The Good, the Bad and the Anxious

On the good side, Sandy has been warming up to Ben. Not that she was cold on him, but I see signs of her being less shy with him. Over the past several days, she has played with Ben independent of me sitting right there next to him. A few nights ago, Ben made a vocalization, not exactly howling, but more like that 80's Little Caesar's commercial where the guy says,"Nothing's impossible. I taught my dog to say 'I love you. The dog then barks what sounds like"I love you." Sandy thought he was another dog talking to her and she responded by vocalizing and barking and wagging and running around him. Since then, she has gone over to him more often than previously and come to him for petting, etc. Of course, she has also barked at him more in a playful manner. The barking I have been discouraging and have asked Ben not to get her started with his vocalizations.

On the bad side, I caught Sandy digging in the rocks under the 2 cedar trees in the back yard. I am not sure what she was digging at, it is just limestone gravel over some dirt. I scolded her and covered the hole back up. She did it twice, but I have scolded her and I will keep watch on it and try to break that bad habit quickly.

And then there is the anxious. I dropped Sandy off today at the shelter because the shelter is open from 3-7 today and a gentleman who saw Sandy at the Tomlinson's adoption day last weekend wanted to come meet her and see if they are a good fit. My mother asked me a week or so ago if it would be hard for us and for Sandy to break the bonds we have made and for her to take to a new family. I told her that we could do it and I caught a positive glimmer of that when I dropped her off at the shelter and she was so happy to see April who she knew so well. I recall her apprehension when meeting Ben and I and how she has warmed to us and I know that fostering her in a home is positive for her and we are enjoying having her. While it will be bittersweet when we do place her and I await anxiously to see what happens today, I know that this is ultimately why we foster. Having volunteered at the shelter for 3+ years, it is hard to not fall in love with so many dogs and want to take them all home. After a while, you become inured to that desire and realize that there is a wonderful feeling of good when you can place the dogs with "a forever family" and the thing you can do by volunteering/fostering is to have a positive impact on the dogs/ease their experience while they await that eventual placement.