I've never been one to promote myself or wax poetic about what I've
achieved. Least of all, I rarely advertise my "giving back" in the dog
rescue world. A few years ago Dustin and I felt that we needed to
volunteer for a cause we really believed in. As a family with multiple
interest and activities every other moment of the day it was hard to set
aside free time to any organization. That's when the idea of fostering
dogs came into play. Signing up as a foster home for doodles was exactly
what we could offer, our way of giving back to the greater good without
devoting too much of what little free time we had in our schedule. The
love and affection we gave our own pack of Doods (at the time, only 2)
could be shared with others lost or forgotten along their own journey
without much more of our time than pulling a dog from a shelter could
take.
What is slated to be a simple addition to our pack seems so easy and frankly is - ideally, but every dood is different and the twists and turns of
animal rescue draws you into an emotionally charged state of "what the
bleep am I doing?" It can all be madness and insanity until that moment when stars collide and a
rescue dood is matched with their forever family and all the ups and
downs you experienced with this dog comes sputtering out in smiles, tears
and laughter. It's all genuine happiness for the next step in the dood's
journey and your heart skips a beat. There's a moment of emptiness at
first (typically coinciding with ugly crying), you are in fact losing a piece of yourself when that pup leaves
your home but that emptiness is soon filled with joy for the possibilities
in their new life and what their new family can offer that you couldn't.
You also have a moment when the emptiness is filled with deep breaths and the peace of your life going back to your "norm".
I'm often asked "how do you do it?"- in regards to fostering dogs, "how
do you not get attached and keep them all?" I question myself each and
every time as to how I am doing it, it's not easy. It's emotionally
draining and you become hyper sensitive of animals in need and how you helping other dogs affects your other fur family. It's hard not to
get attached, letting go of that bond you've invested so much time
building and the trust you struggled to achieve together is extremely
hard and unforgiving emotionally. You constantly tell yourself, 'I'll
keep my distance and not let myself fall for this one.' But if you are
an animal lover in general you can't shut it off, the love spews out of
you in buckets of tears when they go off to their new home without you.
As far as keeping them all, I would love to if I knew that I couldn't
and wouldn't spread myself too thin. With three of my own Doods, I
realize adding a fourth temporarily is a lot and its hard at times but it is also not overly
pressing on time and resources. It's doable (doodable). If we kept any
more as our own I'm not sure we could continue the fostering journey
and help more Doods in need. With four dogs in the house you can feel maxed out. It can be draining balancing the
needs of my own crew with the sometimes special needs of our visiting
furry friends. I am constantly grateful that I can continue doing so.
I'm always thankful that I can foster, that I can open my home and
heart to another dood in need and that my family is on board. For his part, Dustin is my rock that
keeps me grounded and away from the ledge of crazy dog lady and I don't
thank him enough for that. As for Kendall, she's a trooper for playing
by the rules of "there's a new dog in the house" and you HAVE TO listen to me and she typically gets rewarded with love and cuddles.
So back to the how do I not keep them all question, I am constantly reminding myself that if I did - I
wouldn't have the room in my heart or home to help so many Doods along
the way or my next Doodle in need.
Regardless of circumstance as to how they ended up with me, they each
left their paw print on my heart. To all my rescued Doods, I still and
always will keep you close to my heart. Ollie (Finn), Checkers, Mickey
(Lucy), Max (Bert), Snicker (Muppet), Lloyd & Mona.
To IDOG, Jo, Lynda, Alana, Pat, Jenna and all those involved with the
organization - thank you for helping Save the Doodles and for all your
support along the way. It's an incredible journey and I'm so glad to be a
part of this crazy roller coaster called animal rescue.
