A New Foster - Kira

Yesterday, we went to my husband's company picnic, where we had a great barbecue lunch. Because there was so much food leftover, they encouraged us to make "doggy bags" to bring home. My vegetarian family members were quite dismayed when they saw that all I had packed in my doggy bag was a barbecued chicken wing, a big frankfurter, and a couple thin slices of sirloin steak.

The reason I brought nothing but meat home was because right after the picnic, we'd be picking up our new foster puppy, Kira. I knew those high-value treats would come in handy.

Kira is a 6-month old German shepherd puppy that was picked up as a stray. She was brought into the shelter and infected the whole place before the staff realized she had parvo. They rushed her to emergency vet services, where she recovered for the next couple weeks. Now, after decontaminating the whole shelter, no small task, the staff has to keep Kira in isolation since she will be shedding the virus for at least 3 more weeks. The staff are not able to interact with Kira, due to the risk of having unvaccinated puppies coming into the shelter. So, poor Kira has been unable to be around other dogs or humans for the duration.

A shelter staff member emailed me and told me about the situation--I suppose they know a sucker when they see one. Is it that obvious?!

The first day of having a new dog in the house is always traumatic. With every foster, I think, "HOW did I get myself into this?" With Kira, I felt that 10 times stronger than with any other, including Francie! First of all, Kira is a puppy and has not been taught anything. Plus, you can tell by her torn right ear that she must have had a hard life as a stray, perhaps even been attacked by another dog. So she can be fearful around other dogs, and about life in general--and her response to fear is barking--LOUD barking. Top that off with the fact that she has been sequestered for the past several weeks and forced to live in her own filth, perhaps the reason why she pees every time I put her in the crate. Finally, because she is still shedding the parvo, she is not allowed to step foot off our property--no walks, no parks, nothing except running around our small backyard.

Another huge difference with Kira and our other fosters is that I had no prior relationship with her and hardly any information. With Seamus and especially with Francie, I had worked with them at the shelter for weeks before to bringing them home as fosters. This time, we are working entirely from scratch.

After wanting so badly to call the shelter several times in the past 24 hours to say we couldn't handle fostering this dog, I think we are making some progress. I feel we need to give it at least 3 days before we throw in the towel. My husband and I didn't get any sleep last night, though, so whether we can last for 72 hours may depend on whether we get any rest tonight.