Meet Cookie

My first real foster “Cookie”

Fostering dogs is fairly new to me. I have always rescued my family pets from local shelters, but I’ve always wanted to do more. So I made it a goal to become a foster, when the timing was right. That day came last spring. My first unofficial foster was a young male Chihuahua named Oscar. Fostering him went so well that I decided this last fall to officially sign up as a foster mom. I found a local rescue that looked to be the perfect fit for me. Once I filled out all of the necessary paperwork, I anxiously awaited the phone call that would bring my next foster. I was so excited! A few days passed, and the call finally came. I was ready, my husband? Not so much! He knows how deeply I love animals and was convinced we would end up adopting every dog that came through our doors! I assured him that we would only be fostering, but little did I know that my very first foster fail (where a dog is adopted by the foster parent instead of fostered lol) was on her way to my house!

When I received the call, I was with my daughter and husband at a car dealership. My youngest daughter was about to get her first new car! I thought, perfect, I can just head over to the rescue (as it was really close by) and grab my foster. When I got there, the coordinator asked me if I was okay taking a foster that needed medical attention, including a minor surgery. I immediately thought to myself “oh my gosh, what is wrong with this poor doggie?!” I, of course, had no problem taking in a foster that needed a little extra TLC, so I said yes.

Her story is one that will anger you, make you cry, and then melt your heart!

When I first met Cookie, I saw a very shy and nervous dog with long black hair, so long that you couldn’t even see her eyes. She also had a horribly smelling wound on her nose, literally it was awful! It was then, upon seeing that wound, that I was informed of her background story. Cookie was presumed to have been abused and living in an abandoned house with squatters. At some point, the owner or bank gained control of the house and sold it. Whoever found her in that house, either before or after the sale, took her out front and tied her to a pole. This is when another foster family found her. They brought her straight to the rescue organization that I was affiliated with and she was checked thoroughly by a vet. During that check, the vet found a rubber band embeded in skin around her nose! Not only was she tied to a pole, abused, but someone had also rubber banded her mouth shut! At some point she had gotten the band off from her muzzle but it ended up around the sinuses and soft palate. This is where it stayed and eventually cut deep into the skin. After hearing this story, my heart ached!! How could someone do this to such a helpless and loving dog?!

I was heartbroken.

At that very moment is when my heart started to melt for this little girl. I began to fall in love with this precious ball of fur :). I loaded her up in the car and headed over to the vet clinic that would be doing the surgery. I gave her lots of love and hugs and talked to her sweetly letting her know all is going to be ok! Before getting out of the car and heading in to the office I took this picture.

I look at this picture now and I am reminded how far cookie has come! Handing her over to the vet tech was hard because I knew how scared this little girl was. However I knew she was in good hands! The veterinary office staff told me it would be a few hours before she would be able to come home with me. So I went back to the dealership while I waited, and during that time my daughter had settled on the car she wanted.

I was very excited for my daughter getting her first car but anxiously awaiting the call that cookie was ok.

As we were just starting the paperwork for the car,  the vet calls and said Cookie is ready to be picked up. The vet was able to get the rubber band off her nose but there was a horrible infection. I was then informed about her medications and when and how much to give her. He also said there will be permanent damage to her nose/sinuses. She was still pretty out of it when I picked her up as the anesthesia they had to use was strong due to how deep they had to dig to get the band off. I held her close and took her back to the dealership to see my husband. They were just finishing up the paperwork when I came in with Cookie. I told her story to everyone there and got the same reaction that I had!

I arrived home with this sleepy but still nervous dog in my arms. I made her a bed and let her relax and rest. I was a nervous foster mom the first night. Checking on her continuously and reassuring her I am still here and she is safe. In the days to come I attended to her wounds and gave her the prescribed medications. I also had to massage her nose quite often to get the blood and fluids circulating well in that area. She took her oral antibiotics like a champ! After a few days the smell of the infection finally cleared from her nose. Guess what else I noticed? She was smelling EVERYTHING! She literally would spend hours smelling every flower, bush and blade of grass. You name it! Its like she couldn’t really smell before, due to the infection, and the tightness from the rubber band.

Though she enjoyed her new sense of smell, she did not want to venture very far from my side. She still had a long way to go before she was confident and trusting enough to venture on her own. While we were outside she would go but maybe five feet from me and potty. Her trust in me was still not really there and her confidence was still lacking.  Her fosters before had told me she had a hard time learning to drink from a bowl. She would run to the toilet or drink from a water bottle. I was able to get her to drink from the bowl which was awesome. I did notice she had some food aggression towards my other dogs when they would all eat their meals. This was a sign to me that I needed to nip this in the butt asap if she was to find a forever home. I worked with her at every meal and reassured her there was to be food for her every single meal and every single day :). It wasnt long and she was reassured and had no issues eating in the same room or even in close proximity of other dogs! She also had some submissive peeing issues. Again we worked on this by giving her confidence every day and showered her with love. That has gotten a LOT better now.

She was doing so well conquering her fears, that I started letting her sleep in our bedroom. At first, she would only sleep under the bed, she was still to scared to join the other two dogs in the comforts of our bedding. Then it happened….one night she jumped up on the bed and laid right behind my head! She squished up against me like a baby lol. From that moment on, her confidence grew by leaps and bounds, I was so proud! And in that moment, I began to question if I could give her up.

Adoption day for the rescue

It was nearing time for her to be featured at one of the adoption events. She was ready! No more food issues, she had enough confidence to venture farther away from me in the yard, she played with the other dogs extremely well, and her submissive urinating was much improved!! We took her to get groomed and she looked SO MUCH BETTER! Like a brand new dog!

Three days before the event, my husband and I were out on an errand. I lost it and broke down crying in the car…I couldn’t let her go! I couldn’t let her go through all the possible trust issues she would have if she left me. I needed her, her story, her heart, her love and her presence. My husband felt the same way (LOL!). He loved her story and didn’t want to risk someone else being cruel to her. He also noticed that despite all she went through, that she had an adventurous side. He could see her going kayaking, riding on quads and in the new side by side we would be buying. He even pictured her wearing a little doggie helmet ha!

SO… WE ADOPTED HER!!!!

She absolutely loves our other dogs now and has adjusted like a champ! She rides on the quad like she was born to do it! She isn’t afraid anymore and it’s so awesome. Every day when my husband comes home from work, she runs full speed to his car and jumps in! She LOVES her rides in the car up our long driveway and into the parking spot.

She showers me with kisses and snuggles daily. Always by my side. She has even learned new tricks. She knows sit, stay, wait, dance, high five and patty cake. She is super smart! I can’t wait to see what other tricks she will learn. She also loves her toys and her chew sticks and her training treats! Lets just say there is never enough dog toys in this house ha!

We know she will always have a little sinus issue, but as it turns out, so do I! Twins! Her nose will always be crooked, but that’s ok. That’s what makes her beautiful to us. She is such a happy and playful dog now. She brings us so much joy and love. We are so happy that she found us and that we found her. She will go everywhere with us and will enjoy all the new adventures we are about to discover.

She is finally in her forever loving home, and I couldn’t be happier!!

What has this taught me? I love fostering dogs! I know I cant keep them all but I do know that I can help these little precious dogs transfer from bad situations into great ones! I have had 2 fosters since Cookie so keep an eye out for those stories to be published.

Do you foster? Have you adopted from a shelter? I would love to hear your stories 🙂

Chat Soon,

Trudy