Archive for January, 2010
Kringle found me when he was just 3 months old. He came in one frigid night in December 1984 while I brought in an armload of wood. He laid in front of the Christmas Tree undetected for some time only to be discovered like a present from Santa. Too cold and dark to find his home that night, we curled into the chair by the fire and napped on and off. The next day, I canvassed several blocks for his owner but to no avail. Al, my closest neighbor, said the little guy had been living under his porch for a week but he had no idea where the kitten had come from.
When the email arrived, Tim came away from his computer with such a sad face that I thought someone had died.
I was at the table writing holiday cards while festive music played softly in the background. Shamus, the Newf, was romping in the snow and Emmett, our foster of six months, was resting in his bed by the fire.
“Somebody is interested in Emmett,” Tim said.
I felt sick.
THE REWARDS OF FOSTERING
Fostering is one of the most rewarding experiences I have ever known. I rank it right up there with my month-long volunteer experience in Ghana. If one could measure such things, my satisfaction with fostering might rank slightly higher because, with the dogs, I know I have had an immediate, direct and positive impact on a life for the long haul.
Tim and I have had several foster dogs, each with amazing personalities and various degrees of challenges. You can read about Jack, Bill, Petey and Moo on the Dogs We’ve Fostered page. Relatively new to this list is Emmett, a high-energy Brittany mix and our toughest dog to date.
