adventures in dog-fostering

I read about fostering a dog for the holidays from the SPCA and convinced the family this would be a good deed we could do since we had no plans for the Christmas break. I didn't really know what to expect, but fostering Gobi has been a great experience!

Our adventure began December 18, 2009 when Xander, Freyja & I went after school to pick up the foster dog. There were several dogs to choose from, but after checking them out, we were drawn to the shy hound. He was shivering when they brought him out to meet us, but it did not take him long to warm up to us. Then we brought Freyja in for a meet & greet and they did well together. By the time we left, the car packed with dogs, humans & crates, the predicted snow was really coming down.

It took us over an hour to make the 15 minute drive to Pantops, but it was on our treacherous neighborhood road that the Charlottesville Snowpocalypse finally caught up to us - both of our cars wound up in the ditch. Luckily, dogs & humans were fine and we walked/slid the rest of the way home.

We found Gobi to be a very sweet and sometimes silly dog, who listens well and plays very nicely with our family.  He really enjoys going on walks, climbing snow drifts, barking at deer, chasing Freyja around the house, fetching tennis balls and snuggling on the couch.

Gobi does suffer from separation and stranger anxiety.  The separation anxiety was pretty severe at first as he would thrash and whine when left alone, but now he is taking some anti-anxiety meds and we have seen improvement every day -  especially at night when he goes into his crate.  He did not have many opportunities to meet new people - we really did have a very quiet holiday, but he did warm up pretty quickly to a friend of Xander's that visited one day.

Our adventure with Gobi is ending  on Sunday, when we take him back to the SPCA.  We hope that a family will soon discover the love, laughter and adventure that Gobi can bring into their life too!