Why I Foster

this is the Stevie Story by Donna B Harmon

My foster was only to her new home about 3 weeks before I received Stevie. Stevie was blind. I received a call from Jane the Foster Coordinator that the Portsmouth Humane Society took in a blind crème golden. She had been wandering the streets of Portsmouth when she was picked up. The shelter was full and needed to have her out. They called SEVA so Jane and I went to pick her up. She was filthy, smelly and missing hair on her back, legs and around her eyes. She looked like she had two black eyes. She walked with an odd gate. Kind of like she was feeling her way with her front and back legs. We had no problem at all getting her in the car. We used steps to guide her into the car. We took her to Two Brothers Dog Wash to give her a bath. The dirt just rolled off her. She was very good getting the bath considering everything she had been thru that day, wandering the street, the shelter, then the car ride and a bath. It was no wonder she was tired and a bit grumpy when we got her to my house. We tried to get good pictures of her but that is next to impossible with a blind dog because they don’t look at you. Their nose is to the ground. How can you not love a dog that needs your love, attention and care.

She was crated after we got home just to give her a sense of her own space. She was great. Went in and out fine. She was taken out of the crate and guided to the side door to be let out as well as guided on the deck to the grass. She would have her head down and touch things with her body and smell where she was going. I would stomp loudly on the deck for her to follow and that is all that it took. After that first outing, she did it again all by herself without guidance. My Golden Sandy knew right away that this foster was special, and something was wrong with her. Sandy let her do her own thing. Sandy bumped into her accidently and Stevie let her know not to do that anymore.

After the first night in the crate, I started gating her in the kitchen. She adjusted nicely. I would talk to her when I would go in the kitchen so she would know that someone was around her. All I would have to do is make a noise on her metal bowl and she would come over to eat. once she was shown the route from the kitchen to the door she would go automatically when she heard it open.

After a few days Jane came for a visit, and we let her loose in the house. It was amazing how easy it seemed for her to navigate on her own. And after that there was no putting the gate back to keep her in the kitchen. She had the complete run of the house and she easily adapted to the environment. She would sleep on the rug beside my bed every night.

We took her to Cooke Vet within a few days of arriving and they informed us that she had cataracts, and they could possibly be removed, and she might see. We then took her to Animal Eye Care, and they did a lot of tests on her. We were informed that they could do surgery and she might have her eyesight back. She had

Stevie heading to her foster home Stevie can see

Stevie recovering from eye surgery

Stevie

the surgery and can see out of one eye. The other one was too far gone with the cataract.

She has now gone to her forever home with Christine and her husband. They have been great getting her thru the eye surgery and she also had a dental cleaning and growth removed from her gum. Christine and her husband are wonderful with Stevie who they renamed Charlotte.

She is one of my many successful foster stories. I have had forever fosters which is difficult because the end is always rough. You can have them for quite a while or a short period of time. I had to take a break for a while when I lost 3 in a row. But I was back at it after a few months. It is wonderful to give these dogs the love and attention that they should have had all their life. I have loved each and everyone, even the difficult ones that were hard to find a home for. There is a forever home out there for every dog. This is why I foster, to give the assistance, love, and guidance in order to be ready for their new forever home. It is extremely rewarding for me. I cry when each one leaves. It is rough to let them go but knowing you got them off to a good start to their new life is fantastic.

Stevie by Christine Shultis

ifirst met her at her foster’s house. She was a strikingly, old time movie star blond… but she was blind. Do I want to adopt a blind dog? I wasn’t even sure I knew how to care for a blind dog, but we also had hope that her vision could be restored. I let Jane know of my hesitation which gave me time to think about it. Why not me? I said I wanted an older dog and I didn’t mind giving medication, but blind? After a short time I decided I would take her in to FTA (foster-toadopt) if she got along with my dachshund and my cat. When she came to my house for a visit and a get to know you, she didn’t seem to mind my dog or cat at all. But then she could not see them although I know she could smell them. So, she stayed.

She was scheduled for surgery on one eye to remove her cataract. Surgery went well and she can now see from her left eye. No reaction when she actually saw my dog and she passed the cat test. Her SEVA GRREAT name is Stevie and you may have seen her pictures on Facebook. I have to say she has fit in even better than I hoped. We are now working on some training. She does not like to sit, but she will after much encouragement and a treat. When walking, she sometimes goes in front and sometimes falls behind or goes to the side, but she is getting better. Stevie (now Charlotte) just needs to get used to my pace.

She eats everything I give her (except strawberries, apples and blueberries, not a fan of fruit but she does like bananas), and I do give her a big variety of foods. She has 2 very small white pills to take once a day, so I hid them in a tablespoon of white yogurt and mixed it in her food. Wouldn’t you know it, but she ate around these two very small pills and left them in the bowl. We have since found other ways to fool her into taking her pills.

She even tolerates getting her eye drops, with a treat afterward.

Charlotte is fitting into our home nicely (she was officially adopted in September) and we are lucky to have her.

In praise of a foster dog You give us your paw & Your cinnamon eyes speak A sadness only you know of, but There is hope here We watch you run for the first time All awkward —all joy — Discovering how your legs work in rhythm Golden honey tumbling in the grass Celebrating this moment Finding freedom under the sun & there have been bad days, but We do not give up on you We don’t know what you’ve been through We only know that you are so afraid & That you tremble sometimes, but Nobody will hurt you here With steady love Steady love Steady love Soothe the shaking & slowly The walls break down We cup your head in our hands & you are not afraid anymore

–by Anne Sparow