Fur The Love of Fostering

Sometimes you have to make a decision. And I sure did.

Our beautiful gal in this photo is 14-year-old Mia. She is primarily red with black accent Pomeranian/Dachshund mix missing quite a few teeth requiring a primarily soft food diet and heart murmur level 3 which will require some watching but not medication at this point. She will play ball with her squishy pineapple for as long as your arm can last, cuddle you into a state of sleepiness and give you little licks of love. Oh, and hide the treat bag! She knows what the bag looks like! She is my first rogue foster where I didn’t wait for approval from the shelter, I knew what I had to do.

How did I come across this little gem of a floof nugget you ask? OK, fine, I’ll tell you, but get settled in. I know this amazing person, Dana, who has one of the largest hearts for our environment and animals. She is so resourceful, has been in the volunteer game for a long time, very good friend to have and I accredit Mia’s success story largely due to Dana’s involvement. Through Dana, I had the privilege of meeting a wonderful soul (Kate) who volunteers for transporting animals for shelters literally one day prior to these events which just goes to show you, we meet people in our lives for a reason. Pay attention and always be kind.

Kate reached out to Dana and me about one of her friends also in the rescue world but outside NE state contacting her in regard to a 7-year-old dog that needed rescue exactly in MY city and state location from the owner’s putting their dog down because they didn’t feel they could continue to care for it. Annndd here I go…. WTFoxtrot?! Why would they do that to an animal just because they feel they aren’t able to take care of it any longer?! Immediately down a bashing mental space I went. But, wait, what does this help? Nothing. Do I know the whole story yet? No. Reel in your emotions Heidi and get the deets, the clock is ticking for this little fur baby. *chastises myself mentally*

Through communication to various parties involved, I was able to deduce a picture. Kate’s > out of state friend’s > nieces’ > step mothers’ > parents had unfortunately fallen ill to the nasty dreaded COVID and since hadn’t been able to recover and care for Mia to the level that they knew she needed. So, they gave Mia to their daughter (the step-mother) who took her in because who wouldn’t do that for their parents but she also has a full plate taking care of her now recovering parents, her own children, her grandchildren and guess what?…..then she also became ill with COVID. AND Mia is actually 14, not 7, which was a simple miscommunication for actually how long they had Mia, not her age.

You probably know this already but senior dogs are not considered “highly adoptable” in the world of rescue as they are not highly sought after by adopters. When is the last time you heard someone say, “I am going to go to the shelter and look for a really old dog!”? This can result in shelters not being willing to take them in as it isn’t a good business decision regardless of being kill or no-kill shelters, the ones that get surrendered to kill shelters have a high chance of being euthanized and this is in large part why owners will opt to go put them down themselves.

Am I justifying that it’s OK to sentence Mia or any animal to death because of their age? NO. Am I justifying that it’s OK to sentence Mia or any animal to death because they can’t be cared for to the standard believed they need? NO. Am I saying it is OK to give up and do this at all, after any length of time being the owner? NO. What I am saying is I have found that there are other options and resources available but they aren’t well known resulting in beautiful dogs like Mia who have so much life left to live to be cut short and we need to spread that awareness and make it OK for people to seek these options. Me being a judgy mcjudgetree doesn’t get us there so I have to try to curb check it a little and get informed so we can do some good.

As soon as I had the basic deets, I immediately reached out to my contact at the rescue I foster with to try to get my shelter on board to sponsor her, and of course, I am texting Dana the whole time as well because she is on the case with me. The gal is like a bloodhound with a scent! The shelter peep replied within minutes asking for additional information (medical, temperament, teeth, etc.) for a more full picture at which I could only truly know if I was actually in front of her. Upon confirming her real age, it was a concern for the shelter….but we knew this would happen. And this is where my rogue behavior seed first met the soil. I had to make the decision, to plant or not to plant. Was I prepared to do what it took for this dog outside of my safety net of the rescue support and sponsorship? I don’t know what I am walking into. There could be some costly medical issues, large behavioral issues, it would debilitate my ability to foster additional dogs potentially if she couldn’t be integrated fully and I was already texting my husband working downstairs while I was on the phone with Mia’s owner arranging a pick-up time within the next 20 minutes. Decision made, rogue seed planted. Mia was not going to die today or tomorrow or next week.

I exited the room after ending the phone call with Mia’s owner. In the time it took to walk down the hallway, all the fears of potential consequences for going rogue tried to unearth my little seed as to how it could potentially impact my reputation status negatively within the shelter regarding my dependability, ability to stay within the chain of command and the relationship of trust I had built among them. I rounded the hallway corner into the kitchen where my husband was already waiting, truck started, and animal surrender form with a pen waiting to be signed in his hands. Seeing his support and knowing he has my back is all I needed to remind myself to silence the fears and see me through his eyes. I am a 38-year-old bad-ass woman who is super dependable, reliable, loving, intelligent, empowered to live life in a healthy manner and I have the ability to weigh risks appropriately in an educated fashion. I don’t need anyone’s permission to assume this risk. Fear be gone! Grow my little seed, have some water and sunlight.

Floof Nugget Secured.

The next day, it was recommended by the shelter contact that Mia would be ideal for a sanctuary due to her age. Wait, what? A sanctuary? For senior dogs? They HAVE those? This is an OPTION?! *Texts Dana.. “What is this and how did I not know?!”* As it turns out, there are rescues that specialize in senior dogs where it is basically a little retirement community where they can live the rest of their life out and be in the best position to be found by someone searching specifically for a senior dog to adopt. And as luck would have it, not only was Mia’s vetting able to be privately sponsored (thank you Allison with Brave Rescue) to ensure her health certificate to be transported to one, there was also room for her at a senior sanctuary (Imagine Furever Ranch) to live out her still many years left. ALL of which, was able to come to fruition in under 36 hours through Dana reaching out and networking on Mia’s behalf without me even having to ask.

You learn something new every day in the world of fostering about animals, additional resources, the people you network with, yourself, and how far you are willing to go. Sometimes going rogue is the answer. Mia is safe, vetted, and has a home to go to. Mia is going to live.

*2/28/22 Update – Mia found her furever home! Thank you Imagine Furever Ranch for everything you have done for little miss Mia!