adopt your foster dog if it meant that you had to give up fostering??
We were a foster failure over 12 years ago with a dog very similar to Joseph. Cheyenne was our first foster dog and I spent months working with her to get her over so many fears that I can't even list them all. I took two weeks off work just to lay under the kitchen table with her for about a week, not looking at her, but just letting her get used to me slowly. After 3 months I decided no one would spent this much time working with her and I didn't want her going to a home where she would have set backs so we adopted her. She passed in February at 15 years old of a brain tumor. I cry every day for her. She was an incredible dog. She had issues to the end, but traveled with us and enjoyed a wonderful life. If it meant having that opportunity all over again and not being able to foster because I adopted her I would do it in a heartbeat.A little background: Joseph was rescued 8 months ago from a kill shelter, he had been picked up after being dumped and he was reported to be terrified of people. Through an assessment with a certified behaviorist we found that Joseph had way more problems than just people (shows signs of being abused- flinching, or ducking at certain hand movement or approaches, running and hiding if you raised your voice, or he 'thinks' he is in trouble) - he was/and is terrified of and highly reactive to new dogs and the world in general scares him. We have worked long and hard with him, building his confidence, expanding his comfort zone, and helping him learn that the world is not so scary. There is no 'cure' for Joseph issues - just lifelong management and reinforcement of the skills he has learned and will learn - it is a process.
On the upside, once Joseph learns to trust you, he is an amazing dog, loving, loyal, devoted,obedient, and happy beyond measure in an environment he feels safe in. We love him, and truly only want what is best for him, there could be a perfect adoptive family for him, but in six months that he has been available for adoption - that family has not come forward. Joseph does deserve a second chance and a forever family that will love him for who he is and give him the life he deserves.
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This is my measuring stick too. Bless you for taking in a hard case and working with him, his life is better because of you, it's all too possible he would not be here without you.He is beautiful and is lucky to have you as his foster family!
The deciding factor for my adopting both Jasper and Daniel was that the adoptive home would have to be a better home for them than my home. With both of them, I had absolutely no doubt that I was the best home for them. Jasper because of his very sensitive nature and his bond with me and Danny because he needed the kind of exercise and training that I was willing to commit to.
Good luck with Joseph and your very difficult decision.
That brought tears to my eyes. Joseph is so very blessed to have you all and I'm so glad you are able to open your hearts and homes to him, forever.We have decided to give Joseph his forever home. I think he 'knew' it all along, from the moment he stepped from his transport crate, he put his life in our hands, he did not react to us, he did not bark or run away - he came to us for the love he so desperately needed. He put his trust in us, and bonded with his foster dad, and has made some huge strides in coping with the 'real world'.
It is these 'special needs' dogs that rip your heart out, that take every bit of patience, understanding and love that you can give them, and return it a thousand fold. Having been through this process with my boy Charlie, I absolutely know the 'honor' of being 'chosen', trusted, by a fearful dog - a 'gift' beyond measure and betraying that trust is not an option.
I am grateful for the opportunity to have fostered,(and will do it again, when the time is right) and have a hand at saving lives, but the time has come to do the right thing for THIS dog, this rescue whose life was in limbo, and who has come to mean so much to us.
'Until there are none, rescue one.'