First, we have to travel back in time to adopting the boy (Ferris or Ferryman). When we adopted him, and his Mama Karen explained to us how far he had come, we knew that rescue pups were worth their weight in gold. There is also no dog more loving than one who has been rescued and showed what love is. I may ask her to share his story one day, because I will never be able to do that story its justice. I knew that one day, we would begin to foster for Houston Collie Rescue.
While Shelby was originally my sister's, but I went and stayed with her a whole lot, we adopted her right before we got married. She is a gem. This dog only knows what it means to love and be loved. A little snapshot of her personality. Shelby is a goober. She loves everyone, but especially Grandpa (Jared's Dad), Grandma (Jared's Grandma who lived with us for 10 months after Hurricane Harvey), and this girl loves her vet, Dr. McIntrye and all those sweet people who work with her. The most recent instance of this love of her vet knowing no bounds. We have come home & the puppies smelling like the vets office & Shelby would go pout when we got home. Well, sweet pea decided to pull the I will not eat and I'm gonna puke all night stunt (This was the beginning of Ferris being very ill & mama don't play games now). That got her a trip to the vet the next day. They found nothing wrong, and when we picked her up, her tail was wagging and she had a huge smile on her face (yes, a smile...go look up golden retrievers smiling). While she pulls stunts like this, she is also very well mannered. She waits for her invitation to come and cuddle next to you on the couch, and each night, sits by the bed, waiting to be invited to claim her spot next to me & the fan. She is the Queen, and we would not have it any other way. We don't think that she would either.
Shelby's true personality, while Ferris looks on wondering what he has gotten himself into.
Shelby tolerating the puppies.
This would be Shelby's "Mom, another picture?" face.
Ferris, his story is coming. It's worth the wait. :-)
Our first foster came to us about a week before Hurricane Harvey. She was a sweet senior girl, Lady. She was HW+ and going through treatment, and had a mass on her side that needed to be removed. She had lived her life outside in LA chained to a fence. Her hair was dry and sun bleached. She was an angel! She had the best manners, and was a joy to have around. When she came to us, she was so intrigued that Shelby & Ferris would get on the couch. Sweet girl couldn't quite figure out the jumping thing to get up there for several months. She spent her days lounging around on the dog beds & getting loving. When we went to bed at night, she slept in the same spot all night long, at the foot of the bed on her dog bed. But y'all, this chick figured out how to jump on the couch, and she was pleased as a peach with herself. We came home to her laying on the couch with the biggest smile one evening. She had officially "made it" with the others. From then on, she wanted to be on the couch with someone and they had to be petting her. We didn't mind either. She was with us until Veteran's Day. I cried letting this sweet girl go. She is living the best life with lots of puppy brothers, but she is the princess! We see her at the reunion picnic & the dog show too. She comes right up with a smile and kisses! She was our first, and most certainly would not be our last. I was hooked. I'm not sure that Jared took the bait, or that he enjoys it as much as I do, but, well....we all know how this goes....
Next up, our Foster Success, as Houston Collie Rescue calls it! Miss Bella, #1 Diva. Bella and her sister Nala were an owner relinquish to HCR. Their owners were older and could not handle the demands of 2 puppies. Bella came to us for 2 reasons from her first foster. One, she need to be separated from her sister, Bella was too dominant. Second, Bella is way too interested in cats and does not understand when a cats hisses or swings a paw at you, that you should probably walk away. Well, low and behold, that is her little (massive) personality. When she arrived, she was quite large & was put on the "Daddy Diet". She is nice and lean now! Bella is the first to go and greet anyone or anything new. She has no fear....until it thunders or the fireworks go off. She will let you know that she is there, and wants the attention. Ferris was her best friend and best playmate. When he passed, she suffered from severe separation anxiety. While the medication helped, she was just not the same dog. Bella does not just lay around. She is like the energizer bunny...wakes up & goes all day till bed time. This is when Micky came into play. Bella also has a "boyfriend". Mama Karen's Luke is her sweetie pie. They play & play & talk when they get together.
Here is Bella when she arrived with us. We celebrated her 1st Birthday 2 days after she came.
After Bella, we took over a year off from fostering. We had many things going on and knew that we would not be able to provide a foster with the love and care that they needed.
Then, the time was right and we opened our home again to a sweet pup, who a friend rescued on her own, along with all of his litter mates. He had a horrible case of mange and was full of worms. He was a sweet little dude, named Albus. He is now with his perfect forever home!
Then, came the puppies. We got 4 puppies from HCR right after I finished school. We are talking, I finished, and the next day I went & picked them up. We had four babies, Charlie (now Stryder), Max (now Teddy), Henry (still Henry) and Oreo (now Willy). These sweet babies will forever have a place in my heart. When they arrived, they were too young to really even be away from their mom. Rescue can be heart-breaking. They needed check ups & shots. Initially, all checked out A-Ok! Charlie and Max never did get ill, and grew like weeds! Sweet Henry was diagnosed with a heart mummer. He was the runt of the litter and needed a little kick start gaining weight. He is now almost 24 pounds, and the last time he went for a check up, they could not hear his mummer! Sweet baby!
Well, our troubles were far from over. About a week after we had all the babies, sweet Oreo became very ill. While he was still eating, he was not gaining weight. Then within hours on Saturday, he began to be very sleepy, and before going to bed, we noticed he might have been walking funky. We woke up the next morning, he was walking like a 'drunk' puppy. I called Mama Karen and she came over. Within minutes, we were on our way to an emergency clinic. We had a horrible experience. The sweet boy was diagnosed with severe anemia and needed a blood transfusion. He was also diagnosed with hook worms, which explained why he was not gaining any weight. So, he was dewormed again. He was still exhibiting neurological symptoms, so off to Dr. McIntyre we went. She is a thorough neurological exam on him, and recommended that he go to see a neurologist. In the meantime, they were going to run a Distemper test (which takes days to come back). So off we were to Gulf Coast Vet Specialists with the little bug. They wanted to run further tests, so at only 8 weeks old, sweet boy had an MRI and Spinal Tap done. The next day, I received the call that baby boy had Meningitis, and only minutes later I got the phone call that his Distemper was positive. My heart absolutely broke. His prognosis was grim, and no one was certain that he would make it or fully recover. So what does one do? You love that baby with all you got. He got all the cuddles, attention, and love that we could give.
His siblings were adopted, and he needed to continue to get better. Well, 2 months later, our boy is home with his furever family, who also adopted sweet Henry. He is thriving and doing well. He is truly a miracle baby!
We had a few days off, and I picked up our next foster. Sadie Mae is 9 years young. She has a lot of weight to lose and some minor medical issues to take care of before she can be adopted.
Then, the time was right and we opened our home again to a sweet pup, who a friend rescued on her own, along with all of his litter mates. He had a horrible case of mange and was full of worms. He was a sweet little dude, named Albus. He is now with his perfect forever home!
Then, came the puppies. We got 4 puppies from HCR right after I finished school. We are talking, I finished, and the next day I went & picked them up. We had four babies, Charlie (now Stryder), Max (now Teddy), Henry (still Henry) and Oreo (now Willy). These sweet babies will forever have a place in my heart. When they arrived, they were too young to really even be away from their mom. Rescue can be heart-breaking. They needed check ups & shots. Initially, all checked out A-Ok! Charlie and Max never did get ill, and grew like weeds! Sweet Henry was diagnosed with a heart mummer. He was the runt of the litter and needed a little kick start gaining weight. He is now almost 24 pounds, and the last time he went for a check up, they could not hear his mummer! Sweet baby!
Well, our troubles were far from over. About a week after we had all the babies, sweet Oreo became very ill. While he was still eating, he was not gaining weight. Then within hours on Saturday, he began to be very sleepy, and before going to bed, we noticed he might have been walking funky. We woke up the next morning, he was walking like a 'drunk' puppy. I called Mama Karen and she came over. Within minutes, we were on our way to an emergency clinic. We had a horrible experience. The sweet boy was diagnosed with severe anemia and needed a blood transfusion. He was also diagnosed with hook worms, which explained why he was not gaining any weight. So, he was dewormed again. He was still exhibiting neurological symptoms, so off to Dr. McIntyre we went. She is a thorough neurological exam on him, and recommended that he go to see a neurologist. In the meantime, they were going to run a Distemper test (which takes days to come back). So off we were to Gulf Coast Vet Specialists with the little bug. They wanted to run further tests, so at only 8 weeks old, sweet boy had an MRI and Spinal Tap done. The next day, I received the call that baby boy had Meningitis, and only minutes later I got the phone call that his Distemper was positive. My heart absolutely broke. His prognosis was grim, and no one was certain that he would make it or fully recover. So what does one do? You love that baby with all you got. He got all the cuddles, attention, and love that we could give.
His siblings were adopted, and he needed to continue to get better. Well, 2 months later, our boy is home with his furever family, who also adopted sweet Henry. He is thriving and doing well. He is truly a miracle baby!
We had a few days off, and I picked up our next foster. Sadie Mae is 9 years young. She has a lot of weight to lose and some minor medical issues to take care of before she can be adopted.
We will continue to foster till we receive a baby. It is something that brings joy & allows us to provide a sweet baby with the love and care they need to go on to live a happily ever after.
Lovely tribute to the world of fostering! The love, the tears, the laughter, the smiles, the heartbreak, the frustration, the cuddles...makes our lives so full.
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