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.

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.