Chubby the Foster

We decided to jump into the world of fostering dogs!  At the open house for the humane society's recently acquired facility, I mentioned I would be glad to foster older dogs or ones that just need some extra TLC.  And about a week later I got a message from the organization that they had our first foster!  Chubby is a 6 year old chihuahua.  She's lived her whole life with her mom and sister and the 3 came in as owner surrenders together, but now they had been adopted out.  Chubby was having to spend her days in a crate in the break room of the humane society's current facility because it is so cold in the kennels.  

We had a huge ice/sleet/snow storm which stayed on the road for days and kept school cancelled for an entire week, so that kept me us from getting to Chubby right away.  But on March 7th we finally brought her home.  

We introduced ourselves with some dog cookies I brought along, and soon Chubby was comfortable with us.  That evening my mom, sister, and nephew came to visit.  I was worried she might be a snappy dog when she was scared, but she is great with new people!  She was cuddled up with J within just a little while of meeting him.  J brought a toy to welcome Chubby to the household.  

Chubby has settled in wonderfully!  The first night she slept in her open crate, but after that every night she has been in the bed with us.  She prefers to burrow down under the covers and lay up against one of us.  

She's very playful and full of energy, and she loves to run after her toys and retrieve them.

She did escape one time from our fenced backyard due to her tiny physique.  She just went out to the neighbors' driveway to meet their Yorkie though, and thankfully came right to me when I called.  Mr. GV has hopefully "Chubbified" the yard as of yesterday.  She loves to lay out in the sun and here she was enjoying the smells and wind in the backyard.  

Yesterday I received a message that Chubby has someone interested in her.  The lady has a teacup chi and I'm sure growing up with dogs her own size she would love a tiny friend to hang out with.  She is somewhat scared of Milo, which is understandable given his size and his energy.  She growls and bares her teeth at him if he gets too near or makes eye contact but she is now sniffing him and doesn't seem to mind laying near him, so there has been improvement after just one week.  

We have fallen in love with Chubby, but as of right now we are not planning on adopting her.  If this interested party falls through and she's here for a long while, we might not be able to give her up though! 

We want to keep fostering and we are afraid if we keep the first one we'll never be able to let any of them go, which will defeat the whole purpose.  Chubby is a healthy, young, active dog who has "prospects."  Right now there is a 12 year old feist who needs a foster.  Sadly at her age I'm not sure anyone (unless they are an oldie but goodie dog lover like me) will want to adopt her at her age.  So if she comes to stay with us she will most likely be here for life.  

Our first foray into fostering has been a great experience, and I highly recommend it!  For those of you with a love for dogs and cats who are unable to adopt due to financial reasons, fostering is generally a much cheaper way to get some doggy cuddles and kitty snuggles.  Many groups only ask that you pay for food and they take care of other expenses.  Check it out!