Fosters and Rescues

I mentioned in an earlier post, how we enjoy getting Christmas cards. How they help set the mood for the holiday and how it lets us reconnect with old friends, even those we haven't seen in years. The other day a card arrived and I didn't recognize the address. It had a Virginia return address but it was from a town I wasn't familiar with. Upon opening it, we discovered that it was from the woman who had fostered one of our dogs before we adopted him. Back in 2009 we had lost our miniature schnauzer Winifred after 17 years. We still had one dog, a schnauzer mix, Rosie, that we adopted through the Mid-Atlantic Schnauzer Rescue . Ann decided she was ready for a bigger dog. One that she could take walks with. Not that you can't walk with miniature schnauzers, but they can be, shall we say, a challenge at times. I thought a second dog would be good if nothing else to be company for Rosie. Because I'm allergic to some furry animals, cats especially, it was important to pick a breed that has minimal shedding. Schnauzers had filled that bill hence why we had picked that breed in the past. As it turned out I had been donating to a local rescue organization HART - Homeless Animal Rescue Team. Occasionally I would visit their page to see what dogs were available. I came across a dog that would seem to fit the bill. He was a terrier (low shedding) and mid-size (about 45 lbs) so Ann could have a dog to walk with. He was a Wheaton terrier. We ended up adopting him this past February. Here was Scruffy on his ride home

And trying out one of our dog beds.

Anyway back to the Christmas card. In it, the former foster asked how Scruffy was doing and how he had been a favorite foster of hers. She had fostered him for just over a year. It was obvious she missed him. She asked if we could send her a picture of him. So today we broke out the camera and took a few pictures of Scruffy in front of our Christmas tree.

Ann was off camera bribing him with a treat to look her way while I took his picture. This of course drew the attention of our other dogs. Thats Emily in this picture with Scruffy.

I hope she enjoys the pictures (we sent her three). My hat is off to those who take in these unwanted pets and foster them until they can find a forever home. It must be difficult giving them up when the time comes. She did a wonderful job with Scruffy. He 's about the most well behaved, laid back dog ever. We're so glad we found him and he us.