Can I Foster & be a Student?

I started having health problems in the 8th grade. First, it started with a bad back. Then, the chronic nausea hit. Then, I was diagnosed with IBS-D. To put it frankly, my life has been a living hell, especially since I started having problems with IBS. But I carry on.

Roxy, a former foster dog.

In my junior year of high school, I was failing everything. Straight D’s and F’s. It’s not because I wasn’t smart, and it’s not because I didn’t care about my grades, and it’s not because my parents didn’t try to get me to get good grades. It’s because I was depressed. I was depressed because I was dealing with health problems that made my life horrible. I would go to school, get home and then sleep all day. I’d wake up for dinner, then go to bed for the night. I almost never did homework because I was just too mentally and physically exhausted. I finally convinced my parents to let me leave regular high school and go to an alternative high school. It was 4 hours a day, all on a computer in a classroom, with no homework. I was finally getting good grades for the first time in years.

Loretta, a former foster dog.

After we moved from Sacramento, CA to Redding, CA we decided to enroll me in independent study high school. I would meet with a teacher once a month and he would give me homework to do, and it would be due at the next meeting. This was the best type of schooling for me, as I could work on my own schedule. If I didn’t feel well, I didn’t have to do work right then. I could do it later when I felt better. I wasn’t pressured to do a load of homework every single night. I worked at my own pace. As long as everything got done on time, there was no issue. With independent study, I did my work, I got it all turned in on time, and I got straight A’s for the entire year I was in independent study. (note: parents, let this be a lesson to you. Don’t be afraid to try a new type of schooling if your child isn’t doing well in traditional school! It just might turn things around for them!)

Riley, a former foster dog.

Now, I’ve graduated high school. My transcripts don’t look great because of the first 2.5 years where I failed everything, but the last 1.5 years look darn near perfect. I just went to my new student orientation on Friday at the local community college, and will be setting up an appointment soon to meet with a councilor to create a preliminary education plan. I already know what I want to do after school – I want to run my own business. I think it’s something I would really enjoy doing. I could run a pet supply store and bring my dog, who is my unofficial service dog, with me to work every day. Life would be good.

Archie, a former foster dog.

My concern now, is actually going to college. I’m going back to a type of schooling that was very hard for me, and this time there will be even more work. I no longer have chronic nausea, that went away after I went vegan, however I still suffer from back pain and pretty severe IBS. I worry that I will fail classes again. I also worry that I won’t be able to continue fostering dogs because I’ll not be able to spend enough time taking care of them. On one hand, foster dogs need more time and attention than my Nelly does. They need training. They need to be taught how to be good family members. Will I still be able to do this while I’m in college? On the other hand…even if I can’t work with them very much, should I still foster? It’s still saving lives, even if they do end up having to go to their new homes without much training. I’m hoping that I’ll be able to continue fostering dogs throughout college, because fostering is something I really enjoy doing. I’ve been doing it since I was 15, and I don’t plan on stopping unless I really have to.

I love fostering dogs.

Stella

Stella sure is something! I could talk about her all day long. I just love this little puppy! She is such a happy, happy, dog. Whenever she sees a new person, her reaction is to happily run up to them. We were having solar panels installed on our new house, and every time Stella saw one of the workers she would run up to them to be pet. I honestly cannot believe she has not been adopted yet, she is such a fantastic little girl! She LOVES other dogs, one of the first thing she did when she met Tucker was race around the yard with him. She gets along great with the cats in my parents house(I now live on my own), she’s interested in them but keeps her distance and mostly just wants to play. Just yesterday she was trying to convince our grump cat Buddy to play with her. She was jumping all around, barking, and play bowing at him. The cat just growled at her, he didn’t think it was as funny as I did.

Stella, exhausted after playing with Tucker.

Stella even gets along with my chickens. There were two days where she thought they would be fun to chase, but that stopped. My chickens have their own yard at my new house, and one day I accidentally left the gate unlocked while Stella was alone in the yard. I came out to find her in the chicken run, sniffing around and looking for any leftover scraps that the chickens hadn’t eaten. The hens were ignoring her and she was ignoring them, it was pretty cute. I learned my lesson that day, though – always double check to make sure that the gate to the chicken yard is locked! If that had been Tucker, I very well could have come outside to injured or dead chickens. I got lucky with Stella.

It is a mystery to me why she has not been adopted yet. You’re going to be very hard pressed to find a more loving, adorable, and friendly puppy than Stella! She’s a great little girl and even does good off-leash around my property. I would not let her off leash in public because she would run up to everyone she saw, but when there’s no distractions she just follows me around. I hope she finds her forever home soon, she really deserves it.

Tucker

Tucker could be a supermodel. Really, he is gorgeous and he loves to pose for the camera…unless there’s something more exciting going on! If you meow, he’ll look at you and give a little head tilt, like in the picture to the left. It’s just a little one, but boy does it melt my heart!
Tucker is only a year or two old. The shelter estimated him to be two years old, however we are thinking he may only be a year old because he’s tall and lanky and has perfect white teeth. He is a darling dog, and very friendly! As I mentioned in my previous post, he and Stella became best friends after less than one day together. They love to wrestle and chase each other around.

It is going to be really good for Stella to have Tucker around – she really needed a buddy to play with. My Nelly tends to be a bit of a brat and refuses to play with Stella. My last foster dog, Dallas, would not play with her either.
When it comes to Border Collies, they don’t really hit maturity until about 4 years old. Until then, they’re usually pretty crazy and need a lot of attention. Tucker is no different. He is a busy boy, always wanting something to do. I’ve already found that he loves Kongs and bones, so those are going to be used daily at our house to keep him occupied! The nice thing about Tucker is that unlike some Border Collies, he does know how to settle down. After he’s gotten his crazies out, he’ll lie down and nap. I leave him and Stella out in the yard for a few hours each morning, so they can run and play and get out all their energy.

Tucker does need a home without chickens. He seemed to do okay around my hens, so I let him off leash in their yard. That’s when he decided to tackle one of the girls and pull out a mouthful of feathers. Poor chicken! She’s okay, she was just a bit shook up after that happened. He also likes to jump up on people – lightly – and put his paws up on things, such as the kitchen counter. He’s simply curious about what’s up there. These are the only bad habits that I have noticed in him so far, overall he seems to be a very kind, gentle, well-mannered dog. I am hoping he finds a home soon…although to be honest, I’d rather little Stella get adopted first. She’s been looking for a home much longer than he has.

New foster dogs!

I know it’s been quite a while since I’ve posted – you know how it goes. Life happens, and some things take a back seat. For me, blogging was one of those things. I hardly even touched my camera in over a month. But, I’m back at it now and just did a photoshoot yesterday!
I am no longer fostering for Border Collie Rescue of Northern California, as the rescue split in two and I was too far north to be able to continue working with the original rescue. So, I decided to start fostering for a good friend of mine who runs her own small rescue. The rescue is called Shine on Animal Rescue, based in Redding, CA. You can see our website HERE.
Since it’s summer time and school is out, I’m now fostering two dogs at a time. I currently have Stella – a 5 month old Border Collie/Pit Bull mix puppy…

Stella

And Tucker – a 1 or 2 year old gorgeous Border Collie.

Tucker

 

Dallas

I am still fostering almost all Border Collies, though I did foster an Australian Cattle Dog that I fell in love with at the shelter. He was just adopted about a week ago by a very nice family. His name is Dallas, and he is an amazing dog! He had one blue eye and one brown/blue eye. Dallas was 60 pounds when he came in to the shelter that I rescued him from, so he was about 15 pounds overweight! With diet and daily exercise, he was almost at his ideal weight(45 pounds) when he was adopted. He will now spend his days riding around in a truck, cruising pastures with his new dad. Dallas was a very easy dog to have around – at about 6 years old he did not have that puppy energy that younger dogs have. He was happy just to hang out all day long. He got along great with all other dogs, cats, and even chickens. His new family is just going to love having him around!!

Stella and Tucker
Oh my goodness, what a pair these two are. I just picked up Tucker from the shelter yesterday morning, and already they are best friends. The two of them love to play together. They wrestled and chased each other around for probably half an hour, nearly nonstop, before bed time yesterday.

Tucker(left) and Stella(right)

This morning when I woke up, I put them outside then went back to sleep for another hour and a half. When I woke up, I looked out my bedroom window into the back yard to see the two of them running around together, holding onto the same stick. I will post more about both of these dogs this week. If you’re in Northern California and know of anyone looking to adopt a dog, please share Stella and Tucker with them! Tucker has only been looking for a home since this morning(and has already had one application), however, sweet Stella has been looking for a home for about 6 weeks now. I can’t believe she has not been adopted yet. She is such a loving, HAPPY dog! Every time she sees someone(stranger or friend) she runs up to them, wiggling her entire body. It is the cutest thing to see a puppy so overjoyed at the simple sight of a person.

Tweed, Dakota

Those of you who have been following my blog for a while will probably remember Tweed and Dakota, pictured below.

Dakota(Husky mix) and Tweed(Border Collie)

I just thought I’d give you guys a little update on them. Dakota I was fostering through a shelter. He survived the treatment for a severe case of heartworm, and was shortly after rescued by a great organization. No doubt he was adopted shortly after as most of their dogs are adopted in about a week. Tweed was adopted, and then returned a month later due to no fault of his own. He was with me for several more months before finally finding his forever home! He’s now been with his new people for 8 weeks, and they love him! Although he is STILL not getting along with their cats, they refuse to give up on him. They say that they will keep him even if he never learns to get along with the kitties. I absolutely love their commitment to him, and I am so happy that my sweet Tweedledee has found his forever home. It took 8 months, but it was worth the wait.

Let’s See That Personality!

Janey doing a goofy head tilt. She’s blind in her right eye, so it just kind of wandered off to the side in this picture. That, plus her tongue hanging out, makes her look really funny! I wasn’t so sure I liked this picture at first, but it grew on me.

I’d like to start this post by apologizing for not having posted in a little while, I’ve been overwhelmed with stuff going on at home. I’ll try to find time to write more often. (:

I love the picture-perfect photographs as much as the next guy(gal)…but c’mon, don’t you ever get bored of your subjects looking perfect all the time?

When I’m photographing dogs, I usually shoot for two different types of pictures in the same photoshoot. Since most of my subjects are rescue dogs, of course I want to get the pictures where they look drop dead gorgeous, perfect, and amazing. I’m trying to get people’s attention, I want these photos to say “adopt me!” so I show them in the best possible light.

Tweed giving me his best smile.

But what’s the fun in only having pictures like that? It gets old after a while. I also love to take pictures where the dog’s personality shines through. Some of my favorite pictures are the ones where the dog looks like it’s having a great time. A big smile, a head tilt, or maybe just a funny face. Anything besides the cut-and-paste, generic looking pictures.

My current foster boy, Tweed, is a great model for the camera. He gets this big goofy grin when the camera comes out; it never fails to make me laugh.

My personal dog, Nelly, is a bit more serious. She has always been an extremely driven working dog, and I swear when the camera comes out she just thinks that it’s another job for her to do. “Okay, there’s the camera. I know momma likes to take pictures of me, so I need to make sure I do my best modeling. Time to get serious about this.”

Katniss making a funny face while chewing on some grass.

That oh-so-serious look often comes across as very beautiful, though, so it works well. If I want those pictures where she looks like a goof ball, it’s a bit of a challenge…but I guess that when it comes to photography, being challenged is a good thing!

Because I started off photographing dogs and because I work with them so often, they are generally the only thing I take pictures of. I am starting to branch out, though, and experiment with other types of photography. Landscape photos are something I’m interested in, but haven’t gotten around to learning about yet. Besides dogs, I’m also now doing a little work with people. It’s been all friends and family while I was learning.

My sister spontaneously going along with the “old, abandoned barn” theme.

I have found that dogs are a lot easier to photograph than people, in some ways. On one hand, dogs don’t always want to listen or have their picture taken. Some dogs are afraid of the camera; I don’t know why, but I would assume it’s because the lens looks a bit like a giant eye staring them down. In my experience, a dog will either not want to look at or near the camera, or it simply won’t care either way. With dogs, you don’t have to worry about them doing some kind of horrible, cheesy-looking fake smile, you don’t need to worry about them being self-conscious in front of a camera, and best of all, you don’t need to worry about them not liking the pictures you take! All things that I, as a beginner people-photographer, worry about.

As you can tell, I worry. A lot. Probably too much.

A candid shot of my two best friends.

Now, the bad part about photographing dogs. They don’t always like to listen very well. You can tell a person, “Okay, now let’s have you sit right over here…” and the person will go sit over there. You try to make a dog sit somewhere that it doesn’t want to and you’ll have about 5 seconds, at the very most, to snap that picture. If you’re working with a dog that doesn’t care about treats or toys then good luck trying to get it to cooperate at all! Last but not least, dogs can be really easily distracted. Sometimes the best places to do photoshoots are also the most interesting for the dog. So many trees! And grasses! And rocks! And smells! AND WAS THAT A SQUIRREL? Let’s look at everything except the camera!

Now, maybe it’s just because I’m not very good with people, but I definitely prefer working with dogs. It just feels right for me.

I think this post got a bit off topic, but oh well! My point is that while I do like the pictures where the subject looks perfect, like a model, I don’t think anything can top a picture where the subjects personality is showing through. It just seems to give the photos something special.

“It’s All About How You Raise Them”

In 2007, Michael Vick was sentenced to 23 months in prison for his involvement in dog fighting. Somewhere around 50 dogs were taken from his property, the majority of them being Pit Bull Terriers.

About half of his fighting dogs spent their lives chained to buried car axels, just out of reach of one another, and most of them were in poor physical health. At his property there were rape racks(devices used to restrain a bitch so a dog can mate with her without being attacked), a fighting pit, and blood-stained carpets. Dogs that did not perform well were killed, either by hanging, drowning, or being repeatedly slammed against the ground until they died. While I don’t know the specifics about the upbringings of these dogs, I think we can all agree on one thing – it was probably not good. I highly doubt that Vick spent time socializing, petting, and playing with each and every one of these 50-something fighting dogs.

And yet, of all the dogs taken from his fighting ring, you know how many had to be euthanized due to aggression?

One. Just one.

Many of Vicks dogs have gone on to earn their CGC’s(Canine Good Citizenship), some are therapy dogs, some are beloved family pets.

And this is why I feel the overwhelming desire to slam my head against a wall when people say “It’s all about how you raise the dog,” or “Blame the owners, not the dogs.” Clearly Michael Vicks dogs were not raised in the happy, loving environment that true dog lovers will provide. So if it’s all about how you raise the dog, why were Vicks dogs not vicious man-killers? Why is it, then, that people who have done everything right sometimes end up with dogs that are aggressive?

Kai, a dog I fostered a while back. She had been chained for so long that the chain had grown into the back of her neck and had to be removed. She was one of the happiest and friendliest dogs I’ve ever known.

It’s because of genetics, the driving force of who we are. Genetics is why reputable Border Collie breeders only breed together good working dogs – to produce more good working dogs. Genetics is why you can’t breed together a dog whose instincts say “kill sheep” with another dog whose instincts say “kill sheep” and expect to get a great trial dog from the litter. Genetics is why no breeder in their right mind is going to breed together two aggressive dogs. Genetics is why reputable breeders will only breed dogs of sound body and mind.

Please don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that environment/upbringing does not play a big role in a dogs behavior, because it certainly does! However, “nature vs. nurture” with dogs is something to be covered in another post.

The point of this post is to explain that it is absolutely absurd to claim that all aggressive dogs are simply products of bad upbringing. The saying “it’s all about how you raise them” leads so many people to think they can go buy puppies from backyard breeders and then expect them to all grow up to have stable temperaments as long as they are raised right, and that is just not always the case.

“It’s all about how you raise them” is nothing more than a dangerous myth.

I Play Favorites

After fostering dogs for a long time, you learn to pick out which dogs are extraordinary. I believe all dogs are special, but sometimes you meet a dog that just stands out from the rest. And this post is about those extra-special dogs, my “top two”.

Number One

My number one favorite dog is named Levi. I had him the longest of any of my foster dogs – 4 months. He had good pictures, he was an awesome dog, but nobody wanted him. He received very few applications in his time with me, and none of them worked out. His only problem was separation anxiety, which can be fixed.

He is such a relaxed, happy dog. While he loved to go out and play and run and wrestle with Nelly, he was also perfectly content to spend an entire day lounging around the house with me. He was constantly trying to convince my cats to be his friends, but the cats didn’t think so much of that idea. He did manage to make friends with the younger cat, but my Buddy remained wary of him.

My Nelly is very picky about what dogs she will play with, but Levi was also one of her favorites. I have a “no playing in the house” rule, but Levi was constantly trying to get her to play inside. It’s all he wanted to do, play! He would grab her neck scruff and gently pull on it, or paw at her, or nudge her with his nose until she gave in and played with him.

After those 4 months with no luck finding him a home, he went to another foster home further south in my state. There he was adopted by a lady who has added me on Facebook and says I can visit him if I am ever near. She posts a lot of pictures of him, and I can tell he is very happy there!

Number Two
Another favorite of mine is a recent dog, adopted in May, named Riley. Riley was found wandering in a wildlife refuge, where dogs will often get shot if they are caught harassing wildlife. He got lucky – he simply jumped into a person’s truck when they came through, then came to rescue. Riley had a bad leg, it appeared to have been broken and healed crooked some time in the past. He didn’t let it slow him down!

Riley was a near perfect dog, his only real behavior problem being that he was obsessive about herding people by nipping at them. I worked with him on it, and waited patiently for the right adopter to come along – someone with Border Collie experience. Eventually I got an application that was up to my expectations, and they adopted him. They loved him and continued to work with him, and tell me that his nipping is now a rare occurrence. His adoptive mom says he’s “the best dog in the world”.

We rejected about 20 applications for Riley before finding his perfect home.

Few things make me happier than knowing a dog I’ve fostered is in a loving, happy home.

Tweed

I don’t plan on posting every day, but I figured I’d put up another to get this blog rolling.

My current foster dog is named Tweed, I brought him into rescue 6 weeks ago. With permission from the president of the rescue, of course, I picked him up from the shelter that my aunt runs.

A shelter kitty trying to get my attention

He was not doing well in the shelter environment. He was absolutely terrified of everything, including people. He freaked out at having a leash put on, because he’d never been walked on a leash before coming into the shelter. He would not approach me, even though I was using the most polite and non-threatening body language I could, and was holding a bag of high-value treats. I sat there for a long time but we made no progress. However, when I saw how he acted with his kennel attendant – happy, excited, and very friendly – I knew there was hope for him. So I said I’d take him. I photographed some of the shelters available pets before leaving.

Tweed

Tweed bonded with me very quickly when we got home – he was scared, and I was someone he could cling to. He quickly blossomed after leaving the shelter, he was no longer terrified of the world, and had no problem with a leash being put on. On our first walk, he was prancing with his tail up. I wasn’t surprised, because the shelter environment can be especially hard on Border Collies. They are so sensitive to sights and sounds.

Unfortunately, he still had two major problems. One, separation anxiety. I was not able to prevent it, he simply started freaking out within 10 seconds of his first time being left alone. He is also still terrified of people, absolutely terrified. When I first brought him home, he would be over threshold every time he saw someone that wasn’t me. Ferocious-sounding barking, growling, stiff body with hackles straight up. It took him 3 weeks to stop doing this to everyone living in my house.

I am able to handle most behavior problems in dogs on my own, but not all. This is my first time working with a dog that is terrified of people, so I am very happy to know a professional trainer that is willing help me with foster dogs, for free. Tweed is making progress with both the separation anxiety and the stranger-fear, slowly but surely.

How it all Started

I was 15 years old when I fostered my first dog.

I wanted a dog so bad, but my mom was against the idea – she didn’t really like dogs. It took a while, but I finally convinced her to let me try fostering a dog. We could take a dog into our home, and if it didn’t work out, fine. No problem. We went to the local SPCA, did the new foster parent orientation, and walked through the sick bay. Saw the dogs available for fostering at that time. After we left the sick bay, the lady asked if we wanted to take home a foster dog that day. I gave my mom my best “pretty please” face, and she said yes. I asked the lady to please just bring out the biggest dog they had, as I prefer larger dogs. After a couple minutes, she came out with a brown and white Border Collie named Nelly. I remembered seeing her when we walked through – she had been quietly standing up against the bars of the kennel, grabbing the railing with her claws, and was probably the only dog that wasn’t barking.

Needless to say, I fell head over heels in love with her. As did my mom. She agreed to let me keep her, and the journey began…I fostered two more dogs for the SPCA – those times, it was with the intent of just fostering, not adopting. After that, I started to (and still do) work with Border Collie Rescue. Including Nelly, I have fostered 22 dogs. Many of my dogs have had behavior issues, which has made me learn a lot in the way of dog training and behavior. It can be difficult and sometimes frustrating to work with and train “problem” dogs, but it’s always worth it in the end.

Of course, dogs need pictures, right? Good pictures are a big part of attracting potential adopters. I started using my mom’s Nikon D50, and photography soon turned into a hobby(or should I say obsession?) My mom eventually bought a new, simple camera for herself, because I was constantly using hers. She never used it that much, anyways. It usually just sat on a shelf somewhere. I have only really been into photography since September of 2012 – go easy on me! I mainly photograph rescue dogs – my foster dogs, and dogs that are with other foster parents for the rescue I work with – but I am starting to branch out.

A quote, author unknown, “When people say ‘I couldn’t foster because it would be too hard to give a dog up’ We say, ‘How can it be harder than knowing a dog died because nobody stepped up to foster it?’ And that is why we do it time and time again.”

The dog that started it all.