FOSTERING; IS IT, OR IT ISN’T…

OK; OK.  Almost a month.  Seems like a long time, but it seems so much longer.  Lola passed away 3/26/12; my heart still misses her.  I really thought that it would be months before I thought about getting another dog.  There, that’s the truth.  I said it.  Guess what?  I’ve already got another one.  That even surprises me.  I had these feelings of lonliness, with no dog.  That first night, that Lola wasn’t here, was SO quiet, so the next day I called some rescue organizations, and looked at petfinder.com, to find another Jindo.  I really wanted to “replace” Lola.  Of course you can’t do that, but I tried.  I went to look at 4 dogs.  Two didn’t interest me, as much as I wanted them to.  Then I went to look at 2 more, at Centinella’s adaption on Pico.  Some friends run an adoption center.  A female struck my eye, even though I also walked a male.  I expressed my interest in the female, but told them, (my friends who run the adoption), that I didn’t want to make a decision that day.  They said that that would be ok, but they were really short on foster parents, and could I take the male, for only one week.  I figured why not, I don’t have a dog under my roof right now, so ok, let’s do it.  I’ll never do that again.  I’m a softie.  I get tied into them REAL fast.  They must have seen that in me!

Jindo’s don’t bark, and this one is no different.  He was a street dog for about a year, so he was, (and still is), alert to everything.  Any sound, or visual activity, he would react to.  He was very nervous that first day.  I had to literally pull him into my living room, to get him comfortable inside.  He did get ito that, with a “doggie bed” to help.  He would NOT come back into the two bedrooms for about 3 days.  I didn’t want to push him, but I knew I had some work to do with him.  Every day there was progress; from little things, to big things like him walking to the back bedroom while I was in the office, on the computer.  Then he started playing around, wrestling, doing a lot of “dog” stuff.  I knew I was in trouble.  How could I take him back?  That was the conversation, though.  One week.  No other offers had been made on him.  So when I took him back to the adoption center, and they put him in his cage, he started howling, barking like I’d never heard him before.  I just couldn’t leave like that, it was like torture for him.  That is when I said I’ll take him, boy, he’s such a good dog!  A LOT of energy, though.  What I didn’t mention earlier, was that he wouldn’t go outside, into my backyard, for fear out of all the noise that he heard.  The day that I brought him home, from the adoption center, he went out, layed in the sun, and took a nap.  MAJOR progress!  Every day there is some sort of progress. 

As I said before, there’s a lot of work to do.  As he gets more comfortable with me, he also is showing his strength, on his walks.  I was so comfortable with Lola those last 6-7 years, I had forgotton those first few years.  She also, was some work.  She got out a few times, had to get help from other people to get her back.  The last half of her life, I never had to use a lease.  I do hope that some day, we can get there with him.  I call him Peanuts; he’s a beautiful white, but his ears are tan, which remind me of peanuts!  So right now it’s Peanuts, could change, I don’t go with a certain, name, it’s what they bring to the table!

I take him up to the bluffs, for his walk.  He is as powerful as my first dog, Brando.  I forget a lot about that, also.  You always remind yourself of all the “good” times that they give you; but it all goes with some work.  SO,  I found out how much he wants to get a squirrel.  He looks up every tree that we walk under.  He’ll stay there, all afternoon, if I let him.  I have to power-pull him off of that spot, off of the squirrel spot!  So he is work, as he comforts in, but that’s ok; he’s completely different than Lola, that’s for sure!!  And I think that that’s a good thing.  He also, loves to chase lizards!  I don’t know what’s worse, squirrels or lizards!  This certainly keeps my mind on him; I do a lot laughing.  No replacing what you miss, but it helps out, a lot.

One day, down the road, I’ll keep you updated on our progress.  I know, I know, talking about dogs is all you’ve read; but I do have other things on my mind, to write about!  Fitness, fitness, and fitness!  There’s a lot of stuff that I’ve been researching, and I’ll relay to you guys.  It’s good stuff, because it’s a fast way to work out, and very effective.  That’s next.

In the meantime, I’ve rediscovered going on walks can be challenging, and it’s fun!  I just am still amazed on how life goes.  I did not have my eye on this dog, but now I have him, and I love it.  It goes back to loving every moment, and I mean EVERY moment.

Enjoy your moments, they go fast, but make sure that you put them in your memory bank.  You’ll pull them out several times, and laugh…