YOU All Were Right!

As I prepare for a quick overnight trip today, that I'll tell you about next time, I wanted to give you an update on Leo.

I appreciated your thoughts about the path that Leo should take to his forever home. Those of you that reluctantly thought that Family #3 was the best choice for him, were right. They WERE the family that I had chosen for Leo. Personally, I liked them very much. They are a really nice, fun couple and I know they are a good home. But I will confess, that I had a nagging feeling that I couldn't quite get rid of. Even as I talked about "being sure" about the decision, deep inside, I knew, but wouldn't admit, that I was trying to convince myself.

Leo has a storm phobia. We knew about this from his previous family, and it was discussed at length with every family interested in him. One of the reasons I chose "Family #3" was because they felt confident with being able to manage it. However, on Thursday night, we had a pretty bad storm that included thunder and lighting, and it gave me an unvarnished view of how Leo reacts during them. He was pawing at me, digging at corners as he tried to get into the smallest of spaces, and pacing and panting. Nothing and I mean nothing I could do, or did, consoled or reassured him. Once the medication that he takes for them started to work, he settled down and we were both able to get a little rest.

I told Family #3 about what had happened. And I received an e-mail that said:

Thank you for being honest in your evaluation of Leo's fear.  We spent a good part of the day talking about this and we have decided that we are not able to manage him.  We didn't understand the full extent of his fear.  We thought it could be managed with a thunder vest and comfort from a human.  Our experience with pets with anxiety has been that human touch calmed him down enough to rest and sleep. We are concerned about what will happen should a storm come up while we are away.  At this time of COVID of course we aren't away much but at some point this will end and we will occasionally be away for several hours. We are sorry and we want you to know that we made this decision with heavy hearts.  We do feel that this would not be a good fit for us thereby not being a good fit for Leo.  He is a sweet boy who needs the right home.  

Looking back on all of this, it's all been a reminder to pay attention and listen to that inner voice, and even listen to YOU the readers of this blog.

So, where does this take us? We are lucky to have great support from the rescue and resources to tap into. With that, I'm feeling optimistic that we can find something that will help Leo going forward through this "stormy season."

Thank-you for cheering Leo on.  

Two Adoptions

Thank you all for your thoughts about the path that Leo should take. You've helped more than you'll ever know.  By the weekend, I'll have an update about his new forever home.

Until them, I want to tell you about two of our Lab Fosters, who have found their own forever homes in the last couple of weeks.

To start, remember the nearly 15 year old girl, Maya who came to us in early March? I didn't write much about her. She was mostly in the background, just going with the flow. A true gem, and I never thought that there would be anyone that would want to adopt her because of her age. Wrong! 

~Maya on the day we met, March 11, 2020~

Two retired police officers who live not too far from me, did. With 2 other Labs, Retired Police Lady had a dream of adopting a senior girl, and Maya was perfect, and they were perfect for her. So, she left us almost 3 weeks ago. Of course I miss having her with us. But she's doing really well, and has settled in nicely into her new life with her new family.

~Maya at her new home~ 

This brings us to our foster girl Hannah, who came to us in February. She was a stray from a West Virginia shelter. When she was turned over to Lab Rescue it was discovered that she is heartworm positive and has multiple mammary tumors. After her medical needs were addressed we were hoping that despite that she is "hospice" someone would fall in love and want to adopt her.

~Hannah, on the day we met~

It turns out, that someone did, and that was us. We have officially adopted Hannah. Sure, there were calls from other people interested in adopting Hannah. But I managed to talk them out of her for one reason or another. I realized that I was doing it because my heart wasn't in placing her. Given how I feel about Hannah, along with her health, I just didn't think it was fair for her to make a change. So, Hannah is ours. And she is Lab-Rescue-Foster-Fail number 5 in 5 years. I couldn't be happier.

Who Do YOU LIKE for Leo?

One the things that has kept me busy the last two weekends is meeting families for our foster boy Leo. Yes, of course, there was the thought about keeping him for ourselves. But I just feel that we are once again, the gateway to get dogs like Leo to where they are supposed to be. 

Of course, there was a lot of interest in Leo. But I was able to narrow it down to 4 families that I thought could possibly be a match for him. I've now met them all. Two family's we met last weekend in the backyard of a friend who was kind enough to let us use it while they were out of town.

Below is a summary that comes along with a home visit report from the adoption coordinator for the rescue, and I've added how our visits went.

So, tell me, who do YOU LIKE for Leo? 

Family #1

Summary: A 70 year old gentleman that lives in a fenced house. He is semi-retired and rarely gone long hours. He has had three previous Goldens; one is a 4 yr old NM who lives with his ex and the other two have since passed at ages 12 and 14. He has a large collection of valuable art, some plants, slippery floors and bare stairs. He recently had knee surgery. He likes to visit with his neighbors and their dogs and use dog parks. His son will help with any walks.

THE VISIT:  Leo liked the man "okay" but clearly liked his son who came along with him, better. *HE* and his son took Leo for a walk.  HE was concerned about Leo's walking on a leash, because Leo doesn't heal, and *HE* was concerned about possibly tripping over Leo. He had brought with him a couple of toys and a bag of treats for Leo. He also showed me 2 pronged collars that he'd used on his other dogs to help them to learn to walk easily on a leash.

Family #2

Summary: A family with 2 children (girls) 7 and 9. Live in an unfenced house that backs to woods. They are thinking about getting an electric fence and it appears that they think that will contain a dog unsupervised, please check. They work from home and are rarely gone long hours. This will be their first dog and they want one that's smaller. Their cat hissed and growled at the volunteers dog. There were lots of toys and the kids were overly excited. There are slippery floors and the dog will not be allowed on the furniture.

THE VISIT: Went pretty well.  The younger girl tried to "ride" Leo like a horse. But he didn't mind and loved their attention.  This scenario is closely to what Leo knew before. They are very nice, open to advice because they don't know much about dogs.They felt that Leo would be okay to be taken out just 3 times, and the MOM was concerned about his hair, and mentioned giving him a good summer haircut.

Family #3  - I was not able to snap a photo of them walking Leo

Summary: Live in an unfenced house. There is a catchment pond through the woods. *SHE* is a homemaker and *HE* is currently working from home so their dog would rarely be alone long hours. They are previous adopters of *** who passed at age 13. Their daughters high-energy 7 yr old Border Collie is a frequent visitor. In the past they have had other Rescued Goldens that they have moved overseas and back with. The main level is hardwood floors with area rugs.

THE VISIT: Leo warmed up to them the longer we were together. At first, he kept coming back to me, but I really think it was because he was confused about why we were at a park. They were very easy to talk to, very relatable, and clearly their dogs are part of the family. I'll remind you that Leo has a storm phobia, that he takes medication for when the storms approach. They've dealt with storm issues and countersurfer's like Leo.

FINALLY FAMILY #4

Summary: Retired Couple, both 67 years old. Unfenced house on lakefront property. Both are retired and rarely gone long hours.They do not allow their dogs in the bedroom so he or she will need to sleep on the main floor. They have had three previous Goldens, all of whom have since passed away at ages 8, 9, 14. They have Grandkids and Granddogs that visit, plants, and slippery floors.

THE VISIT: Also went well. Leo liked them, but they also didn't like how Leo pulls on a leash when walked. As you read above, Leo wouldn't be allowed everywhere in the house. They think that his storm phobia can be managed by taking a more analytical approach to it. And in talking to them, I think they do this with their dogs. They said this in an e-mail to me last evening, "Regarding storms, his fear is probably more basic. We would need to provide the feeling of a safe haven and help him when he's fearful."  For the record, in what I've read about Leo, it's not basic. His previous family indicated that it had been escalating to his being a bit destructive. I think it's important to manage it correctly so that it doesn't get worse.

So, again, who would you pick?  I've already decided against two, and have almost but not quite made up my mind, but I always love to hear your thoughts!

Hello and Good-Bye to Chip

Hello Blogging Friends!

On the off chance that any of you are still reading my blog after not being present for the past 3+ weeks, I'll start by saying that I'm so glad you have stopped by! I'll also say that all that's been happening behind the scenes, my fight or flight response kicked in with a vengeance, and I chose "flight" and hid myself away from social media to recharge.

~Greenhouses, a perfect place to socially distance & recharge!~

I'm feeling better, and ready to tell you all that's happening. To not take away from the events and take too much of your time, I'll break it into smaller posts this week.


I have to begin with telling you about the loss of Chip last Friday, May 8th. His battle, our battle together against bone cancer was not one that we knew we would or could win. But I'd hoped that we'd have more time to try. It was not meant to be. Managing the pain that this type of cancer always brings, became nearly impossible. And I'd promised him ............

The picture below is the last one of Chip that I took. There was a peace about him as he sat there looking and smiling at me. Time stood still in that perfect moment - And before it ended, I quickly took this picture. Looking at it now, how everything changed so quickly afterwards, maybe he was telling me everything he wanted me to know.

~The very last photo of Chip~

Chip left this life for the next on the peace of our front porch as two hummingbirds I've not seen much since, buzzed around us. Chip's life had been one filled with so many things that made him afraid. I'm grateful that for two years we were able to show him that the world was not one to always be fearful and afraid of. I'm grateful that he learned about being part of a family. I'm grateful that he learned about companionship. I'm grateful he learned about treats, warm beds, toys and being carefree and loved.  I'm grateful he was part of our lives.

Despite those fears, Chip had such a gentle, kind, trusting heart and soul. And, I know that he trusted us. His color for our rainbow can only be one color, and that's blue. Blue is often associated with trust, depth and stability and it symbolizes confidence, and heaven.  He had all those things.

On Saturday I heard the song Tin Man, by America, and the words,

"Oz never did give nothing to the Tin Man, That he didn't, didn't already have" 

reminded me of Chip. Someone had said that we'd given Chip so much. But I don't think so. He already had everything and so much more inside him. We just helped him to find it.

~A first photo of Chip in June 2018~