Remembering a Couple of Special Fosters

They are all special, obviously, but still, there are some dogs that cross our paths that stick out in our memory and always will. I always say that it's the difficult dogs you member most, partly because they are with you the longest. The dogs with no issues that get adopted quickly (yes, there are some of those) sometimes fade from memory. After all, we have been at this for about 18 years now.

I'm always grateful when an adopter lets me know when one of my former fosters have passed. I share their sorrow, of course, but I also share the joy that dog brought to their life.

Most readers will remember Jackie. She came to us early in December, 2017, not quite a year ago. She was a very senior dog at the time. She had come into a shelter with a companion dog presumed to be her brother. Unfortunately he was already suffering the effects of a brain tumor and had to be euthanized. Jackie wasn't in very good shape herself. She had a bad urinary tract infection and seemed to be in pain. The cause of the pain, other than just being 12+ years of age, was a bladder full of stones that were removed early in January. We battled the lingering infection for a while after that, but the primary source of her pain was gone and Jackie really perked up and enjoyed life again.

Just before our trip to Belgium this spring, she went to an adopter who has taken in a number of senior dogs. Unfortunately she died a week or so ago after suffering what appeared to be some strokes, and possibly bloat. Many people donated funds to Animal Connections for Jackie's surgery and I'm extremely grateful. She had some good months at the end of her life, free of the pain that had probably plagued her for years. And she didn't die in a shelter where she had been unceremoniously dumped by her prior owner. So raise a glass to Jackie, a good dog, and to the many people who gave her a good end-of-life experience.

Teddy with Cooper backing himi up.

And then there's Teddy. Teddy was a foster quite a few years ago, along with a dog named Cooper. They were buddies when they were here and they were adopted by the same woman. To say they were buddies doesn't really capture the essence of their relationship, however. Teddy, I believe, was autistic. He didn't have normal interactions with people, or with anyone other than Cooper. Adopting Teddy was a real act of kindness and generosity because it would be years before the adopter was able to touch him and have anything close to a normal relationship with the dog. They worked things out, with Cooper's help, and Teddy had a good life, a life that he would not have been able to have in any other living situation. The perfect adopter and the perfect companion dog came together for Teddy and I'll be eternally grateful to both of them for making that possible.

This is Teddy on one of the occasions he came
to board here.

I received an email a couple weeks ago letting me know that Teddy had passed, rather suddenly. It turned out that his illness was rather advanced and extensive, but Teddy had a good quality of life right up to the end and didn't suffer a long decline. That's something to be thankful for. But more than that, the fact that Teddy had a life that fit him with an adopter who didn't expect that Teddy couldn't provide, and with Cooper to help him navigate the human world, that's a LOT to be thankful for.

These were two special dogs I'm thankful to have known and played a small part in making their lives better.

This moment, of touching Teddy, was years in the making.
He actually grew to the point of seeking it out on his own.