Talk about getting thrown in at the deep end! Sarah Starbird, one of Dogwood’s wonderful fosters, had decided in early 2018 that she strongly believed in the mission of fostering and that Dogwood was the place. But she didn’t expect that her first two (and so far only) fosters would be Logan, a sweet puppy from Lake County, who had been hit by a car and badly injured, and puppy Bruno, who would turn out to have Parvovirus.
Logan was first and was relatively easy, needing to be kept quiet while he was healing. His first week with her, during which he needed to be kept quarantined from her three other dogs, Logan was kept in the spare bedroom with his crate. Sarah slept in there with him at night and once quarantine was over, Logan was moved into the main bedroom with the other dogs, all older and very friendly towards him. Once Logan was fully healed, the perfect family showed up to adopt him.
Bruno was a much more complicated story, and a potential heart-breaker. He came in as a puppy, delivered very late at night and with a possible case of giardia. Things quickly turned south and by Friday afternoon Bruno was very lethargic, suffering from diarrhea and vomiting. After touching base regularly with Hannah Houston, the decision was made to take Bruno to Dr. Capurro – by then he was a very sick puppy. He couldn’t keep food down and was declining rapidly. Sarah undertook a regular regimen of sub-q fluids but despite her best efforts, her husband came home from work and noticed how dramatically Bruno had gone downhill in just one day. With a temperature of 107, he needed to be admitted to PetCare emergency fast! During his five days there, Bruno starting eating a bit, a huge victory since he had gone almost ten days without eating. By that time, Sarah knew she was not ready to ever let him go – a foster fail!
This was a hard decision for her since she had made a commitment to foster, but she also knew that she couldn’t ever let Bruno go. He brought her so much joy. Sarah admits that this is her addiction; she bonds to animals in need. She is thrilled to have connected to Dogwood and to have found a way to contribute around her passion.
With a full house now, Sarah has moved on to reviewing adoption applications for Dogwood, and is amazed by the fact that the perfect people just keep turning up at the right time for Dogwood’s adoptables!
That sure is one funny looking kitten! Probably Toni Welch-Hiner’s first reaction when she met Owen the lamb, her new foster. A new experience for this long-term foster family, but one that Toni’s daughter was eager for; she had always wanted some sheep and this seemed like a relatively “easy” way to get their fix. But Owen was a steep learning curve, although help from neighbors who had sheep made things a bit easier. Owen arrived at 1week old and only 6 pounds.
Once they are settled, there is a real schedule, with weights being taken and tracked on a spreadsheet several times a week. This data gives you a real sense of who’s thriving and who isn’t….and Tiny Peggy wasn’t. It becomes a constant process of constantly adjusting feeding (Peggy’s litter had been started on cow’s milk and that needed to be replaced with KMR kitten formula, and then gradually adding in Wellness kibble and canned food when they are ready (and when you’re ready for a real mess at feeding time!). Transitional kittens tend to get more food on themselves than they do in themselves…now kittens, we EAT the food, not WALK in it!. These foster parents know all the cleaning tricks from the right kind of towels (yellow microfiber from Costco) to how to get 6 kittens clean and dry after a feeding and before they all fall asleep. The age of the kittens drives the feeding schedules, with the very young ones receiving food every 3 hours and older ones on slightly longer intervals. (Makes you appreciate that Momma’s work is never done!)
The work may at times seem endless, and your heart can be broken when not everything goes as planned…but what better reward than knowing you’ve saved lives, found these sweet little creatures loving homes, and had weeks and weeks of kitten joy and laughter along the way!
Meanwhile, “back at the ranch,” Shirley Zindler, Hannah Houston and other volunteers are setting up for the new arrivals so they can be checked, wormed, vaccinated, and settled for the night in soft, warm beds.
Early the next morning we were back at it and finally had several sightings called in from one area a couple of miles from where she was lost. It was encouraging to see how many volunteers and friends arrived to search and post fliers. For the next four hours we walked the trails and paths nearby and drove all the surrounding roads over and over but there were no further sightings.
My leashes were all in the car so I scooped her up and started walking back toward the road, my cheek pressed to her fur. I was sobbing so hard I startled her and had to pull myself together for her sake. We were soon joined by her other foster Alex who also had a touching reunion with her before she was reunited with her frantic adopter.
we get requests for help every day, sometimes many times a day. The scenarios are endless and the people calling range from desperate to demanding. We provide rescue and spay/neuter services based on the number of volunteers and resources we have. We are a foster-home based rescue, and we can only take in as many animals as we have homes to care for them. We help as many as we can but we have to say no a lot too.
Like having a child, the question when to get a dog can be put off endlessly if contemplated long enough. Is there ever a “good” time to throw ones life into this kind of turmoil? Best not to think about it too much.
The tiny infant wiggles in my hand, eager for her feeding. Her eyes and ears are still shut tight at two weeks of age. Her senses are reduced to the basics. She can feel the warmth of my hands holding her, and will be able to smell and taste the warm milk that she’s waiting for. Her hair is getting longer, the distinct white stripes are striking against the shiny black coat. There is even a little white stripe down the middle of her petite little face. Weighing in at only a few ounces, the baby skunk is a perfect miniature of the adult she will someday be. There is already a slightly sweet, musky odor to her coat, not unpleasant, but a hint of her future arsenal.
hirley didn’t try to get me to adopt a puppy but we spent a great deal of time together after that, walking her dogs around the back field, listening to her stories and telling her mine in the world of San Francisco feral cat trapping and ‘on the road’ dog rescue. We were building a friendship on the shared experiences and our love of animals.
And every night since that dog has sat between Larry’s feet on that footstool. 9 years worth of ball games and races and naps. We now have 2 dogs, HooverDog, the puppy I first saw at Shirley’s house and Elsie May, a pit mix who didn’t have the best puppy-hood. (But she is another story for another time.)
Growing up surrounded by animals – horses, guinea pigs, birds, cats, DOGS (so many special dogs), it was a rude awakening to graduate from college, move to San Francisco and wake up each day pet-less. Something was missing. In a matter of months I sought to remedy the situation by getting myself a kitten, and raising her to be the best dog a cat can be. Sushi has been my companion for over seven years and I adore her, and she ALMOST filled the dog shaped hole in my life, but not quite.
Today he admits that Charlotte is the exact dog he would pick. There’s nothing a “real dog” would do that Charlotte can’t do. She just happens to be more portable and easier to bathe! She is such a fit for our life – she goes to Tahoe and bounds through the snow, she goes camping and oyster shucking, and wine tasting, and holds her own playing fetch with dogs three times her size at the beach, and doesn’t quite hold her own in wrestling matches with Sushi.
Animal Rescue and I have been friends for well over 13 years. It began when I was going through a rough patch in my life and became addicted to watching the Animal Control Officers Rescue shows. Then one day I got off the couch and said to myself “So what are YOU doing to help?” That evening I applied to foster for many rescues but the one that fit my personality the most was a boxer rescue.
When I mentioned this in passing to the Kennel Manager at Sonoma County Animal Services, she said “oh you must call Shirley” and she gave me her cell phone number. So I did. As it turned out this pregnant boxer was one of my most horrifying and rewarding cases I have ever dealt with. You see, the mother had an undiagnosed heart issue and died leaving my friend and I with 9, only day old puppies and very little experience. This meant feeding 9 puppies every 4 hours, helping them eliminate, keeping them warm but not too warm, being sure they where gaining weight, and knowing when they were failing. I was at a loss… clearly overwhelmed… and deeply saddened by the loss of the fabulous boxer mom.
I feel blessed to be in rescue helping those who couldn’t help themselves. Meeting the fabulous animals and people in rescue. Seeing the completion of families and the beginning of best friendships with their new four legged companions. The fosters forgiving their pasts and beginning their new lives forever changed is truly wonderful. If I could wag my tail I would because from the day Shirley texted me “how are things?” till this day forward I knew Shirley was a friend for life. A life saver. What I have received will always out weigh what I have given. Thank you Shirley Zindler, I am so proud to call her my friend.
Years ago, my daughter and I fostered puppies for Second Chance Rescue. We failed with the first foster puppy – we just had to adopt Taffy! I’m not sure why, out of the 20 or so puppies we fostered, we had to have this one. It might have been her short, stumpy, sawed off legs, her tiny ears on her big head, or the fact that all her parts were such a beautiful unsymmetrical mess! It also didn’t hurt that she was as sweet as they come and as soft as a chinchilla.
the photos and videos; a child opens a gift box and out comes the most adorable puppy or kitten in the world! The best gift ever, right? This is a long debated subject in the animal world and often thought to be a terrible idea. However, in recent years, many shelters & rescue organizations have changed their position and policies on giving pets as gifts. They’ve found that the majority of the time, an animal given as a gift, finds responsible, loving, caring homes.
you adopt from an animal shelter or rescue group, you are saving the life of two animals, the one you adopted and one that you just created space for. Please adopt.
tiful September morning three years ago when my sweet husband asked me how I would like to spend my birthday. That was easy, I wanted to start with a walk on Dillon (off leash) beach with our two dogs. As it happens so often in life, I had no idea that decision was going to slowly change my life for the better.
lled out, “friend me on facebook”! And Paul made a little joke about her 400 fb friends!
walks started spontaneously with just the two of us and a pack of dogs. Shirley would pick me up in the “clown car” with 4 or 5 dogs and my 2 would jump right in, and off we’d go. On the way home, we would stop in Tomales at the deli and split a turkey sandwich, and bet each other we couldn’t get the sandwich guy to smile! (Now he has our sandwich waiting for us with a big smile on his face!) Shirley would post all her fabulous photos of our fun morning on fb, and soon other women began showing up and joining us on Monday mornings. Now our ritual has become somewhat famous with 20 dogs at times running and playing on the beach! It’s therapy for all and a great way to start the week!
So we had this idea…to provide support for Shirley Zindler, author of The Secret Life of Dog Catchers, who works tirelessly ~ day in & day out in Sonoma County, California to help animals with the greatest needs.