In praise of foster pawrents .....

I love Miss Ruby!   From the moment I first clapped eyes on her skinny starved self, my heart was completely and utterly lost!  Four years ago this morning ARC sent me those first pictures and so I have always referred to her as my funny valentine :)

At the time, we had no idea she would bloom into such a beauty with better care.   To be perfectly honest, I thought that her  real charm lay in her courage and those clever, clever eyes!  

Is she a smartypants?  You bet!   To this day, when she wants something that Henry has, she is master of the diversionary tactic.    Sadly, it took Henry a couple of years to understand that running to the window to see what she was barking at often lost him the spot / toy / etc that she wanted!  My clever girl would run behind him and commandeer the booty:)

Was I able to bring Miss Ruby home right away?  Sadly not!    She was in such  terrible shape when she was rescued that it took weeks before she gained enough weight to be safely spayed.  

The short version of this story is that Miss Ruby was able to heal because ARC had an available foster home for her.  Straight, sweet and simple.   

Foster parents really are the life blood of animal rescue.   They are the reason that a rescue can say 'yes ... we can take this dog!"  Rescues can fundraise all they want ... but it is that safe slot that is the life saving game changer.

If ARC, CAPS and ASDR had not had an available foster, Miss Ruby, Henry and Rascal would not be here today.   Brock and Quinn both lived to tell the Happy Tail because foster space was found!

What time is it?   It is always time to salute those who volunteer their time and their love so that lives may be saved!   For all the foster pawrents .... every day of the year is Valentines Day!