I’m BAAAAAAACK!

So, after a very long hiatus I am back and ready to start blogging again.

Life has been pretty darn busy since my last post.  Puppies and mamma have been adopted, I changed positions within my job three times (the last one being a promotion!  Woohoo!), and our longterm foster, Herbie, went to her forever home today.

This means we are without any foster dogs for the first time in a year and a half.

It may seem like a weird time to start posting again on my foster blog, but in a strange way it seems fitting.

Today my husband and I drove an hour and a half to do a home inspection and leave Herbie at her forever home.  It is a beautiful home, set back a quarter mile from the road, with an acre and a half electric fenced in for their dogs to run around.  Perfect for a high energy dog like Herbie to burn off some steam.

The adopters were told everything about her–good and bad.  In case you are not up to speed on Herbie: Herbie was found by a social worker living in a basement, in a very small crate.  She had spent the first 9 months of her life there.  She came to us with severe guarding aggression issues from being undersocialized, neglected, and likely abused.  Over the past 9 months we have worked extensively with Herbie on her aggression issues, and she has come a long way but will likely need behavior management for the rest of her life.  We couldn’t keep her ourselves because one of our personal dogs has become very stressed after having so many fosters in the house over the past year and a half, and started targeting Herbie.  So we did crating and rotating and eventually moved Herbie into her own space in our house.

We knew that Herbie needed very special adopters who would understand her needs and not be frightened off by our frankness about those needs.  A couple of weeks ago those special adopters found us.  And how’s this for coming full circle?

Herbie was discovered by a social worker.  That social worker contacted a coworker who volunteers with our rescue.  That coworker got in touch with the rescue, who got in touch with us.  We met that coworker when we picked up Herbie, and she has stayed in touch ever since, checking in and getting progress updates.  But we never met the person who initially found Herbie.

However, the coworker shared Herbie’s picture a few weeks ago.  And the original discoverer of Herbie saw it and shared her picture and story.  And some friends of hers saw the picture and the story and decided they wanted to adopt Herbie.

We met with them three times: first to have them meet Herbie, then to have their dogs meet Herbie, and finally for the home visit today.  While no adoption is guaranteed, especially for a dog with needs like Herbie’s, we felt good leaving her there.  Herbie did show some of her behaviors at the home before we left–not a surprise given all the stressors of new space, new people, and new dogs–and that gave us the opportunity to point out body language cues for her about stress.  They were calm and attentive as we worked through the behaviors with Herbie and have been following through with our suggestion to give her lots of space and time after we left.  We have already gotten several updates from them–pictures of her curled up sleeping with the husband on the couch, word that she got up and enjoyed walking on the treadmill all on her own, and that she’d gotten very excited about a squirrel at the back sliding door.  She is also showing stress and they are giving her space…but the husband said that they couldn’t have asked for a smoother hand off.

When you let a dog like Herbie go, there is even more emotion on top of the regular ones that accompany a foster’s departure.  You worry–how will she adjust?  Will she be too much for her new family?  Will they love her like we have?  In the end you have to just let it all go and trust that whatever happens you will be there for her for the rest of her life, in one way or another.

After we left we both decided it would be a good idea to grab a quick bite to eat before heading the hour’s drive home.  My husband and I were both wearing our “rescue” sweatshirts, which have a graphic of a pit bull on the back and the rescue name on the front, and a wonderful thing happened.  Twice within the span of 10 minutes we were stopped by two couples who asked, “Are you involved in pit bull rescue?”  We explained that while the rescue we work with works with all types of dogs, we only foster pit bulls for them.  The first couple–probably in their late twenties or early thirties–had huge smiles on them and thanked us for the work that we do.  They told us that they had just adopted a pit bull in October and she was the best thing that had ever happened to them–she was the missing piece to their lives, and with her their family was complete.  The second couple, probably in their sixties, told us that their son had adopted a pit bull last year, and that he had completely changed their minds about these kinds of dogs.  The wife said, “I never thought I would let a pit bull anywhere near my face, but I just love getting kisses from him!”

Both couples made a point of saying to us, “Keep on doing the good work that you are doing.”

The work that we have done with Herbie since she came to live with us in February has been daunting, and at times disheartening.  But we have also had moments of triumph and beauty.  We have seen the limitations of what we can accomplish, and we’ve also been surprised by the steps forward that she has made independently of our work.  We do not know what the future holds for certain…but we do know that we will keep on with this work, probably for the rest of our lives.

Herbie

With love for all those who give pit bulls a chance,

– Pit Bull Foster Momma