Rescue Me: Daisy, Adopted 2/20/10

Because we got Daisy right before the holidays, we ended up having her for quite some time because there were no adoption events in the month of December. On January 9th there was a meet and greet at the Harvard Kennels and I was worried that Daisy and I wouldn't be able to make it since she was being spayed the day before, but when I woke up that Saturday morning, she surprised me. Superdog! Daisy was as happy as a clam and raring to go.

So we went. There were 6 dogs at the meet and greet and while there was a good turnout, it was as if everyone who walked in the door was looking for a big dog that day. Daisy was her usual cute self and even though she did not appear uncomfortable, she was a bit more clingy than usual. I brought her home knowing that no applications would be submitted for her based on this event, and I was so disappointed for her. She has such a great personality and is so cute, I couldn't imagine that she would spend long in foster care, but that was exactly what was happening and I was surprised. In the past month though, she had become my buddy and I certainly didn't mind having her with us longer.

Another month went by with no interest at all in Daisy, and another meet and greet was announced for February 7th. I thought "This is it! She'll find her new forever family at this one, I can just feel it!". We went bouncing into the meet and greet, confident that fate would intervene. It was another great turnout but again, people would just pat Daisy on the head and walk right up to another dog. I couldn't believe it! I was in a bit of a grumpy mood for the rest of the day after that because I couldn't believe that no one paid much attention to her. She was such a great dog, so why was she still with us? But then I repeated to myself that she really is a great dog and I shouldn't be sad because she's good company to be around.

On Sunday night of the long weekend, I received an email from the application coordinator at GDRNE, saying that she received an application for Daisy and did I want to work it. I said "Yes, please!" and I waited anxiously for her to send it to me. The following day I got it and I was ecstatic to see that it was a family with 2 young kids, ages 6 and 8. Daisy loved our dog Sam and she adores kids, so I really wanted her new home to either have another dog or a couple of kids to run around with. I was so excited, and promptly called the family the next day. Shortly after I hung up the phone, another application came in for Daisy! It was another great application, a family that also had two kids, and I had to laugh at how these situations tend to be feast or famine. Daisy had no interest for months and all of a sudden two great families wanted her. Luckily, I did not have to choose between them, as I had already begun working with the first family. And, as I write this, I am currently finalizing an adoption for another great little dog for the family that just missed out on her.

The phone interview went well and they wanted to come visit Daisy the next day. I crated Gabe and Sam so that they could spend some time with just Daisy, and she was so excited. I truly think that the foster dogs know their people when they see them. She knew they were there to see her, she made her rounds to everyone in the family, ears plastered back to her head, tail wagging constantly, and it was love at first sight. Her now potential family stayed for about an hour, and after they left Daisy stood on my lap looking out the window after them.

I arranged a home visit to be done on Saturday, and immediately afterward, Daisy went home with her family. It happened so quickly because they were anxious to have her over the weekend before the kids went back to school, and I was somewhat unprepared! We still had to take our pictures with her while we were in our Great Dog shirts and say goodbye. I was sad when the time came, but our house was a flurry of activity and Daisy walked right out the door into her new minivan without so much as a glance back at us. It made me a little sad, but it also gave me confidence that she would be happy and be comfortable in her new situation.

The house was extremely quiet after Daisy left. She and Sam were always playing, and the barks and growls could get really noisy sometimes. Gabe and Sam were tired from all the action, and settled in for naps. We had friends coming over about an hour later, and it turned out to be great timing since we all could have used sometime to take our minds off of Daisy's departure.

As Daisy's adoption coordinator I was planning to follow up with her family and see how she settled in on Monday, but when I dragged myself out of bed on Sunday morning there was already an email from her new family awaiting me! It was such a nice email and said how great Daisy was settling in and they thanked us for taking such good care of her, and how they feel it has made her the great dog she is today. This email was so nice and made me feel so good about fostering dogs! It can be so sad when they go to their forever homes, but an email with thanks like this is a great reminder of the important work we're doing, and how our goodbye with a foster dog actually is a brand new beginning for them.

I requested a week break from the foster coordinator before we get our next dog. Daisy was a bit of an attention hog and with only two of us and three dogs in the house it was sometimes hard to distribute the attention as evenly as we would have liked, so we are using the break to lavish our much appreciated attention on our two permanent little men, Gabe and Sam. I think they are enjoying their quiet break, but I am sure that they (well, I'll be honest. Sam) is looking forward to the arrival of our next foster dog, Connor!