FOSTER CARE FOR ANIMALS

There really needs to be such a thing in my hometown! As of last night, I am in the foster care business...at least for two more days. Last night, as I stirred the gravy, I heard Nicole and Christy exclaiming over a dog that was out in the road. I went to the window and this beautiful vanilla pekingnese/shitzu cross type dog was sprawled out on its belly in the middle of the busy road. Cars were going by slowly, inching around him. Of course we ran outside. I began exclaiming in my mother hen way,

"Now Christy don't go touch it. If the dog is hurt, it may bite you."

"Nicole, watch out. Let it come to you. Don't pet it. We don't know if this dog is sick."

All the while the dog is looking at my girls...who are on the ege of the curb...and thumping it's tail. All the sudden it jumps up, runs over to our yard and flops down on it's tummy. Long ago, we had a sweet beagle that we ended up having to put to sleep because of back problems. This dog was laying down in the same way our beagle did and I wondered about back problems or maybe a broken leg. At this point, the girls were sitting next to the dog and petting it. One word describes this creature...ADORABLE! I kid you not, this dog was grinning from ear to ear. We had seen it running up and down the road earlier in the day but I thought it was following some children. Ana, drug herself from the sick bed(she has flu) and came outside. She said the dog had been in the middle of the road a couple of days ago. Obviously this poochey gets out a lot, is lost, abandoned...something. No collar.
*sigh*

Next thing I know the dog is up and running around...just a little ways and then flops back down. I decide it must not be seriously injured. We get "Little Vanilla"-Nicole has named it by now-and coax him into the house(after securing our dog and cat in other bedrooms) and out to the backyard. I call the police and they send someone over.

While waiting for the police, the girls are bonding majorly with Little Vanilla and I'm exclaiming,
"There's no way we can keep him because Welby(our Sheltie) will have a fit and Cali(the cat)doesn't want to be chased. Hopefully the police can take him to the SPCA."

Christy,11 year old, is saying "I am so proud of us for rescuing this dog. It's like the shows on TV where they rescue animals." heeh

Finally, policeman arrives and I meet him out front. The first thing he says "Are you an animal lover?" I say "Yes, why?" He responds, "Well, how would you like to keep this dog for a few days?" I say "Oh, I can't. I already have a dog and cat, they wouldn't like it." So we walk to the back and he looks at the dog, bends down and pets him and says "What a sweet dog." Then he stands up and looks me in the eye as he firmly states,

"Here's the deal. We don't have anyone to take the dog. Animal Control will not come out after hours or on the holidays. So we can't get them to take the dog until Tuesday."

My mouth drops open.

He continues, "So, if you are an animal lover, the best thing that could happen is for you to keep this dog till Tuesday and then call Animal Control or take him to the SPCA. If I have to take the dog, we will put him in the kennel behind the police station. You don't want the dog to go there."

I ventured, "Is it cold?" "Will anyone feed him?" "Look after him?"

He shooke his head and said, "We just throw them in the kennel and it's outdoors."

I protested, "But it's going to be 40 degrees tonight and in the 30's tommorrow!"

He sadly shook his head and said, "I know...but we don't have any other options. We are so busy taking care of people. One time I had to put tiny kittens in there and I thought they wouldn't make it through the night. But they did and we took them to the SPCA the next morning."

Both of my girls are saying "We can't let that happen Mama." Nicole is adamently saying "I'll take him to my apartment. You won't have to do anything."

I am saying "Nicole, this dog is hurt...what if it bites? Plus you are probably coming down with the flu tommorrow. Ana has it now. What if we have several people with the flu, a hurt dog and our two animals to take care of?"

Nicole, adamately again, "No Mama, I feel fine. I would hate for this dog to die in the kennels...if it's hurt that bad, at least it can die at home."

Of course, the animal has been walking around very well since we got it in the backyard. I go to talk to John and he says "Sounds like we probably should send it to the kennel." I say "But it's going to be 40 tonight." He sadly shakes his head.

I go back to the policeman and ask if he can take the dog. He replies that he already has two cats. Two pairs of eyes are pleading and I know there is no way I am sending this sweetie to a cold kennel. I say "OK, we will keep him till Tuesday and then take him to the SPCA." The policeman visibly sighs and smiles. He is an animal lover too. I walk the policeman to the front door and say
"There really needs to be some sort of foster care for animals. Places they can go to in situations like this, after hours or holidays."

He said, "I wish there was. We just don't have any mechanism in place for handling that right now but if something changes, I"ll let you know."

So, off he went and I thought of Ghandi's words...

"BE THE CHANGE YOU WANT TO SEE IN THE WORLD."

Ok, I'll start by being a foster mother to this pooch.

We decide it would be best for Little Vanilla to stay at Nicole's apartment, thereby cutting down on the stress levels of our pets, who aren't taking to this intruder in any form or fashion. We load Little Vanilla in a cage and all the way to Nicole's apartment, he is barking in the funniest way possible. He has this little smushed up nose that makes his bark sound like a cross between a quack and a fast forwarding of a tape. Once in Nicole's apartment, he quickly marks his territory on the couch and proceeds to explore in a most sure-footed manner. Maybe he isn't even hurt? Maybe he is just a house dog that doesn't understand that you can't tap a nap in the middle of a busy road?

I go back home and check on the first flu victim, Ana, and she seems to be progessing well. A little while later, Christy says "I'm so cold." She has fever. I am 85 percent sure she is coming down with the flu. Get her some advil and 4 blankets and tuck her in bed. Call Nicole to check on Little Vanilla. He is sleeping and snoring in the cage. Nicole says he snores really loud but it's so cute. Nicole snores too because of her huge tonsils, so I think they are kindred spirits. I ask her how she is feeling and she says "Pretty good". My radar goes up at the word, "Pretty". I instruct her(she is only 19) to put advil by her bed, lots of water and I'll call her in the morning.

Up two times in the night, checking on Ana and Christy, wondering about how Nicole and Little Vanilla are faring over at the apartment. IM with Nicole about 9am this morning, and learn that she has taken Little Vanilla outside for his morning duties and now she is going to rest. Nicole isn't feeling very well. Most likely, she is flu victim #3, but we are hopeful it's just a head cold. Little Vanilla contentedly pads around the apartment between naps.

Looks like we may be bringing Nicole and Little Vanilla back over here tonight. Foster Care is not for the faint of heart.

Did I mention that I'm not feeling too well?

To be continued,
Susan