Dogs On Thursday: Reunion

We love to keep up with our foster pups, and are very lucky that 5 out of the 6 families who have adopted one of our fosters have kept in touch with us. We have had a standing invitation to visit with Annie and her family. They live about an hour away, so it took us awhile to make our way to their piece of the prairie but we had the chance to visit with them this weekend.
Look how much this beautiful girl has grown!

April, 2007 - 4 months

January, 2008 - 1 year old

When we pulled up, they had her outside where she was playing in the snow. When she heard Mr. C call her, she ran over and almost knocked us down - she remembered us!

We had both calmed down at this point

What a great smile!

There was all sorts of yipping and happy whining and little kisses going on. When we went inside, she took turns laying by each of us, sneaking in little licks and nibbles, smiling the whole time. She was very diplomatic and would go to each person for a bit before moving on to the next person, sharing the big puppy love with everyone.

We heard all of the sweet and funny stories they had about her. My favorite was how she loves to nibble - she unties shoelaces and if you take your shoes off, she'll gently grab the end of your sock and take it off. She got hold of her 2-legged sister's stuffed teddy bear and carefully took it's clothes off, laid them in a pile on the floor, and then proceeded to rip it's stuffing out! Such a dainty little girl!

To say she is the most spoiled member of that family is not exaggerating - she is lavished with love and attention. She has the best kind of life a dog could want - she is actively included as part of a large, dog-loving extended family, with a huge backyard, has playdates with lots of doggy friends & cousins, and even gets to sleep in bed with her mom and dad. She is just full of joy and love and I hope it never changes for her.

They told us about this one new quirk of hers that we couldn't imagine, so they sent us the picture to prove it - Annie thinks she's a bird!


After making pests of ourselves for a couple of hours, it was time to go. Annie had come outside with everyone to see us off. She knew we were leaving - she jumped up and put her paws on our shoulders and gave us both kisses - I almost started to cry. Then she turned around and ran inside and laid down in her spot by the door, as if to say, "It was great seeing you, but I'm staying here with my family!"

And then we got an update from Cody/Oscar's proud parents. Cody was the smallest of the 3 runts from our first group of fosters, but was the scrappiest of the four.

Cody/Oscar - 6 weeks old

Cody/Oscar - 4 months old

When he was adopted, he was barely half the size of his Aussie shepherd/BC mix sister.

Our foster-pony (1 year old)

When you foster, a piece of your heart goes with each dog when they're adopted. It's a bittersweet experience and it's so reassuring to know this dog you have cared for is being so loved and treasured. It's why we're going to do it again. Soon, I hope.