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Polly Pocket here to share with you about my limits. You may not realize this (apparently foster mama didn’t*), but some dogs have limits as to how much they can handle before they go berserker and melt into a puddle of drool and stress toots.
You see, the thing is that I am just getting the hang of being part of a family in a house let alone out in the big bad world! So while I am finally able to be calm and hang out with Foster Mama and Foster Daddy (and Turkey and Rufus), I get really anxious when we leave the comfort of Foster House. I see other doggies and I go bark, bark, bark to let them know that I am not scared but very TOUGH. Sometimes I even bark at doggies who I know are my friends, like Dante.
Yesterday I met up with Dante and his Mama, Amy of Fido Fetch Photography, at the Suds of Fun charity dog wash for the Humane Society of Greater Kansas City. Foster Mama had thought this event would be a good way to both get me a bath and market me to potential furever families at the same time. She knew there would be some challenges though, since many of the factors involved in this outing pushed my limits: (1) Lots of dogs; (2) Lots of people – most of which were not paying attention to me; and (3) bath time (shudder). As soon as we got out of the car I started bark, bark, barking to let everyone know that I had arrived and that I am very TOUGH. I thought Foster Mama would appreciate that I was announcing our arrival, but she looked really embarrassed. She even tried to lure me from my hyper-attentive state with hot dogs, but seriously? I am a terrier, lady…it takes more than a hot dog to break MY focus. So instead of walking around and sniffing other dogs’ butts (which was making me feel growly), we found a quiet corner away from the hustle and bustle where Foster Mama made me “sit,” and she petted me when I was quiet. When it was time for my bath, we had to take this twist-y turn-y way into the bath time building because she didn’t want me to bark or lunge at anyone’s dog. Once inside, I faced death in the face the dreaded bathtub. I made sure to give Foster Mama my surliest glare to show her how I felt about bath time. Then she tickled underneath my chin and made me smile just a little before letting Amy snap this photo – tricked!
After my brush with death bath, Foster Mama got me some brisket for being so brave and took me back to a quiet spot away from the other doggies and let me eat just enough to not get sick, but enough to make my tummy warm and full and happy. I was a little upset when she gave a couple of bites to Dante, but she told me that he was her favorite hot dog, and I needed to chill out.
After my brisket, I calmed down enough to walk around to look at the different booths for a little bit. Some people’s dog’s were on retractable leashes, and a few times those dogs were out reeeeeeaaaallllly far on the leash and would just get up in my face! IN. MY. FACE! But luckily, Foster Mama and Amy were keeping a close eye out for me so Amy ran interference with Dante a few times and Foster Mama knew to redirect my focus if I started to get growly. One time, she even redirected my focus with a teeny tiny pup cone from Sheridan’s(my new favorite thing). I love the ice creams but not the cone, so I gave that part to Dante. See? I can share.
When I finished my cone, Foster Mama felt like I had done enough for the day and chauffeured me back to Foster House. She told me that I had “made some strides” but we still have a lot to work on. Walking around by the end of the night without barking or snapping at any dogs – good. Trying to hide between a hunky firefighter’s legs for three minutes because I was nervous – not so good. But honestly, can you blame me on that one?
* Foster Mom here – although Polly doesn’t think so, we do recognize that she has some boundary issues when out in public. I do want to help her work through those though, which is why I took her to this event. I was very careful to read her signs and take her away from the group when she was feeling overstimulated. The firefighter though – she beelined for him. Not sure what I could have done.
** Polly Pocket is still available for adoption – see her profile here!
Fridays are tough for this blogger. Statistically, it is my lowest readership day of the week. Why? I’m not sure. But because of that, it is always tough for me to come up with something to write for Fridays. I also tend to come up with half-baked post ideas. Ones that sounds great when I am in the shower pondering blog topics, but aren’t super content-rich when I go to write. So I came up with this idea: Fridays are going to be for the random half-baked content I come up with while plucking my eyebrows but aren’t enough to have an entire post dedicated to it. Sound good? I hope so! So here goes…
Random Stuff:
1. I recently attended a Kansas City Blogger event at Saks Off 5th at the Legends Outlets. While this blog is not fashion-focused (unless it’s doggy fashion, and in that case…), I do love to shop and I couldn’t pass up the free $25 gift card they gave all of the bloggers spending time with my fellow blog chicas.
A fun time was had by all and I walked away with these amazeballs Carrera sunglasses. Win-win.
2. Last weekend Daniel & I ran in the Color Run. If you have the opportunity, run this race. It is so. much. fun!
3. We are gearing up for a big garage sale this weekend. I’ve never been super successful with them but I figure if we are going to move, we need to get rid of a lot of stuff – and making a few bucks in the process would be great! We still don’t know where we are moving, but the ball is officially rolling…
4. It. is. hot. Like, hotter than H-E-Double-Hockeysticks. Which means we are visiting the pool a lot and the dogs are hanging out inside doing their best to stay cool. This is how they look on any given day…
Of course Polly Pocket, ever vigilant, refuses to snooze regardless of temperature. Luckily she has a delicious antler to keep her occupied. Speaking of Polly…
5. She got her stitches out yesterday and is now officially available for adoption through Heart of America Humane Society!
Have an awesome weekend and think of us as we melt away sell lots of our belongings at our garage sale tomorrow!
After a two month hiatus, we’ve finally brought home a new foster! Meet Polly Pocket (Pittie)…
This sweet girl was set to be euthanized at the shelter after just two weeks due to an injury to her back leg. I have a thing for redheads (see Ginger Rogers and Ginger Jr), so I couldn’t let Miss Polly meet that fate. I brought her home on Thursday after her spay surgery, and lucky for her, the very next day was National Take Your Dog to Work Day! She was a doll at the office I’ve been working at part-time since finishing grad school – just curling up on her Molly Mutt bed and napping overseeing my work. She even assisted my boss with finishing his breakfast sandwich answering his emails. One thing Polly Pocket would not do though? Helping me do paperwork. Polly Pocket does not collate.
We are still learning about her, but so far we have figured out a few of her likes and dislikes…
LIKES:
- Pretending to be your shadow (“oh, don’t mind me – just following you into the bathroom!”).
- Staring at you with her gigantic eyes that bore right into your soul.
- Giving you a big, pittie smile when you call her “Polly wanna cracker” or “Pockets.”
DISLIKES:
- You leaving her sight – even if it’s just to run to another room for just a second.
- You watching her as she enters the house from the backyard. She will wait on the deck until we turn around before she comes inside.
- Being left alone. Ever. This girl has some crazy separation anxiety. To give you an idea of how bad it is, check out the damage she did to her crate after being left alone for a few hours on Saturday. And no, the crate’s wires are not supposed to bend like that.
We’ve dealt with separation anxiety before with Ginger Rogers, but Polly’s case appears to be way more severe than that. We’ll do a post soon about the different things we’re doing to help ease Polly’s anxiety and prepare her for her future forever home. We’re very excited to show her what it’s like to feel safe and be a beloved family member. It’s feels good to be back in the (fostering) saddle!
Polly Pocket will be available in the next few weeks through Heart of America Humane Society – stay tuned!
I’ve written before about how many different roles a person can play with regards to animal rescue. Sometimes, the part we need to play is that of the “matchmaker.” Let me explain. A few months ago we had a sweet couple move in next door to us. I immediately knew we’d get along when I saw they had a an elderbelle and a chihuahua. We started talking whenever we were outside with our dogs and I mentioned once that I fostered pit bulls. They happened to mention that they were interested in possibly adopting another pittie someday. Through our various conversations, I gathered that they were looking for a younger pittie, preferably a girl. So when this plea came across Facebook a few days ago, the wheels started turning in my head…
The plea for Carolina broke my heart. The shelters in Kansas City are so full right now that just the slightest bit of mange is enough to get a dog placed on the “list” for euthanasia. Fostering is just not an option for us right now, but I felt so strongly about Carolina’s case that I knew I had to try to figure something out for her. On the morning of June 7th (which you’ll notice is the deadline for Carolina to be saved), I struck up a conversation with my neighbors and asked them if they were still interested in adopting another pittie. They said yes. I showed them a photo of Carolina and told them a bit about her. They were interested but weren’t sure if she was “The One” so I explained to them what is entailed in fostering and what it would mean for Carolina. They were totally onboard for fostering and immediately filled out a foster application with MABBR. Carolina came to their house that afternoon! Here is Carolina after she was pulled from the shelter – pretty happy girl, huh?
In less than 15 minutes, Carolina (renamed Lucy by my neighbors) was best friends with Nipsy (the elderbelle) and Spaz (the chihuahua) and had Jeremy and Elise (my neighbors) wrapped around her little mange-covered paw. From what I’ve gathered this weekend, they are totally smitten and I am 99% sure they will foster fail. But had we never struck up a conversation in the first place, that love connection may never have happened. While I am not fostering myself, I am still able play an important part in rescue just by talking about it. Same thing with the people who posted her plea on Facebook. It may seem like a small piece of the puzzle, but it can make a huge difference in the life of a shelter animal.
* I will be posting about Carolina (now Lucy) from time to time as she recovers from mange and learns what life is like as a beloved family member *
Our Waldo Bungie 