Fostering Chester

Pulled: Wednesday May 25th, 2011 from the City of Columbia Animal Shelter

Adoption commitment: Monday May 30th, 2011

Meet our first foster GIRL, Chester Clover. I went to pick up my next foster while Arina was in school. Howard was at the shelter, and he said that he had just the dog for me. They had been calling her “Poodle Mama,” because she’s a cockapoo, or spoodle, and had just delivered a litter of pups. Because she was spayed immediately after the delivery, she wasn’t able to nurse them, since she needed to heal. She was very sad and in need of some TLC. “I know you’ll love her,” Howard said.

“Perfect!” I said. I put her on a leash and let her walk with me to get Arina at the bus stop. Arina saw us coming and broke into a run; she was so excited. Arina understands adoption well, having been adopted herself, and she has never cried to give up a foster dog. “We’re the adoption agency, helping them find their forever homes,” she chirps. But, she’s always delighted to meet the next one. Her only worry is that the world will run out of dogs for us to foster.

As soon as I put Chester C.’s photo up on my facebook page, I started getting responses. The first two homes she visited, though, weren’t the homes for her. The first home she visited was an elderly gentleman’s. But Mr. Boise had his heart set on a beagle and was intimidated by the thought of having to get Clover groomed. And, as you can tell from the following photo, Clover must be groomed in order to see.

The second home she visited was also home to an elderly poodle, that Clover proceeded to bark and growl at nastily. Naughty girl.

I was beginning to notice that Clover had extreme separation anxiety. She would only go out to the bathroom if I went with her, she followed me around constantly, and, when I left, she was waiting at the window for me when I got home. “Oh dear,” I thought.

But I was thrilled to get a facebook message of interest from Jenny, a family friend. Her son and I went to school together, 5K through high school graduation, and I knew that Jenny stayed at home and could give Clover the attention she needed. Jenny said she fell in love with Clover’s sweet face, in the photo below:

So, Clover, Scott, the kids, and I set off to my hometown of McBee. Jenny called soon after I was at my parents’ house, and asked, “Is my baby there?” When they met, it was love at first sight. Clover ran to greet her when she drove up, and put her little paws on Jenny’s knees.

I didn’t do as well saying goodbye to Clover as I did with the other two, for a few reasons: 1) I’ve always been partial to curls, whether on dogs or people. And, quite simply, I think I missed petting Clover. She reminded me of one of those really expensive curly teddy bears; 2) Clover was the first foster that I felt really missed me. She adjusted to her new home quickly, but it was in her nature, anxious and loyal and smart little dog that she is, to wonder what had become of me; and 3) I made the mistake of asking Jenny what had happened to one of her dogs, that had been hit by a car, and I had anxiety nightmares of the same thing happening to Clover. (This is an anxiety trigger of mine, having lost dogs to cars myself, but I shouldn’t have worried about this with Clover. She and Jenny are so devoted to each other that they rarely leave each other’s sight).

BUT, Jenny is such a mother that she knew exactly what I needed, and what Clover needed. She corresponded with me, keeping me updated constantly about Clover and her transition. She gave Clover a toy kitten, after asking me to rub it against myself, for my “scent,” and she gave her lots of cheese. Needless to say, we were both content in no time.

Clover has found her place. She walked in and barked to tell the cat and dog and husband already living there that she was top dog. And, fortunately, they’re all sweet enough to let her be just that.

The final photo is of Clover, guarding the pool chair that she thinks is hers.

Adopted by: Jenny Rhoad

Renamed: Carley

This entry was posted on June 30, 2011 at 11:04 pm and is filed under Chester Clover: Adopted!. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.