What beautiful animals! Lucy is especially adorable. Beautiful cat also.He looks like he could care less about anything going on around him!LOL You are a very special person to take those animals in and they are lucky to have you......Lillie

These dogs are gorgeous. My gosh, our hummane society here mostly has big dogs, mamas with puppies. Or at least since I have volunteered (very, very little in the past year).

lillie1441- I'm the lucky one to have them! Although I'm the first to admit it's not always easy task I know in the end when they are adopted it is worth all the effort.

rthummer- Our local kill shelter does get in small dogs often. We get most of our dogs from the local kill shelters but only if they are in danger of being euthanized. We don't pull healthy adoptable animals unless their time is up. We also get some owner turn ins- some found as strays that were never reclaimed, some even found dumped in our yards.
I only foster one or two at a time as I do have a very busy life and family. Not to mention my own pets. This summer was a bit different because of the hoarder case. The lady is in her 40's and once was very wealthy she lived close to my house so I'd go over there often trying to get her to turn over some of these dogs. Never had any luck- nobody did. It was so bad that she had up to 40 dogs that NEVER went outside. She ended up dumping all but 12 when her house foreclosed. I was able to finally get the 12 all in one night- a Sunday at 1 a.m. I had 12 little dogs full of urine and feces packed in my car. It took till the early hours of the morning to get the last one out as she kept changing her mind. It took the better part of the next day to get them some what clean. It was horrible. Then everyone went to the vet- imagine that vet bill and then double it and before it was all said and done- it tripled. But they are out of the hell they were living in and all are in wonderful homes and I'd do it again in a heart beat. Here is a picture of some of the yorkies and a chi mix that was pulled that night.
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TugBoat
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Here is a sweet little shi tzu that was in horrible shape- notice his bow legs, his jaw and his eyes. I named him Tug Boat. He was another one that lived outside on a wooden deck 24/7 365. He was best friends with the little chi. Tug did find a great home and is living the life of a pampered pooch.

Here is a link that might be useful: Please consider adoption!

dat-dog, Really really adorable dogs. I have to say these are some very lucky animals to have crossed paths with you and your organization. Do you have a vet that donates time for care and treatment for your rescues, or do you take donations? I cannot imagine the vet bills associated with some of these animals when you first get them. I know the lab kennel cough scenario is easily a $200 affair. How do you keep it going?

My favorite is BIG Kitty. I think I have Big kitty's littermate - his name is Handsome and they look exactly alike. We adopted Handsome from the my vet daughter volunteers for. The vet provides free vetrinary care for two rescue groups in my area.

Keep up the great work!

Thanks Labmom - We work with several vets in our local area and we get a 10-15% discount on services. It does help as we've had some dogs that have cost upwards of 5,000 alone in vet bills. The organization I foster with does fund raisers- LOTS of fund raisers. Our biggest of the year will be Fur Ball held in Dec. We also charge a adoption fee but that doesn't touch the cost of vetting most animals.

That is wonderful that your area has a vet that offers free services for your local rescues. I can imagine the rescue can get so much more done with vet cost covered. I know with all groups funding is always a issue.

Below is the group I foster with-

Here is a link that might be useful: Burlington County Animal Alliance

Awesome Datdog! Fabulous pics...they really capture the personalities of your cute toots! You seem to be in a very similar situation to my own fostering life...a couple great dogs at a time.

Matching them to the right home is definitely not an easy decision, huh? It can get very difficult when you have a few people wanting the same dog.

Don't you hate that the shelters euthanize for kennel cough? So easy to treat (95% of the time)...a little pediatric Benadryl and if absolutely necessary (for rare secondary bacterial infections) a round of antiobiotics. Probably the cheapest virus to treat (besides worms) and they will PTD the entire shelter because of it. All of my dogs have had kennel cough at one point or another...it ran it's course... and now they seem to be fairly immune.

I applaud you in your efforts!!

Love the pictures!! I too foster, but usually puppies and kittens. I was supposed to get 5 babies in last night, but the humane officer ended up not bringing them in. I was actually pretty relieved!

I currently have 2 foster kittens, waiting to be spayed, and 1 foster puppy who I've had about 3 months now - we are probably keeping him, making him dog #5 in our house. He also had kennel cough and ended up at the vet several times. He finally managed to kick it... and all it took was several antibiotics for about 2 months I think. Definitely not an infection worth euthanizing over.

Thanks for sharing the photos! Always fun to see. :)
Sher

datdog, great pics and great work you are doing. I've fostered many over the years too. No more tho. :-( I just can't do it anymore. My own take all the energy I have.

It was always a wonderful feeling when a foster dog that was so neglected, abandoned or abused found that perfect home.
I wish more people could understand why rescues are sometimes so "picky" about everything concerning the adoptions of their animals. With so much time, money, and love put into them they only want the best, and these animals deserve only the best after the start they had in life.
Bless you for the work you do.

webkat5 That's great you foster too! Do you work with a rescue group?

I think I have more pictures of dogs then I do my own two kids. It's nuts! LOL

Screening homes is the bani of my existence because it takes SO much time. I do a phone interview, vet check, reference check, and then a home visit. This takes days on end and driving from one part of the state to the other at times. Then there is the hard part about choosing the right appplicant. Or harder yet the 'odd birds' who think their home is the best. The same people who fail to read the profile of the animal listed and their home is the opposite of what I'm looking for. It's very emotional and my least favorite part of fostering. Yet, the most important. I had the little Yorkie, Lucy on Petfinder. I had more applications on her then I've ever had on any dog and she comes with a very strict requirement to adopt her but most of them were over looked. It was a huge time sucker in the end.

The lab pup I just placed had a horrible case of kennel cough that was going around the shelter. Not only was he coughing but he had a serious URI and became much sicker before he started to get better. He ended up having red/green snots just draining from his nose it was like nothing I've ever seen! It appears the strain of kennel cough wa a bad one this go around and it was sad that the shelter had no way to treat them. :(

share_oh I'm a puppy foster too. I adore pups but I'm always happy when they go to their homes so I know the relief you felt in not getting a litter. Puppies are SO much work, little poop machines. It seems always in the dead of winter I end up with a huge litter and it's too cold for them to go outside. My house smells like a kennel. Ask me how happy my husband is? LOL
I'm glad you help out the kittens too. They seem over looked at times and it makes me sad. I only do cats every now and again because my own cat is a marker when her world isn't right. When I bring in a cat or kitten she gets a little nutso and sprays all over.

beeanne It does get hard sometimes to juggle my own pets and the fosters. I do the best I can but I do take breaks for my own sanity as well as my animals.

All of you, thank you so much for your kind words. What I do is such a small part and I'm sure I can be doing more. It's something I really do believe in and love to do so I feel like I'm the lucky one in all of this.

You are all wonderful too! Think of all the animals that have a second chance now. That is what keeps me going- even when I say NO MORE!

I had to throw in a picture of a internet purchased English/French bulldog. She was purchased by a local doctor and flown to NJ. Her purchase price was 1,800.00 They decided she was too much dog and in 9 months she was placed in FOUR homes before finding her way to rescue. She was a very sweet girl. Just needed some guidance and direction. She found a home with a rescued English bulldog and couldn't be happier. She was with me for four months.
Lu Lu
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Lu Lu and my nutso cat
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Lu Lu and my dogs and cat

Your post brought back so many memories..........especially when you stated how you still miss Big Kitty. I also used to foster and I know exactly how you feel.

One of my former 'kids' was a Red Merle Aussie Shepherd X that was short haired and had these huge ears that stood straight up. She was also the smartest dog I ever owned and she touched a special place in my heart. I would have kept her but I had three dogs at the time and I knew my limit. I helped pick her adoptive familty and she went to a family with an 8 yr old boy that adored her, and she him. While the boy was in school during the day, Dad took her to work with him.
I still think of her..........her name was Murphy 'Brown'.

You sound like me....the animals are your "clients"...you are there to serve them, not the adopters, is that right?
So many groups around here (because they have sooooo many coming through, I guess) will adopt to anyone who wants the animal. My goal is to see that the animals never go into another shelter/bad situation ever again. And, of course, I will take back/re-home ANY of my "kids". This is very rare, because I do take so much time finding the right home to begin with.

I do work with a rescue group and until a few years ago I actually kept up with my own group (just an assistance group) that helped other rescue groups and the public. When I have time again, I will get that back up and running again.

When I got a digital camera, I started placing all of their pics (some with stories if you click on the images)...it is seriously out of date (about 4 years), but I plan on updating it on winter break...I have a scanner, too and plan on placing the pre-digital pics on there, too.

Some of my cute toots (probably my favorite success story is Lexi...click on her...she was the first three-legged dog...Romeo had three legs, too):

Here is a link that might be useful: My Adopteds

webcat: I just love your "My adopteds" site! The pictures are gorgeous and the names are so cute. But I just love clicking on a picture to find another picture with the human adopter! It is so inspiring to see these animals in good homes. Thanks for sharing this!

annz Darn those limits! As animals lovers it's always a fine line. Your Murphy Brown sounds like a doll! There is always one that touches us and holds a special place in our heart over the years. It sounds like Murphy Brown got a dream home. It's what we all strive for!

Webcat What a great way of putting it. The dogs are the "clients." But isn't that is a hard message to get across to the public at times. Everyone thinks their home is the best. I'm very careful (some would call me other names LOL) when screening and placing one of the animals in my care. Like you, we take all of our animals back. Knock on wood- it's only happened once in all the years I've done this and that was with my little Yorkie Lucy. She just couldn't adapt to her new surroundings no matter what her new family did.

I LOVE your adopted page! Very touching story about Lexi. Wonderful work you do! :)

EVERYBODY should adopt from the shelters!!! Some breeds you'll rarely find there, though. I just adopted a pb boxer that they were going to put down because he had a swollen hock. He has tested positive (low titer) for Valley Fever and is now on medicine for that. He has a pit bull kinda look but is just as sweet as pumpkin pie.

Anybody who can walk away from those dogs at the shelter has no heart. I usually get the dogs that are on the E-list. Usually they're generally healthy.

PLEASE spay and neuter as early as possible.

tripped coming down off my soapbox

vicky

You're a better person than I. I've fostered twice and kept them both times, I wasn't very good at it. They were/are great dogs though and get to be spoiled and sleep on the bed.

I love that LuLu.

Oh Kim, you're one of THOSE huh? It's hard to find good fosters. They always fall in love. :-)I'm sure your dogs were very happy to stay with you.
3 of my cats were my fosters but I only adopted them because they weren't very adoptable. One is black and acts "phycho" one was semi feral, and one was a little to old for most people.
I've fosters a lot of dogs and I know what you mean, it is really hard to give some of them up.

Here's my last/current foster that I couldn't give up, the little one sticking out her tongue. She actually was adopted and after all the sobbing the rescue group suggested I keep her. The other one is Bo, from the city pound.

Here was my first foster, Buddy. We're not naming him, we're not keeping him so he's Murphys's buddy. He was about 13 when I lost him.

Those are great Kim. Is it the camera angle or does your little girl have rather short legs? Your boys are handsome. Wow Buddy must have had a really good life with you.

Roxy is around 20-24 inches tall and weighs 39 lbs. I can't imagine what her mix is. A mix of a mix. I call her a tiny Rottweiler. She lost half an ear to a dog in the next kennel. Bo is probably close to 90 lbs and they thought 2 years old when I got him in February. They both have a white stripe up the chest and love each other dearly. Roxy perks that little ear up and makes me laugh everyday. I would have regretted it forever if I'd given her up.