Continued from Part 1, Confessions of a Former Ordinary Person, © 2017 New Rattitude, Inc.
So I resolved to make a change. I decided to become a foster home and save a dog’s life and try like heck not to fall in love so that I wouldn’t fall apart when it was time to give the dog up. I had my doubts about that last part, but I resolved to try. In honor of Frisbee and out of respect for the people who had donated their time and lent their hearts to save the life of my own precious adopted dog, I signed up.
The first day that I got my first foster, Bubbles, I immediately knew that I’d made a mistake. She was so sweet and affectionate and downright gorgeous that I was already smitten. Oh no! What had I done? How would I get out of this with my heart intact?
The other people in the rescue organization were friendly and knowledgeable and extremely supportive, but they just didn’t get it. They kept saying how fulfilling fostering was and how great and successful I’d feel when Bubbles got adopted. They said I’d get over her. I knew they were wrong. She was so wonderful, so perfect, so full of love for me that I knew we would both break when she had to leave.
With the guidance and resources available through the organization, the day came all too quickly when an adoption application came through for Bubbles. On paper it seemed like a good match for her. But what mixed emotions I had! I was happy and I was sad; I was hopeful and I was doubtful; I was proud and I was worried. Through the screening process I got to communicate with the applicants and they did seem like a very nice couple who could be great for Bubbles—perfect, in fact, if she didn’t already have me.
They told me that they had fallen in love with her through her description and her photos and the videos of her that I’d posted. They talked about her as though they already knew her, and from the things they said, it kind of seemed like they did. They told me what her day would be like, what their home was like, how they had a sunny window seat with a dog bed in it from which she could watch the squirrels in the yard. I knew she would love that. I don’t have a sunny window seat. They also said that they like to go camping and hiking in the woods. I knew Bubbles would love that, too. I don’t camp or hike.
They came to meet her. It only took her a short time before she was in their laps, soaking up the love. I felt a little funny that she seemed to accept them about as quickly as she had accepted me in the beginning. One of the other rescue members had told me that the dogs who bond really quickly with their foster parents are the ones we don’t have to worry much about because that wonderful trait makes them really adaptable, and they’ll bond just as quickly with their new people when they move to a new home. When I first heard that, I was skeptical, but watching Bubbles shower these new people with kisses made me realize it might be true after all. I felt a little dejected. Maybe even rejected.
The Adoption Department told me that things were going well with the screening process, and the people were likely to get approved if I was okay with it. Was I okay with it? I really didn’t have anything against these people, but how could I let her go?
From Confessions of a Former Ordinary Person, © 2017 New Rattitude, Inc.