Today is a special blog about Nixie... about fostering... as written by her foster Mom.
Nixie, here in this house-
I am a Good Karma foster parent, and I live alone with my
two dogs. Them, and the 90+ foster dogs that have come through my door. Each
and every one of them deserving of a loving home and family; they enter with
the understanding that they are not yet home-but almost. No matter how well (or
not so well) they fit into my home and routine, no matter how much my dogs
enjoy their company, no matter how much I grow to love them-I am NOT an
adopter.
I am a Foster.
I signed up to help-not to have.
Helping them can be very easy. That 6 month old Shih-Tzu
puppy named Kahmeer, with the adorable face and happy attitude hardly stayed
long enough for me to get to know him. My male dog hated him by the way-he was “too
puppy” for him. And that beagle girl Shiloh? Both of my dogs loved her! She was
so well adjusted and happy, without a mean bone in her body! Yeah, she didn’t stay
long either…my dogs may have been a tad upset with me when she went home. They
did look for her for a few days. But I explained to them, like I am explaining
to you now, they cannot stay.
Because if Shiloh would have stayed, I would not have been
able to help George-that 10+ year old rat terrier who needed us so desperately.
Followed by Frodo, the puppy with mange; and all of those that followed. There
have been so many: puppy mill survivors, heartworm positive dog, dogs with
cherry-eye that needed surgery, a little dog that needed his eye removed, and even
one that had to have all of his teeth pulled. Not to mention the many very shy
and under socialized dogs like Cari, Brewster, and Annie, which is where my
passion lies.
Sometimes helping them can be hard.
And now there is Nixie.
She is so damn happy! No matter how mad, or sad, or defeated
I feel-Nixie will have none of it! She wags her whole body at the simple sound
of my voice! From her stubby little tail to the tip of her crooked little nose!
She paws at me with her little feet, and kisses my whole face! She makes a
chirping sound that I have decided in “Nixie speak” means “where have you been?
I have missed you and love you so much!!!” Sadness is simply not allowed in
Nixie’s world. Humans bring her so much JOY-and she will not allow them to feel
anything less than JOY in return!
I have never had a dog look at me with such adoration!
But she cannot stay.
In fact, she should not stay.
Nixie isn’t really a fan of other dogs. For this reason she
has to live separately from them. We have separation gates, one in the hall,
and a long one between the kitchen and living room. Nixie gets all three bedrooms
and the bathroom on her half of the house. My two get the Livingroom. The
kitchen is neutral space where I can close and open access for each of them to
outside etc. I divide my time between sitting with her, and sitting with mine.
I put Nix in a crate in my room at night, and then let my two in to sleep on
the bed-doing the reverse in the morning.
This is not the life I promised her! This is not the life
that she deserves!
It’s not fair that Nixie has to live like this. She deserves
to live in a home where the sofa is her space-right next to her people! She
should be able to follow her people all around the house, and explore the
places that they go. She should not have to wait for it to be “her time” for
attention. And she should not have to live in a place where she is easily upset
by the presence of other dogs.
My heart breaks for her on a daily basis. Sure, she is not
living in a shelter, and yes, my home and my love are so much better-but it’s
still not what she deserves.
I cry for Nixie often.
And I worry for those that I cannot help while she is here.
It is not her fault in any way. In fact, I feel that I am
failing her.
I made her a promise, and I still intend to keep it.
I was pleased to be asked to write this post to you today
because I would like to ask for your help. Please help us find the perfect home
for sweet little Nixie. She is a sparkle in everything that seems drab, and she
has so much joy in her tiny little body that it must be expelled in wiggles! She
is all of the good things about life.
I would also like to ask you to please consider fostering a
dog that needs you. There are so many who need you…Please help them, while I
help Nixie.
Lastly, on the subject of fostering and Nixie, and how I
feel about fostering, I would like to leave you with a few lines from a
favorite poem (author unknown):
“Here in this house…(from
a shelter dog)
No matter what I look like, I will be considered beautiful
and thought to be of value. I will never be cast out because I am too old, too
ill, too unruly, or not cute enough.
My life is a responsibility and not an afterthought…”
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