Former Fosters

I got a update last week on a couple of my former foster dogs, its always so nice to get these updates. One of the updates came from the daughter of the adopters of Ivan, a skinny little black poodle, I fostered for only a few weeks before he went to his forever home. He was a very close to perfect dog, already house trained, friendly, cuddly, and just a good natured little guy. The only problem I had with him here was he really didn't like the bigger dogs in the house, he found them very intimidating. Other than that he was a gem! Here is one of the picture's the daughter sent me the other day and said Ivan, now named Henry was doing wonderful! She said her mom and dad love him so much and he is the perfect little man, that loves his new yard, daily walks and all his toys. She went on to say that Henry has put on some much needed weight, and does very well at the groomers and has many fans in the neighborhood.

Ivan aka Henry came to us after he ended up in what used to be Gasconade pound, in the city. He was already chipped and once someone was contacted they said "Oh we gave that dog to so and so", "so and so" was also contacted and they had also gave him to someone else. We don't know how many homes poor Henry was in before ended up homeless in the pound, but once our leader, Ellen, seen him she decided he needed another chance at a good life, hence he became part of the St. Louis Senior Dog Project. When he came to me he was grossly underweight and hadn't had a haircut in quite sometime. He was so skinny, it would make you cringe to pick him up, you could feel EVERY bone in his little body. He was still skinny when he left my care but obviously put some good weight on.

Originally I was contacted by the daughter saying she really thought Ivan, would be a great fit for her parents. Her mom was really wanting to get another dog but dad was still grieving the loss of their previous poodle. I was told by the daughter that dad said it was just too soon but the couple surprised me one Sunday by showing up to a adoption event. I got Ivan out of his cage and placed him in moms arms, then I told them "Why don't you take him for a walk around the store?"  Dad was in tears most of the time, just looking at Ivan and remembering their former poodle. I told him that we can never replace our beloved lost pets in our hearts but these guys do help us with the grieving process, even though at the time we usually don't realize it. Well they adopted Ivan that day and by the time they left dad was smiling and laughing. Look at the love in this picture, little Henry going from unwanted to irreplaceable, that's what rescue is all about!

I got a short update on Bella, formerly Payla, the little puppymill Havanese with the injured back foot. She is doing wonderful and is keeping her mom and dad very entertained with her funny ways. She is learning how to jump up and down off the furniture and really enjoys playing with the grand kids. I love happy endings!