Fostering Chester

Pulled: Thursday June 2, 2011 from a local rescue

Rescue commitment: Friday October 21, 2011 by Last Chance Animal Rescue

Poor Chester E. Marion, at the City of Columbia Animal Shelter, warned me that beagles are notoriously difficult to place in homes, and she was right. It’s so hard to be a beagle and have to compete with super cute small dogs like Chesters Clover and Flo.

And Edisto is such a good, albeit somewhat traumatized, dog. He is a hunting dog who didn’t like to hunt (love not hate; peace not war) and would get beaten for it. As a result, he goes limp and cowers at the hint of a stern voice. And God help him if he hears a loud noise like a gunshot or smells gunpowder. Scott was using a power tool one afternoon that had a gunpowder residue, and we thought we’d never pry Edisto from the super-tight hiding place he managed to find.

If ever a dog needed anti-anxiety pills, it’s Edisto. He attaches very quickly, especially to children and other (kind) animals.

He is more comfortable with Jack and Arina than he is with us (see photo below), and loves to play with other young dogs.

But, that means that when J&A leave to visit the grandparents, and the fosters with whom he’s made friends go on to their adoptive homes, poor Edisto has bouts with depression/anxiety. He seems scared to go outside, and battens down the hatches inside by marking his territory. I’ve never cleaned so much in my life, which is good in one way and very bad in another.

He’s a smart dog, though, in that he knows when he’s done wrong and has perfected the hound dog expression. For example, he knows that he should not get on the furniture right now [he’s shedding], and he knows that he has a very nice bed [as seen in the photo above]. One day, when I kept finding him on the couch, I finally removed the cushions as a deterrent. Then, the next time I walked in the den, I found this:

Still, we can’t stay mad at him, mainly because he’s so patient and long-suffering with the kids. That said, I’ll give Edisto the final word.

Dear adoptive parent(s),

Please rescue me from the baby human (see photo below).

Love,

Chester E.

This entry was posted on July 1, 2011 at 1:29 pm and is filed under Chester Edisto: 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.