Our First Success !

Nathan the Wonder Dog did indeed go to his new forever home today. Jenn and Keith ( who are wicked nice, incidentally ) came to meet him and loved him. Which is good, because he loved them, too. I think Nathan is going to have an amazing home with them, and I am SO happy that we could be a part of getting him there. In the beginning, we were worried that it would be an incredibly difficult and emotional thing to let our foster go - but as it turns out while we will miss his big brown eyes and the thumping of his tail- and everything else that goes along with Nathan, we are just SO glad he is going to go make someone the perfect pet. This process is amazing. From the rescue getting ahold of the dog at the pound and making sure they are ready to be placed in a foster, to the people that tirelessly truck the dogs up to us from down south, to the foster families that keep them in their homes and hearts only until the rescue finds just the right family to be theirs - it's SO rewarding to save a happy, furry little soul that would have been put to sleep if no one made the effort of rescuing them. The process itself is amazing. The dogs are amazing. The people that are invlved with every step are amazing.

Jenn and Keith were SO clearly the right humans for our Nathan, that it was impossible to feel bad that he was leaving with them. I'm getting teary now like an idiot - but I feel nothing but happiness. We started this fostering thing for two reasons. We weren't sure we were ready for more than one dog to be added to our family, and we wanted to help save some lives. We adopted Phoenix and it seemed selfish of us to only help one more dog. Given the finances, Id take them all. Fostering allows us to help as many dogs as the rescue will fix us up with. I like knowing we are able to save as many as possible.

And after seeing Jenn, Keith and Nathan getting to know eachother, I have come to the conclusion that when we find the RIGHT next dog for us, we will know it. Nathan wasn't it - he was waiting for HIS new family. Until  we find that right match, we have plenty of time  to help some more furbabies while they wait for their new families.

Jenn, Keith and Nathan  - Family <3

Last trip

Today appears to have been Nathan's final trip with us. In a couple of days, on Sunday, a very nice couple will be driving 2 hours to meet, and hopefully adopt him into his forever home. Today we took him along on our hike and the dogs got to play in the water and walk the trails with the kids and I. Here's hoping Nathan's new family is as good to him as he has been to us. Dopey, goofy and doesn't listen for sh*t...but he's a good dog - a good boy. He will be a wonderful addition to anyone's home. Here he will be missed, but we are all very excited he will be in a new, loving, permanent home.

We are grateful to have made it through this first foster experience intact. It's been very rewarding knowing we could help by having him here with us, while just the right family looked for and chose him to come be a member of their family. I hope to someday receive pictures in my email of a plump, happy, graying well loved version of our pal, Nathan. That's a long long way from his beginnings down South that nearly ended in euthanasia. THAT'S what fostering for a rescue is all about.  <3

Nathan, Phoenix and the kids at Gonic Walking Trails

Adios, Nathan the Wonder Dog !