Preparing for change

Right now I'm in a hotel room in Houston with absolutely no idea where I'll be in 3 months.

When I started this blog it was to help promote the homeless pets in our care and outside of our fostering, I really didn't get into too much of my personal life. Seeing as I've been a terrible blogger these last few months, I might as well offer some sort of explanation.

If in case you didn't know, we're a Navy family. That is until November of this year. Jeff will process out of the military after 10 years of service. I was in for 6 years myself, and just went from sailor to sailor's wife. I kinda just want to go on being a sailor's wife, but my sailor is having none of it. We're in Houston so that he can attend a hiring conference and for the first time the reality of the situation is being driven home.

A new career field means possibly a new location. I've made great friends in Virginia and have a cool part time job. We own a house, and it took me a full year to find rescues and shelters I'm excited to work with. Sell the house, find a new house, settle in, find a job, find new rescues... I'd rather not.

While this is coming to the forefront, in the back of my head is our household. It's current makeup is me, Jeff, and Relay. For the last year we've been trying to bring a baby into the mix. So far no success, but in a way it's almost a relief. No perspective parent is ever sure they're ready. Not like I can ask Relay how he'll feel about the addition. And a really big question: how will that effect fostering?

Because life doesn't wait for you to sort your things out before it hands you more to deal with you can add some family conflict, illness, financial concerns, and weight management onto my plate. Oh and I have a bad hair cut. There, I think that's it.

We'll see how it all unfolds. Wish me luck!

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What's one more?

A few weeks back our neighbor informed us that she had some long work days ahead. Would we be willing to let her (recently rescued pekingese :-) dog, Brucey Bear out during the day? Of course, not a problem. He gets along great with Relay.

Then came the call from NACC. Could we possibly take in a mother and her 5 kittens? Of course, not a problem. Mama does all the hard work and we have a big spare bathroom.

Just a few days later came the call from Collie and Sheltie about a hoarding situation. Did we feel up to taking Kyle? Of course, not a problem. You know how Jeff loves his shelties.

Last week came a text from a friend headed to San Fransisco for a week. Bogey the Puggle needed a place to crash, was that okay? Of course, not a problem. Bogey and Relay love hanging out, it's a hound dog thing.

Not a few days later came a second text from friends desperately trying to get out of town to visit family. Can you take Pudgy and Remmy for a week?  Of course, not a problem. Any chance this Navy family can spend with their kids they should jump at, we can handle a pekepoo and boxer.

Are you guys keeping track? Because I obviously never did. I'm in the middle of 'The Week' and it's a marathon to be sure.Hardest part so far had to be trying to transition the kittens to can food. Mama ate the most of it and made herself sick. EVERYWHERE. Otherwise, we're doing okay. Not a problem. Okay, maybe a little.

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Introducing... Kyle!

After another trip to the vet to help Collie and Sheltie Rescue for the last sheltie from the hoarding situation and a collie that was an owner surrender (that trip totaling $630), I was cleared to take Kyle home. To hear his back story, check this post out. Isn't that face heartbreaking? 

Well, my days have been filled with s-l-o-w progress. Well, to be perfectly honest I'm not sure that I'm making progress yet. I suppose that is to be expected. He doesn't know what it means to be in a home, how to be around people, how to interact with dogs... He's just overall terrified of the world. So I've been giving him a lot of time to himself. Whether on the back porch, the yard or the kitchen, he could only seem to settle when he was alone. A few problems came up rather quickly. Jeff suspected that he started to urinate on the porch. I began to suspect that he would eat his feces while in the yard. So, now he cannot be unsupervised unless crated. Almost a week into this that is where I am.

We took a step back in building trust with a bath yesterday. He handled the situation like a champ during, but the poor thing was shaking for hours after. He won't take treats and hasn't eaten well. He needed to loose some weight, but I don't want him starving himself. I'll keep trying to make baby steps. On the positive side, Kyle does not have an aggressive bone in his body. He's a sweet boy, just very, very scared.

Now almost demanding as much time is the situation in the bathroom. If you'll remember, we've been hosting a very cute family. The five kittens and mama cat are all perfection, and as of yet all nameless. (Send in suggestions :-) Mama is just a love bug, she lives to be pet, especially on her tummy. Also, not inline with cat stereotypes her favorite pass time is to play with water. 4 of the kittens are inquisitive  sometimes feisty but all around adorable. The last little runt is so far behind in development, Jeff and I take turns making sure that it gets ample feeding time to catch up.

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Sheltie rescues respond to hoarding in NOVA

What would we do without great rescues? The Humane Society of Orange County reached out to local Shetland Sheepdog rescues to help with a hoarding case. The owner lost her home and 15 shelties were turned in. Without hesitation Northern Virginia, Northern Chesapeake, and Collie and Sheltie Rescue of Southeast Virginia were there to step in. These dogs were neglected and bred irresponsibly.

That picture above is of one of the dogs taken in by the group I foster for, Collie and Sheltie. Six volunteers "spent four hours nonstop shampooing, clipping, and picking hundreds of ticks off their little bodies." And they went through the process again the next day. Here's the bathtastic photo gallery link. One dog had to have a patch shaved down to get at a nest of ticks. But as always, you should never underestimate the resiliency of a good dog. All three poochies were amazing.

I happened to be out of town this weekend, but was able to help two of the dogs get some much needed medical attention today. Teddy had the worst of the tick infestation and was a bit overweight. Meghan seemed to fair better with the bugs but her nails were so over grown she couldn't walk straight. Great news is they seem to be pretty healthy, that aside. Some blood work, shots, nail trims, fecal came to almost $450. The third sheltie, Kyle goes in Thursday for his first visit. Then it's spay and neuter surgeries, dental work, more shots and blood tests, prescriptions, heartworm and flea preventative... These three dogs will end up with thousands in medical bills.

Thankfully these babies are on the road to recovery. When Kyle gets his vetting done, he's going to come stay here at Relay's House and Teddy and Meghan will find their own temporary home to care for them. I know I often hear about animal hoarding in the news, but I suppose I never really thought of what comes after the dogs are saved. Now, I'm going to get a front row seat and I must admit to being a little intimidated. I'll start with some love and go from there.

 

If you are able and would like to help, all three rescues are not for profit charities. Every little bit counts. Thank you.

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Nobody called

Well, this is the excuse I allowed myself. I'd planned on writing my next post the when I got another call to be a foster. So I waited and put off blogging. And kept putting it off. Honestly, I have no excuse. But here to distract you from my bad writing habits is the latest group to take over our spare bathroom. This is my first crack at fostering a mama and her kittens. 5 of them! Can you believe it? And all they do is sleep and nurse. If you all can find it in your hearts to forgive me, care to help me out with some names?

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