Pudgie Pie has been Adopted!!!

That's right...my adorable little Pudge has found her forever home.  She has a fluffy big sister (also from Fluffy Dog) that I just know she is going to annoy the pants off of.  :-)  As with every foster dog, I'm so excited to see Pudge go off to a good home.  She is so truly deserving of a forever family, that I couldn't possibly be sad for losing her myself. 

Pudge makes foster #23 that has come through my house in the last 3ish years.  I somewhat reluctantly say that I am in need of a break, so I've decided to (at least temporarily) stop fostering.  When I started this journey, I had no idea I would see that many dogs.  Sure...it didn't hurt that most of the time I had 3 fosters at once (one time I had 4 fosters, plus my own little guy!).  But that's 23 dogs and 23 families that I've seen have one of the happiest days of their lives.  Yes, there were hard times.  A few dogs I regret giving up.  Disappointment when a family was initially interested but then changed their mind.  Excitement when a dog did get adopted.  Sadness the next day when it was a little quieter around the house.  But I can honestly say that I wouldn't do any of it any differently.  My decision to take a break has nothing to do with no longer enjoying helping dogs.  I just felt now was a good time to be by myself.  As some of you may know from reading past entries, my own dog was diagnosed with Hemangiosarcoma in January.  He went through 4 months of chemo and was declared to be in remission.  Unfortunately, his cancer came back very aggressively and I had to make the tough decision to put him down on July 5th.  I was very fortunate to have Minaki and Pudge with me those first few weeks to keep me busy.  Because of that, those 2 will always have a very special place in my heart.

I can't say I'm quitting fostering forever.  But I've made the commitment to myself to be dog free at least through this winter.  If anyone reading this has ever considered fostering, I strongly recommend you do it.  It is easily one of the most fun things I have ever done.  Though I'm not going to be fostering, I will continue to post updates here on any former fosters if I get them.  And the email address will remain active, so if anyone wants to learn more about fostering, I'm happy to answer any questions!