Life is Good

I haven't seen Foster Mom in several days, and you know what? That's a good thing. I have a new family right now and they seem to like me a lot. I like them too! No more crates or huge chains or staying outside alone. I have my own place by the window and a big pond with giant fish in it! I know Foster Mom was hoping I'd never heard of sushi when she left me with my potential new family.

So, I think my diary as a homeless dog is at an end. It sure wasn't fun being without my very own people, but I'm not the only dog out there. I will keep my paws crossed for my fellow shelter dogs and hope they can find someone to give them a good life, good food, and lots of walks and pets.

The dogs who will take my place in foster care will have diaries and lots to tell you, so if you are looking to add a member to the family, check out my Foster Mom's dogs. She lets us keep diaries and spill secrets...

Gonna chow for now,

Bear

Outdoor Play

Isn't this cold weather great? Foster Mom said it's wonderful because when you have multiple dogs, there are three seasons: Summer, Winter, Mud Season. Mud season kinda sounds like fun, don't you think?

Pixie and the Wiggly Giggly

Remember how I said Pixie is nothing but a tease? Well, she's a tease with a wiggly giggly.

Foster Dad says Foster Mom has a way of getting very annoying toys for both kids and dogs. I would have to agree with the wiggly giggly--or more like the combination of Pixie and her favorite toy.

Pixie thinks she's a soccer star. She will kick and chase the ball around the house, then pick it up in her mouth (not regulation, Pix) and throw it at Foster Dad, who will roll it across the floor.

Now the reason why it's a wiggly giggly is because as it rolls across the floor, it makes a noise. We dogs LOVE this sensation. Well, not so muc me, since I haven't really gotten into the toys yet, but Pixie is fixated with it. I would rather get my pets or lay on my Kuranda bed and chew on a raw bone. Yummmmmeeee!

The bright side is that while Pixie goes all wiggly giggly, I get her dog bone too. It's a win win for all!

Bear

Baby, it's cold outside!

I love being able to go in and out as I please and I love it when it snows! Foster Mom says we all look silly with snow on our noses as we run back inside, get some water, warm up, then beg to go back out and play again.

Life is definitely looking up for me! I am so happy in my new foster home and show it by wagging my tail. Maybe tomorrow Foster Mom will take me out to the pet store again so I can walk around and say hello to people. I love the attention!

Arooo!

Bear

Just pet me

Today I realized the very best thing in the world is a good rub behind the ears. I am making Foster Dad into my petting slave! All I have to do is walk up to the recliner and smile. He will try to go on and watch TV, but then I put my paws up and he gives in just a little. All of a sudden I just hop up on him and he chuckles.

All it takes is me putting my head on his chest and BAM! There I am, being petted like there is no tomorrow. It's the most awesome thing ever and days like this, well, I think the best thing in the world is being a dog.

A week ago, being a dog was terrible. I wasn't wanted any more, my neck really hurt, and my person didn't want me. I didn't know what I had done wrong or why someone would just leave me to die.

But I don't want to think of that kind of stuff. For now I'm just happy, especially since Foster Dad just looked at Foster Mom and said, "He's a really good dog, isn't he?" I'm pretty sure they meant me.

In the (foster) dog house

So today is my first full day in foster care. Foster Mom is putting neosporin on my neck to help it heal and she lets us in and out of the house every few hours.

From what I understand there are four dogs who live here permanently, so those aren't foster dogs, they're resident dogs. The other fosters are me, Pixie, Ginger, and Stanley, though Foster Mom is thinking about keeping him because he reminds her of a dog who went to Rainbow Bridge in the spring.

Let me tell you a little bit about the other foster dogs in the house.

First there is Ginger, who is very, very old. She's not your typical foster dog because she's not really up for adoption. Ginger tells me she is 13 years old and cannot really see any more because she has cloudy eyes. Her person dropped her off somewhere and left her, and a nice lady picked her up and put her in the car where she was warm. Ginger said she was very, very hungry, cold, and afraid since she didn't know where the people went or why they left her. She has been with Foster Mom for about 10 days now and is not gaining back much weight or doing well, but she said she's old and she knows that this will be her only home.

Foster Mom tells Ginger she's a good girl and gets her to eat beef tripe. She has to give her water with an oral syringe since she won't drink out of a bowl. She says she knows Foster Mom loves her a lot even though she just met her and that she's having a hard time deciding when it is time to go to Rainbow Bridge. Ginger is still alert, but she can almost see the Bridge and is ready to join Batista, TJ, and Artemis, who passed before her.

Then there is Pixie. Now I don't know what to think of Pixie. I'm sort of in love with her because she's cute, but I know she's a tease. She prances around and wags her tail, then when I get close to her, she will snap at me and tell me to go away. Women.

She came back from her other foster home because she had an infection and wasn't being very nice. Her attitude changed when she came back to Foster Mom, who spent time correcting bad behavior and making her into an awesome dog. Well, besides being a tease...

So those are my fellow foster dogs. I will tell you about the house dogs tomorrow after I take a nice long nap. It's wonderful being inside the house. I don't even mind the cats coming up to me and rubbing up against my head.

Back from the vet

You know I sometimes hear dogs say they don't like going to the vet, but what's not to love? Where else can you go where you get so much personal attention? Everyone pets you, they tell you how good they are, they give you treats, and even a bath if you stay over night! I loved it! Plus they made my neck feel better.

Foster Mom says my neck looks TERRIBLE, but what does she know? This is someone who doesn't like blood and guts at all, so that figures. More importantly Dr. Reed, who knows the difference between good and bad, said that my injuries looked worse than they were, so he gave me some medicine and let me go home.

It's great here! Foster Mom gives us something called raw food. It's the most heavenly thing I've ever tasted and all the other dogs said they get it every single day. No tricks or commands involved. We also get kibble and wet food as well, so we get a variety. This is so much better than living outside on a chain.

Because my neck is so raw and everyone is interested in sniffing and licking it, Foster Mom put me in a crate and is letting me rest. Ugh, I hate this part. I don't want to rest, darn it, I want to play. She also said it's because I got neutered and I need to relax and take it easy.

Oh, I also got a brand new harness since my neck is raw and they don't want a collar rubbing against it. Everyone at the pet store was so happy to see me. They gave me lots of attention even though they didn't know my name. They were also very concerned about my raw neck. How nice of them to care.

So I feel better now and will tell everyone how tomorrow goes. I'm excited to be in a warm house and without that chain.

Bear

Day 1

Hey, this is Bear, and I've had it ruff, er, I mean rough. I belonged to someone who kept me outside a lot and made me wear a big, heavy chain. Well, I outgrew the chain, but no one seemed to notice. It became embedded in my neck and was infected for a very long time.

One day I managed to escape from the yard and take myself for a walk, and a white van pulled up. The guy called to me, so I came running, and he put me in the back. Next thing you know I'm in a cage. At least it was inside. Unfortunately, I still had that terrible chain around my neck.

The place I was at is NOT very nice. They don't adopt out dogs to the public and do not treat any dogs for medical problems, so I sat at the pound for six days. They gave me food and water and said my owner was deciding if she wanted to pay to have me back or not since I was empounded. I thought for sure she would say yes and love me, but she didn't...I was now an owner surrender.

Those are two of the scariest words a dog can hear in a place like that. You see, I didn't know this, but the animal people (they say animal control, but animals have no control over anything there) said that since my owner didn't want me, I could be euthanized the same day.

Despite what some people think, us dogs know exactly what euthanized means. This was a bad, bad situation. Not only was my neck infected, but by 4 pm I was going to be killed. I didn't know why, since all I wanted was people to love me and take care of me, and now I wasn't going to know what it meant to have a real home.

A lady named Dawn came and took some pictures of me and another lady named Gabrina from a group called ABRA came to take a look at another dog, a cute little sheltie.

Boy, I tell ya, it's always the cute dogs that get taken first! Gabrina loaded the cute little sheltie into her car and came back in while they were taking pictures of me as a last minute hope to find me a rescue. She asked how long I had and the animal officer said til 4.

I wagged my tail and panted, doing everything I could to be noticed. It was already noon and with four hours remaing, this was going to be my very last chance to get outta there!

Then something happened. She started to ask a lot of questions and took my leash, so I started being VERY happy. After a little while of looking at me and my terrible, infected neck, she handed me back.

It hadn't worked. She was going to leave me.

But she didn't leave me yet! She begged for them to hold me until the following morning to arrange for a vet visit. The animal warden agreed to give me just until 10 the following morning to arrange for medical treatment, and that's how I entered All Breed Rescue and Adoption, Inc, one of Chicagoland's rescues.