a tale of tails, tenacity, and tedium, as told by me, usually barefoot and bellowing

Monday, August 24, 2009

Did A One Eighty...

Did not buy a dog, did not get a pound puppy either. Decided that maybe my see-sawing dog wishes were not because I wanted a dog but because I could work with them and make better pets.

Here is my first foster dog! ICARE in this county has more dogs than they have foster homes. They have had great success adopting to many different states.

This is my mission to help Gypsy Rose Lee, that's right, Gypsy Rose Lee, become a better settled, better trained pet for adoption.

Knew she loved water when I gave her a drink after I picked her up and she stuck half her head into the bucket and blew giant air bubbles.
So guess where her first romp was At The Farm? Gypsy loved it! She snuffled, she blew bubbles, she drank, she cavorted and just had a good time all around.

Of course there was the traditional butt sniffing but Gypsy was more eager to play than sniff or be sniffed.
I have discovered a few things. She loves children, does well with dogs, does not meet a stranger but I suspect Gypsy has never seen a cow or a horse. She was quite intimidated and I had to carry the big galoot past the cows the first time.. She is interested in cats and chickens but I corrected her and moved her to another area. We shall have to work on that a bit at a time.

We definitely know for sure, she loves water! Gypsy kept going back to the water, in the water, around the water, though the water and had, I think, a glorious time. Gypsy comes when called so that is a plus for starting out. I could allow her off leash in this area.

Gypsy ran as if she had never been free but always came when I whistled. Now she is quietly laying behind me on a rug after having her second walk of the evening.

I do not know her breed but she has hound in her. Since she is marked like our Border Collies but has short hair, big paws and giant ears, I am dubbing her a Border Hound, a new designer breed.
(We no longer call them mutts or mixed breeds but designer breeds, now isn't that elegant? It doesn't matter what the father or mother was, breeders out there, listen up. When it is not the same breed, it is a MUTT!)

I thought, in addition to the regular light training of come, sit, stay, heel, I should introduce her to house training since more than likely Gypsy will become some one's house dog. My goal is to make her calm-submissive in the words of the great dog whisperer, to make her accept all the animals here with no aggression toward them, and to remain the wonderful people person she is.

Gypsy will be spayed tomorrow. She had ticks and fleas...a lot!...that has been taken care of and she has ear mites which will be eliminated in a couple of days with medicine.

Welcome to my adventure in the land of fostering an animal for adoption. May I train her well and may she find a wonderful forever home with ICARE's help.

Put the word out there, guys, I got a good dog for adoption! If Gypsy is not what you are looking for check out ICARE's home page.

10 comments:

Rudee said...

You are amazing! Gypsy is a lucky dog.

ShirleyAnn said...

What a great idea. Gypsy is a beautiful dog. Maybe I should have done that instead of getting Charlie, our Maltese....he is a handful.

The W.O.W. factor! said...

Gail! This is amazing what you are doing! I'm afraid I'd foster...and foster..and foster and they'd never leave becuz I couldn't let them!
You have our hands full~pleasantly! Wanna swap places for awhile???

Patricia said...

what a great idea...Gypsy is one lucky dog...what a place to romp in...new things to learn, and personal attention.
A Border Hound...good

Melanie said...

Good for you!!! Fostering and adopting unwanted dogs is so rewarding. And she seems like such a nice girl...
:)

SkippyMom said...

Nice choice! I wish I could give you a big ol' hug right now - it is such a great thing you are doing. She looks like a real sweetie and will be a wonderful companion soon to a new family.

Kudos!

Irene said...

Heck, Gail, I'd take her in a minute if I could. She looks like a great dog. Good for you. You're doing something very worthwhile. That dog will love you, already does, probably.

Gennasus said...

She seems to be a great dog and is obviously loving it at yours. Well done for fostering. Not sure how I'd cope, it must be very difficult to pass them on, especially if you've turned them into your perfect dog.

Good luck with Gypsy.

Unknown said...

She looks like she will be easy to place.

We have two pets from shelters, and I often wonder how they came to be unwanted.

Whiskers and Silver are great.

Carla said...

Oh, I really think you have hit the nail on the head! Now you have a baby to mother, and nurture! You really think Miss Gypsy will ever want to leave?

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