Two Days In

Two days into fostering Francie, and we are settling in okay. It's not easy, but it's not terrible. This morning, I fed the dogs near each other, which was a baby step in the right direction. Neither of them are food guarders. Francie was only eating about half her food when we first brought her home (she never ate much at the shelter either), but I'm happy to see that her appetite has improved greatly. She still leaves a bit of food in her dish, which I've been letting Cabana finish eating--I want her to feel there are at least a few perks to having Francie in the house.

I took these photos a few minutes ago, and in reviewing them, Cabana's discomfort is evident in each one. Cabana tolerates Francie, but she doesn't enjoy her one bit.

Francie is just so bossy. If Cabana is sitting near me, Francie comes over and makes Cabana move, then she lays all over me, trying to claim me. Whenever she does stuff like this, I put her on tie-down or in her crate. It seems to be working because Francie is getting slightly less bossy. Just slightly, though.

I feel bad when I restrain or confine Francie, but that's the only way that Cabana can relax. (FYI, I never leave the dogs alone together.) I was telling my shelter volunteer friend about how guilty I feel, and she reminded me that up until two days ago, Francie lived in a concrete cell with one hour of exercise and interaction if she was lucky. Now, she has a soft bed, a doggy door leading out to a yard, plenty of exercise, lots of cuddles, and a clean, quiet, stable environment.

Another volunteer told me that the dog above got put down at the shelter today. He bit someone the day after Francie did. The story is that someone stuck their fingers through his kennel bars, and he bit them. I don't know how much damage he did. Francie's bite was accidental, but this dog's was on purpose, I guess you could say. I still don't think it warrants losing his life, but that's the way the shelter is doing things now. So I'm glad Francie is out of there; otherwise, she'd be in their freezer.