Max

Max really tried my sanity. Max is a 9 year old male yellow lab with severe separation anxiety. I ended up fostering him because I had the ability to bring him to work where he could stay safe in a kennel run instead of destroying a house. This meant unless I left him at work I could not go anywhere unless another family member was willing to watch Max. I had him for a little over a month.

Max was a very sweet, mellow boy as long as you were around. He was fully house trained, had a healthy appetite, and knew sit and come very well. Ben and Max were two grumpy old men, they each had their spots in the family room and as long as neither of them got in the other's space they were friends.

Max was unable to be crated as he bent a wire crate out of shape to escape in his first foster. I left him alone in my car in a crate for 10 minutes and he gave himself a huge hot spot on his side. Luckily he did okay at work in a kennel run and just barked and drooled a lot.

Max was given up with his 7 year old black lab friend, Chloe, who I couldn't foster because she didn't like Ben and I have a two dog limit.

Fortunately this story ends beautifully! Max and Chloe ended up getting adopted together by a couple in central Washington. The man is retired and the woman can take dogs to work with her. They even have an outdoor kennel run where Max and Chloe peacefully hang out when their owners have to leave. There really is the perfect home out there for every dog.

Sparkles

Now Sparkles probably doesn't count on my foster total list because I only had her for 2 nights but she was such a sweetheart.

Sparkles is a little chiweenie. She is about a year old and isn't super sure about men. While she was at my house she growled if a male approached her but at one point she jumped up on the couch between me and my boyfriend and solicited him for pets. I only kept her for two days because another large dog needed to come to my house and Sparkles had another foster home she could go to. 

Sparkles is special to me because I transported her multiple times and she even stayed at the kennel where I work for a few nights so I gave her plenty of cuddles.

Sparkles ended up getting adopted this last weekend by a family in Canada. She got adopted with her chiweenie friend Eddy who is deaf.

I'm Terrible at Updates

I realized quickly a daily posting is way too much. I have now fostered 4 dogs since Olie (who got adopted). I will make each of them their own post and then maybe do weekly (or twice weekly) posts on my current fosters.

Olie learned sit, down and shake while he was with me. He got very good at walking on a leash. He did amazing in the kennel at work. He ended up getting adopted by the perfect family in Idaho near Spokane WA. Carrie and I took a trip out to the family to do the home visit and take Olie to them. I had Olie for about a month and a half total. He is a wonderful dog and I've gotten updates from his forever family that they love him a lot.

Days 4-7

These days were rough for little Olie bear. I have learned he is not fond of fireworks or loud noises. When a firework went off in my neighborhood on the 3rd while we were outside he immediately ran toward the house. Once inside he was fine with the noises. I have learned that he is fine with the vacuum cleaner if it is being run in another room and just runs away from it if you are vacuuming the room he is in. He was not super thrilled about my dad using the nail gun a few rooms away and sat on his dog bed begging me for comfort. On the fourth he was most comfortable just being in his crate in the room people were in. He definitely wants to be near his people and isn't great about being in a crate when there is no one else in the room so we are working on that.

Olie in his crate

I went and picked up Olie's harness. He has a thick neck and a big head so he might be able to slip a collar if it is too loose. He is good about having his harness put on and walks well on it.

Olie in his harness

Olie is great about getting his nails clipped! He sniffed the clippers a bit and then decided that they are boring. I got all of his nails trimmed a bit and he laid still the whole time.

Cute Olie paw

Olie Day 2 and 3

Olie is definitely settling in here, he was comfortable enough to start jumping up on the couch. He likes to be near the people he lives with. I will be encouraging him to be on the dog bed and teaching him the command "off" in case his new home doesn't want their dog on the furniture.

I took Ben and Olie for a walk before heading off to work for the day. Olie mostly stuck by Ben's side. He seems to prefer to walk in front of me but he never pulls on the leash. If he reaches the end of the leash he slows down a bit so he doesn't pull. He also didn't bark or pull toward other dogs or people who we passed while walking. He seemed to be afraid of cars passing by as he got extra close to me when they passed. He does try to pull after small animals who cross our path or rustle in the bushes. We passed some squirrels and I had to distract him with some food to help him get back on track.

Olie and Ben

I tried soaking Olie's breakfast and feeding him 4 hours before we left for work and he did not puke in the car! I kept the air conditioner blasting to help as well. Everyone at work was happy to see Olie again. He is just a great dog and everyone who meets him falls in love.

Olie knows the command sit and he is fairly good at come as well. We are currently working on down, off, and being good in a crate. He appears to be housebroken but is constantly supervised in the house. He whines occasionally so I take him outside if it has been a while and he usually goes potty when that happens. He also seems to know what appropriate things to chew on are. We leave shoes and books and random stuff on the ground sometimes and he always goes for the dog toys (squeaky toys and bones) instead.

Unfortunately Olie threw up in the car again on the way to work on day 3. I am not sure what is causing his motion sickness, he definitely likes riding in cars as he will pull me toward my car when we go out the front door and he happily leaps into the car when I open the door. Fortunately he again aimed for the towel that I laid down for him. I will continue to soak his food and keep the air conditioner on to lessen his carsickness. He threw up about 40 minutes into the 60 minute drive. Another note about him riding in the car is he loves to sit on the seats, I drive a van and I'm okay with him sitting in the backseat. He does not try to jump into the front seat while the car is running but, when I park the car and prepare to leave he sometimes gets really excited and jumps up into the passenger or driver seat. I am encouraging him to stay in the backseat and only let him out the back door of the car.

If you want to adopt Olie or want more information about him email connellpetrescue@gmail.com

Day 1 with Olie

I got my first foster dog ever today! His name is Olie. Olie is adoptable through Red Waggin Rescue which is based out of Connell Washington but they have lots of fosters on the west side too. You can see Olie's Petfinder profile here. Olie is a 3 year old Australian Cattle Dog mix. He was being boarded at the boarding kennel that I work at while the rescue searched for a foster home and I fell in love with him. I asked my parents if I could foster a dog and they said I could. I contacted the rescue and told them that I was very interested in fostering Olie. I submitted an application and got approved to foster him.

He sometimes has a worried look

When I brought Olie home he puked once in the car, about 30 minutes into the drive. Poor guy. He puked on the towel that I had brought along just in case though! When I got home I asked my sister to bring my dog, Ben, to the park so we could introduce the dogs on neutral territory. Ben has had a lot of random dogs come into the house between raising Guide Dog puppies and pet sitting friend's dogs so I wasn't too worried about the meeting. It turns out I didn't need to worry at all. They sniffed each other and then decided they were both pretty cool. We walked them home about 5 minutes later.

He likes squeaky toys

My brother immediately fell in love with Olie and has decided "he is the chillest dog ever!" I set up the crate for him in my bedroom and he wasn't really fond of it. I then either forgot to latch it completely or he managed to unlatch one of the latches and he escaped while I was taking a shower. I have put a carabiner on the lower latch area of the crate so he can't undo it just to make sure.

He enjoys chilling on a dog bed

He whined a little bit when he was in the crate but settled down in about 5 minutes. He did not sleep through the night and woke me up around 3 am. I took him outside and he did really have to pee. We went back to bed and he slept until it was time for us to get up.

If you want more information on Olie or want to adopt him email connellpetrescue@gmail.com