Wow, two people emailed asking about my foster dog, so I thought I would put the info in a new thread. I have a beautiful little male mix breed (German Shepherd/Hound) dog that I took in as a foster dog earlier this summer. He was picked up by our County Animal Services as part of a cruelty investigation. When he was picked up he weighed 19 pounds, today he weighs 48, so you can imagine the shape he was in. I kept him for about 5 weeks originally, then took him back to the shelter so he could be nuetered and put up for adoption. At the time he walked a little funny and the county decided to put him to sleep because they were afraid he might have bad hips (our shelter takes in over 100 animals a day, and if they are lucky, 5-6 people will come in just to LOOK at animals to adopt, so they euthenize any animal that they even THINK might develop health problems). They called to see if I wanted to adopt him (normally foster "parents" are ineligible to adopt, but he was such a sweet dog they hated to euthenize him so they made an exception). I did not really want to adopt him because I cannot care for a dog right now due to my travel schedule, but I took him just to keep the county from killing him, and boy, am I glad that I did! When I first got him he was so weak that he could hardly walk more than 100' without resting. Now, he is showing signs of peppiness! He is normally pretty laid back, he has that wonderful hound temperment, with the addes bonus of the GSD intelligence- not that hounds aren't, but, you know what I mean! This week, it has gotten quite cool and "Shep" has been literally bouncing around- he is such an incredibly happy dog, and it really shows! He actually smiles, he is so happy. He is a very undemanding dog. I keep him in a pen in the yard but when I am home I open the gate so that he can come and go as he pleases- he usually lays in his run most of the time unless someone comes outside, then he is ready to tag along. He will walk on a leash and we now walk about 2 miles twice a day which is a pretty good walk for him right now. He has no bad habits- he does not bark, dig, or chew. He is housebroken although he absolutely does not like being in the house- he is an outdoor dog at the moment. We think that he was never inside at his old home. I think with time and TLC he might adjust to being indoors, especially if there are other dogs around. He loves kids, by the way, and other dogs. He is very sweet and gentle, definitely not a great watch dog at the moment, although he might be when he gets older. He is approx 1 year old now. He has been nuetered, wormed, micro chipped and is on heartworm preventative and Revolution (for fleas). He is currnt on all shots. His hips have been x-rayed, by my vet, and they are fine- no problems with hip dysplasia, etc. I even had his teeth cleaned, so he is good to go, healthwise. He likes to ride in the car, he will stay in his crate at night, indoors (I usually only bring him in if the weather is bad), he is learning how to sit and shake hands on command, smart boy! Basically, I think he is the perfect homestead dog. He loves to follow me around the property all day long when I work outside, and he is good company. If I could keep a dog at all I would keep this one, but I just cannot do it. Right now I am barely working so it is ok, but normally I am out of town 2-3 weeks each month, and Shep needs a more stable home life than I can give him. If anyone wants a great little dog, please consider this one. This is not a stray dog that I am trying to dump on someone else- he is a wonderful little dog who deserves a great home with people who will love him and care for him. By the way, he walks fine now- my vet says the reason he walked funny before was that he had no muscle tone because of having been nearly starved to death. He is much better now.

-- Elizabeth (ekfla@aol.com), October 10, 2001

Answers

Response to Foster Dog

Elizabeth......he sounds like a real "lover"...what state are you in?

-- Birdlady (jjpace@ev1.net), October 10, 2001.

Response to Foster Dog

Sorry, I left our my location. We are in Florida, near Tampa.

-- Elizabeth (ekfla@aol.com), October 10, 2001.

Elizabeth: I just want to say thanks, since the little guy can't say it himself. You are his angel!

-- Shannon at Grateful Acres Animal Sanctuary (gratacres@aol.com), October 11, 2001.

Darn Shannon, I was hoping that you were writing to say that you had to have him, LOL!

-- Elizabeth (ekfla@aol.com), October 11, 2001.

Elizabeth, we would consider adopting him but we live in the mountains of North Carolina. Do you ever travel to this area? It would have to be convenient for us with 3 little kids and all. Plus hubby would have to agree... E-mail us. Does he get along with other dogs, cats, and most importantly small children?

-- Bren (wayoutfarm@skybest.com), October 11, 2001.