August 4, 2017 – Just as the claw scratches on my legs finish healing I get the next call. More puppies need fostering while the shelter tries to keep up with an unusually high influx. They are doing twenty spay/neuters per day, including dogs and cats. Quarantine is full. So I retrieve the next batch: three eight-week-old sisters, two black and brown, one a beautiful multi-brown color with beautiful green eyes. All three come pre-named, but I change the green-eyed one to Jade immediately. It just seems right.
They are larger breed dogs than the last lot, which makes them more substantial puppies, very soft, and extremely photogenic.
August 10- The dogs got their titer tests yesterday and the only one with numbers high enough to go in for adoption is Hayleigh, so it’s time for her to go. Last night, as if she knew it was time, she desperately tried to claw her way onto the bed, so I helped her up. She curled up and slept against my shoulder and chin, and all night she made these cute snuffling baby sounds. It was both adorable and unbearable. How can I give away this bundle of affection? The ride to the shelter is difficult this morning, but of course that’s a strictly selfish position; I know that within an hour of going up for adoption, she will be on her way to Home.
August 15 – Jade’s personality is remarkable. All the other dogs will suddenly race off barking at something, and Jade just sits and observes, making sense of the world in her own way. We’ve had a doe and two fawns hanging around the neighborhood this summer, and they are often outside the fence. My two dogs get quite excited, as does Charleigh, while Jade just watches. Often I find her at the fence, sitting, observing the deer as they graze only feet away on the other side. Never a sound.
In this photo, Charleigh suddenly noticed the deer and came running over, barking her shrill bark nonstop. Neither Jade nor the deer took notice.
It’s almost like Jade is a wise old dog already. Really, she’s the perfect puppy. My friends Daniel and Louise come over for coffee and meet her, and are immediately smitten. I’m already entertaining the idea of keeping her, but I know that would be impractical. Luckily, Daniel and Louise have been looking for a dog and decide that Jade is perfect for them, and they have the right home for her. Before they adopt, though, they ask if I would be available to dog sit when they take trips overseas. Now that is practical.
In the next few days before Jade and Charleigh go in for their spays, we have a great time. They’re over ten weeks now and showing physical agility, speed and awareness that wasn’t there when they arrived. And still oh, so photogenic.
Bozeman Foster Dogs 