Do you all remember my best friend Sarah and her first foster dog, Jack Rabbit? Well he got adopted after only two short weeks! Sarah very quickly got to experience the joy and heartbreak of getting a foster pet adopted. She, like me, missed her furry friend when he went to his forever home, but was excited to have her care free life back.

I was really proud of her when she started talking about fostering again (specifically I was happy that the first experience didn’t scare her away for good!). We talked a little bit about the next dog she would take, but then all of a sudden she texted me a photo of a puppy. I knew there was no way that Sarah in her right mind would agree to foster a puppy, so I asked what dog that was. Sure enough, she had volunteered to foster a three month old beagle mix from a West Virginia shelter that lost power during the hurricane.

After I did a quick mental check over to see if she’d totally lost her sanity, Sarah explained to me how she planned to handle said puppy. She has a very flexible work schedule and can even bring little dogs into work, so that covered the supervision issue. She immediately went to PetSmart and bought a whole bunch of puppy supplies including food, puppy pads and lots of chew toys, followed by her “puppy proofing” the apartment. She armed herself with lots of treats and a crate and set out to teach the puppy boundaries and manners. This time around, the puppy is not allowed on the bed and must sleep in his crate – two things Jack got away with.

She admitted to me that the first couple hours were extremely stressful, and she wasn’t sure if she could keep it up. I told her she’d had it easy with Jack because, in general, the first day or so of having a new dog is very full of, “Oh shit, what was I thinking?” thoughts.  But Sarah had a talk with her roommate, Natalie, and Natalie convinced Sarah to stick it out for a few more days, offering to help care for him. Together they would make it work and get him adopted.  Besides, after only a few hours of being in their apartment he began to settle down (and then bounce around, and then settle, and then bounce. . .).

To me their harebrained scheme sounds totally crazy – but they seem to be doing just fine so far.  The puppy’s name went from Spencer to Lincoln to I think they’ve settled on Sinatra, and he is happily living it up puppy-style in their apartment. I can almost surely say that Sarah will not be fostering a puppy again for a very long time, but for now she is learning what it takes to care for, teach and love a little wiggling three month old bundle of energy and fuzz. In her own words, he is “the love of her life and the bane of her existence.” Ah, puppies.

If you’re interested in adopting this sweet guy, email me at peacelovefoster@gmail.com.