Fostering

Well today is the 15^th of May and Smokey has been a member of our family for 8 months now. We would dearly love to be able to adopt another grey but that old money thing is just a bit tight at the moment. I would never own a pet unless I knew I could look after it for the rest of it’s life in the proper manner (vaccinations, heartworm treatment etc) So we are going to do the next best thing and foster.

I have filled in the foster application and sent it to Jillian who is the foster co-ordinator here at GAP in Sth Australia and now we have to wait for the in home interview. I am very excited and can’t wait but I will admit I am also a little nervous. Please check back soon to this page for our first foster.

June 7^th. Today Jillian Sanderson who is the foster co-ordinator for GAP in South Australia paid a visit and went through all the things that go with fostering a greyhound. Smokey had already been in a foster home before we adopted him and so it is very easy to under estimate the new things you will have to cope with when bringing a newly retired dog into an unfamiliar environment.

Jillian wanted to see how Smokey would go with other dogs in his home and bought in her 5 year old female greyhound Eemia first. He was very happy but inquisitive and showed off by running through the house.

Smokey and Eeima

Next she said she would bring in Simon her male whippet who is 6 and we would see how he handled that and again he was very well behaved but once again the batteries went on my camera, I must remember to keep some spares around. We went outside with Simon and Smokey and Simon had a sniff around the yard while Jillian held Smokey and then she let Smokey go and Simon ran off around the side of the house and Smokey ran off after him but then after a few short seconds they both came running back again. All in all I think Smokey had a lovely afternoon even though he didn’t want to eat his tea that night probably because of the excitement.

June 17^th. Well today I received wonderful news that tomorrow we will be getting our first foster dog. A female called Powder Puff ( True Snowball )

June 18^th. Well I can’t believe I’m finally a foster carer I am really looking forward to it. Powder Puff arrived today and I’m calling her Puffy for short.

She was born in Feruary of 2001 but I don’t know the date. Smokey has accepted her really well but I’m making sure he still gets heaps of attention and hugs. I also learned what the term velcro dog means today as she has been my constant companion. I am sure as she settles in she will relax and having Smokey there to will help.

At present she doesn’t understand commands such as stay or go to your bed but that shouldn’t take to long I hope. She has been great with the kids so far and laps up all the attention. She was a little unsettled on her first night and woke me twice during the night. She hasn’t woken me since and sleeps through the night on the little bed we have provided for her.

20^th June. Today the new adoptive owners of Puffy now to be known as Snow came to visit her and fell in love with her straight away. She is learning so quickly and now understands go to your bed and stay even if she doesn’t do it straight away. She has stolen all our hearts and my daughters will be broken hearted when she leaves. She was in a foster home for a week before she came to us and Snow was tested there with cats and was great with them but they frightened her.

Well you know that saying you can lead a horse to water but you can’t make him drink. Snow has really taken to Samantha’s flip out sofa and prefers to sleep on that more that the soft bed and quilt we have given her.

24^th June. Well I found out that Snow will be leaving us tomorrow for her new home as she has settled right down and seeing as her new home is ready and waiting and they have a little Cavalier x Maltese to keep her company she should settle quickly. I have taken her to the vet today and got her weighed so the new owners can keep track of her weight which is 29.3kgs.

25^th June. Jillian collected Snow today and asked how my first fostering experience went and did I enjoy it. Enjoy it! I loved it and I’m looking forward to the next one but I have to remember that the next one may come straight from a racing kennel and will be totally different to Snow. I hope I’ll be up to the challenge. Snow was only with us for 8 days and I hope she will be a good girl in her new home. I’m sure Smokey will miss her.

18^th of July. Today are 2^nd foster girl arrived her name is Cindy and she never raced and has no race name. She was born on the 27^th of August 1999 so she is nearly four. She is a very gentle little girl and she is black with a tiny patch of white on her chest.

19^th of July. Well Cindy is getting on well with young and old alike. She is getting on very well with Smokey. She woke me up a few times last night but she has come from the country so the suburbs are a bit of a shock. Also the neighbours were having a party last night so that was strange to her to.

She loves to be near you all the time.

20^th of July. Well our good little girl slept through the night last night and today Smokey has even let her share his bed when she feels the need to be close to him. She loves our girls and she has been very calm and gentle around them. She knows her name very well and had been with another foster carer called Joanne as she has small animal, cats, ferrets, small dogs and even rabbits. Cindy apparently got on well with all of these animals.

21^st of July. I had to leave Cindy alone with Smokey today while I went to the shop and was only gone about ½ an hour. When we got home she greeted the girls and myself like we had been gone a whole day. Later that afternoon I had to go to the airport and she was alone for 2 1/2 hours there was no damage done or mess in the house but she must have been looking for me as all the curtain netting was caught up in places it shouldn’t have been so she had had her head underneath it and was looking out the window.

30^th of July. Poor Cindy was spayed today and came home very sore and very down in the dumps. I hope she is feeling a lot better soon as it is so upsetting to see her feeling so bad.

8^th of September well today after 7 weeks Cindy has left us she was supposed to be going to a new home but that unfortunately fell through. She has gone to be with another foster home as my eldest daughter was getting very attached. Cindy is such a darling it won’t be long before she finds her forever home.

7^th of November. Today my new foster girl Jenny arrived. She is a lovely little red fawn girl. She is settling in very well and loves Smokey already. She is only little and weighs about 25 kilo’s. She has just turned 2.

9^th of November. Jenny has really made herself at home and loves my girls she is already roaching and loves living life as a pet. She is eating well.

14th ^of November. Jenny went to be spayed today and complications set in. She will not be returning to us straight away but will go back to her owner/trainer while she gets better.

24^th of November. Well today Jenny is back with us and she is well. Jenny nearly died after her operation but she is a strong girl and fought hard. I think her and Smokey are both pleased to see each other again.

30^th of November. Well today was the annual Christmas GAP BBQ. There were lots of greys there and a few other breeds to. Jenny came along to and she doesn’t know it yet but some people that were there that are on the waiting list saw her and will be adopting her.

2^nd of December. Jenny left us today to go for her cat testing. She played with 2 other greys and 2 whippets. She saw the cats but wasn’t interested at all. She will be in her new home before Christmas and will be living with 2 chickens.

1^st of February. Well we had a nice break over Christmas and are now back into fostering mode. I hope all that visit our site had a very Merry Christmas too. Today my first foster boy arrived his name is Sabby and he is a beautiful big black boy. He is 33 kilo’s and will be 4 on May the 1^st.

3^rd of February. Sabby has settled well and went for a walk with Smokey today he is a delight on the lead and took all the new surroundings in his stride. He knows that Smokey is the Alpha dog but keeps pouncing around him like a puppy.

5^th of February. Sabby has settled in well and is roaching all over the lounge room. Pictures may be a little slow coming as my digital camera was accidentally dropped and I am saving for a new one.

11^th of March. Today Sabby went to his forever home. He passed his cat training with flying colours and is now happily living with 2 young children and 2 cats. One an Oriental and the other a Siamese.

I must say a big thanks to my hubby who bought me a new digital camera and so now I can take some more photo’s.

23^rd of March. Well I am now the new foster coordinator in South Australia along with Wendy and today we went to collect my new foster boy Bingo. He turns 2 today and is a wonderful boy. He is still very unsure of things in the house and wouldn’t even step onto his bed for the first 5 hours, much preferring to sleep on the carpet. He is a lovely big white boy with a little black on his tail and some black ticking.

29^th of March. Well Bingo is settling in very well after his first week. His first night he paced for hours and a little on the second night but after that he has slept straight through. He is a fairly big eater but that’s okay because he will need a bit more weight on him before he goes to be neutered.

2^nd of April. Bingo went to the vet’s today and came through his little op okay. He has slept quite a lot and was very wobbly on his feet but still managed to eat 2 cups of dry food and 4 chicken necks.