Pulled: Thursday June 2, 2011 from local rescue
Adoption commitments: Edisto: Still available; Florence: Friday June 10, 2011
Now for the fostering whirlwind. Mr. Boise had asked me to look for another companion dog for him. I didn’t want to adopt from the shelter again right away, just because I didn’t want to risk pulling another dog with distemper. That said, I haven’t heard of any additional cases.
I am very impressed with the City of Columbia Animal Shelter. They clean and disinfect immaculately, quarantine sick dogs, and observe all dogs carefully after there has been a sickness.
Still, they gave me some information about local rescue organizations, and one of them (Pawmetto Lifeline) had a beagle available for adoption. I called, sent in an adoption application, and asked for a speedy approval, under the circumstances.
While I was waiting to hear back, I visited Pets Inc. and met my next foster, Chester Florence, whose name I shortened to Flo. The adoption consultant said that Flo was just the dog for an elderly man. She had belonged to an elderly woman, who had died, and was happiest as a lap dog. She had been adopted since and returned by a busy family who had found her too clingy in that respect.
I didn’t know whether the beagle would come through, and I just had a feeling that Flo would quickly become Mr. Boise’s new girlfriend. If not, I thought, I’ll surely be able to find a home for her. A shih tzu/dachshund mix, Flo is indeed a cutie.
I took her to meet Mr. Boise, who offered to dog-sit her while I checked on the beagle. Because Mr. Boise really wanted a beagle. I went home, called Pawmetto Lifeline, and they told me to come pick up my second foster in one day, Chester Edisto.
Mr. Boise was delighted. Edisto was exactly what he wanted. We congratulated Mr. Boise, took photos for him, and left for home with Flo.
The next morning Mr. Boise called and asked to return Edisto and to adopt Flo. “She loves me,” he said, and complained that he could “do nothing” with Edisto. And, indeed, Edisto had not taken to Mr. Boise. A hunting dog who had been abused ( he has buck shot scars), Edisto did not respond well to Mr. Boise, who had been a hunter in his youth and who confessed to us that he also shot at his “disappointing” hunting dog with buck shot. *SIGH*
Edisto would dig in his heels whenever Mr. Boise tried to get him off of the couch or out of the door for a walk, and it became a true battle of wills.
Still, Edisto is a good dog, and I tried to convince Mr. Boise to be patient with him. There had been a storm the night before, and Mr. Boise was hard at work, trying to get someone to help remove a fallen tree limb (of significant size) from atop his camper. He stopped talking about his damaged camper to complain that Edisto came into his room during the night, barked once, and then went back to sleep on the couch. Me, dryly: “Maybe that was his way of telling you that a huge limb just fell on your camper.”
I made the switch, though, and Mr. Boise was delighted. For a day or so. Then, I got a call early one morning, and Mr. Boise complained that he’s too active — gone too much — for a dog. “But I’ll dog-sit for you whenever you want to go camping or to see your aunt,” I said. But Mr. Boise said that he feels guilty even going to church meetings, because Flo gets so upset with him for leaving her. “If you don’t want to take her back,” he said, “I can take her to the shelter.”
I couldn’t have that, of course. So, I went to get Flo, and while Mr. Boise was very sad, he also seemed relieved. He said that at 93, he finds it hard enough to take care of himself. So, no more dogs for Mr. Boise. I told Scott that if I wasn’t so fond of him (I’ve always had a soft spot for grandfathers, having been so close to my own), I’d kill him.
I’m so glad I’ve met and worked with Mr. Boise, though. He’s not the best adoptive dad for a dog, but he’s a great adoptive granddad. — a good person to dog-sit and to then hand off the dogs to the parents.
More specifics about Edisto and Florence in upcoming posts.
Fostering Chester 