Saying Goodbye

Remember Smiley from earlier in the summer?  Here's when we brought him home and when he switched to a different foster home when we went on vacation. 

I got an email last week from his foster mom.  She was going to be taking him to the vet to look at a growth on his tail.  He was also eating much less than normal in the previous week and was vomiting bile.  She wanted to know if he had ever done that when he was with us.  Well, when we had him he was eating like a champ and rarely even burped, nevermind threw up, so she was going to have the vet see what could be done to remedy his tummy aches in addition to the growth on his tail.  Smiley's foster mom promised to keep me updated on the results.

This afternoon I got my follow up email from her and it's what I had been dreading:

Smiley didn't make it through surgery today.  He was full of cancer inside.  At least he is at peace now.  No more poking and prodding.  I know between you and I he had the best life any dog could.  I wanted to let you know I told him you loved him this morning, I told him how much EVERYONE loved him.

It means so much to me that she told Smiley that I loved him since I didn't get a chance to see him before his surgery.  I knew that one day I would hear about one of my fosters crossing over the Rainbow Bridge, but I didn't think it would be so soon.  At least I know that Smiley was well loved in his last few months of life.  But it still hurts to know he's gone, leaving me a crying mess for most of the afternoon.  So in honor of Smiley I'm going to go snuggle and kiss all of my pets (foster included), because that was Smiley's favorite thing and I always want all of them to know how loved they are.

Goodbye, Smiley.  We'll miss you.

Smiley's Moving On

When we went to Canada we had to find a new temporary foster home for Smiley.  I was a little worried that no one would want to take him and that he would have to spend that time at the kennel.  The thought broke my heart because he more than other dogs really needs to be in a comfortable home with people around (some dogs are more resilient than others in a kennel setting).  Luckily within hours of a request being sent out for a temporary foster home someone stepped up and practically begged to take Smiley.  Up until recently she had always had Boxers and was missing the love.  What a relief!

A day before we left for Canada I met up with Kathleen, Smiley's new foster mom, to hand him off.  She was so excited to meet him and immediately loved his smooshy little face.  I gave her the run down on his care and personality since she would only have him a short time before the next adoption show so that she could answer any questions from potential adopters.  And then off they went!

Before we got back I emailed Kathleen to see how Smiley was doing and she said she had renamed him Charlie and that he was such a lover.  He's fitting in really well into her home with her two dogs and other foster dog.  Since Dash kept trying to wrestle with Smiley, which Smiley often didn't appreciate, I told Kathleen that she didn't have to give Smiley back to us if she didn't want to.  Turns out she was about to ask me the same thing!  So Smiley is going to stay with her until he gets adopted and we'll take another foster that is hopefully a little more up to dealing with Dash.  We're really happy that Smiley is in a home where he fits in so well and is getting spoiled with so much attention and love until he finds a forever home to give him the same.

So let's celebrate by looking at some pictures of Smiley basking in the sun, shall we?

Spooning

This is my kitchen during the dogs' meal times.

That's Dash and Smiley making out licking the spoon I used to scoop the yogurt for them.

Lately I've been giving the dogs some plain yogurt with their food.  Aside from just being healthy, it helps to, let's say, settle tummies and firm things up a bit, especially during a food transition.  We also found out it works small miracles when it comes to those epic Boxer farts that Smiley was so generously dishing out!

As a side note, I apologize for the hiatus the last two weeks; the hubs and I were on vacation in Canada (more on that later), but you can expect lots of updates in the next week or two!

Meet Smiley!

This is Smiley; definitely our oldest foster to date.  He's about 9 years old (we think...) and is a Boxer.  he was found as a stray in the Chicagoland area about a month ago.  He was in another foster home but they're on vacation right now, so Smiley is with us for the foreseeable future.

Smiley (who we've taken to calling Old Man River) is pretty low maintenance.  He's already house trained and is pretty content to just hang out.  He likes being in the yard and going for walks (even if he does move kind of slowly).  He doesn't even mind Dash play bowing at him and then running about like a mad man; he just keeps on keepin' on.  Really, his favorite thing is just to be petted.  He'll come over and shove his head under your hand to remind you what you should be doing.  Our only complaint about him are his epic farts, which come standard with the breed - gag me!

Older dogs like Smiley can be really difficult to adopt out.  Not many people are willing to adopt a senior pet.  Our friend Mary gave me the genius idea of seeing if a retirement home would be interested in adopting him.  In theory it sounds perfect; all he really wants out of life right now is to be petted and loved, and having a pet has a lot of health benefits for people, so everybody wins.  I will be looking into that as an option for Smiley, because this old guy deserves to spend as much time with his forever family as possible!