Although I was glad
they found him a potential Forever Home, it also meant his stay with me
was coming to an end! I started having second thoughts about this whole
"foster" thing. How could I survive this?? I would miss him so much! And
how would Sage and Ottis react to losing their good friend?? Despite my
reservations, I pulled myself together and forged ahead with the process,
reminding myself that finding Happy his Forever Home was my first
priority.
And once I met his potential adoptor, all my
reservations fell to the wayside. Happy's new Forever Mom was
amazing and it was a perfect match. It was hard to say goodbye, but
a few weeks later I learned that Happy's new mom truly needed Happy
far more than me. Happy was
able to comfort Pam when her current dog suddenly passed away.
Once I witnessed the magic of bringing Happy and Pam
together, I understood exactly how and why fosters do what they do.
The emotional and spiritual rewards of being a part of something so
big--so great--far outweighs the mixed sadness you feel when saying
goodbye to one of your fosters. Although I miss each and every one
of my fosters, my heart is always warmed when I hear from the new
families filled with loving 'tails' of their new best-friends.
Hearing the silly stories of the dogs who once looked to me for
guidance and love, I cannot help but be a proud foster mom. |
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I keep my fosters close to my heart and I thank them all for
helping me re-define my life. My life is now a blessing, filled
with the great dogs and great people of rescue. I may not be
'starting-over,' but I sure as heck am starting something!!
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Bentley
Bentley is Sage and Ottis' favorite foster to date! They were the
best of friends.
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Walker
Walker
had that "perfect" temperament. Sage and Ottis loved him! And can you
get any cuter? Everyone fell in love with him when we went on our
walks. |
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Heidi
I had
never met a dog more petrified of the world. I could not have been
more happy when she was adopted from within our group by JoAnn, who
since has done great work with her. Heidi has even learned to play,
which I was not sure would ever happen. To be a part of saving this
dog... priceless. |
Roxie
Not sure if it was because she looked like a distant
alien/mutt cousin of my own dogs or because of her endearing snorts at
night while she snuggled against my neck, but it was very hard to let
her go. I miss you, my little bit-bit.
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Bingo
Bingo
was one silly little mutt. He was a constant source of laughter in
my household. Can you say, Class Clown!
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Forrest
Forrest was quite the naughty boy, but I sure did love him!
j
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