A very happy ending
I posted here a few weeks ago about my sweet 13-year-old foster who is blind and hard of hearing. At the time, the municipal shelter didn’t have a humane placement option for her, and euthanasia was brought up because she was still so shut down after being in my calm home for over a month. Another transition seemed like it would be really hard on her.
This was my first foster dog, and I honestly wasn’t prepared for that reality. I thought fostering would be a fun, short-term thing where you open your home to a dog until they get adopted. I didn’t realize euthanasia could still be part of the conversation, even when I was willing to foster her longer. I also didn’t fully understand how many dogs are euthanized in shelters.
Thankfully, the shelter arranged for me to continue fostering her through a rescue. The rescue got her the care she needed, including bloodwork, treatment for worms, skin infections, ear infections, and dental surgery for her broken and rotten teeth. Now she is like a whole new dog.
She finally wags her tail when she realizes I’m in the room. I just got her groomed, and this is her all tidied up. It was actually hard to get this picture because she kept trying to walk around and explore. Before, when I put her outside, she wouldn’t move because she was so scared. But for the past week, every time I brought her outside to do her business, she actually went. She used to hold everything in until she got back into her pen. I haven’t had to clean up a potty pad in a week, which is huge.
I’m so surprised by how well dogs hide their pain and how much pain can affect a dog’s personality. I’m also so impressed with how far she’s come now that she’s feeling better.
The best part of this story is that she’s been adopted, and I’m bringing her to her new forever family on Sunday. What started as a really grim and sad situation turned into such a happy story for her. She came from a background of extreme neglect, and I’m so happy she gets to live out the rest of her years without pain and in a loving home.
I was crying my eyes out when I thought I might have to bring her back to the shelter to be put down. It’s really hard knowing this is the reality for so many older, special-needs dogs with medical needs who may be seen as “not adoptable.” But this experience showed me how much can change when a dog gets the care, time, and patience they need.
This has been such a rewarding first fostering experience. I’m so proud of her and so thankful for the rescue that paid for the care she needed, and for the adoptive family who wanted to take her in ❤️