About The Foster Zoo

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We have decided to blog our adventures again. So much has changed since we last blogged. Bella and Shiloh both went to their forever homes and they are in wonderful families. June Bug got adopted. We quit fostering dogs after those adoptions because Tanker's epilepsy got bad. We quit doing therapy dog work because Tanker's epilepsy got bad. Tanker passed away June 9th, 2013. We adopted a senior border collie named Shania Tankerbelle in his memory. We still have our two cats, Sweet Pea and Little Bit. Wes has started rescuing pitiful bettas from Wal-Mart and we currently have seven. We have a camper. We camp. We have focused on giving our animals the best lives possible. We are The Foster Zoo Crew and we like to have fun.

Sunday, December 18, 2011

November-December 2011








It has been a long time since I blogged! We have been busy people in the last month and a half. Any time I have had to blog, I have spent relaxing instead. It seems that the last few months have been filled with us moving from project to project, therapy dog session to therapy dog session, work to volunteering, training to playing, all with little time to rest. What have we needed most? Rest. I am going to try and recount all the things we've done in the last several weeks. They may not be in order and I will try my best to remember everything.

Tanker volunteered as Neutral Dog for Delta Society evaluations back in November. Usually Wes is his handler, but they needed an extra man for the tests, so I ended up being his handler for the majority of the tests. That gave me time to sit in the back room with him and take pictures while we waited for our time to do our thing for each evaluation.







Tanker sometimes gets bored while waiting for the next dog to be evaluated.



Sometimes he plays.



Sometimes he rests.



He always loves showing off that he was a rescue dog.




On the same day that we did Delta Evaluations, we stopped by Julie's apartment to play with Buster. Julie had to work extra long that day, so we gave Buster some play time. Buster is now finished with his heartworm treatments and he is doing really well.















I went to my appointment at Johns Hopkins and I am doing really well. Tanker and Topher came along, of course. My nurse at Johns Hopkins is also an animal rescuer, and she tells me that I can't come for a check-up unless I bring the two therapy dogs. Wes had to go to work for a meeting before my appointment, so Topher, Tanker, and I spent our morning walking around the building to get some exercise.















On our way home, Topher laid up against Wes' uniform, which I thought made a pretty cool picture.



Somewhere in between everything going on in November, Wes had a bad accident and fell through the ceiling of our bedroom while doing work up in the attic. He slit his wrist in the process. Because I can't drive and Wes was bleeding a lot, I called 911, an ambulance came, picked us both up, and rushed us to the Emergency Room. A good friend of ours picked us up after he got stitches and lots of meds.

















Wes made his already injured back (bulging discs from an accident at work a couple of years ago) pretty sore. He was given antibiotics and pain meds, and then put on quarters for several days. Wes slept and slept and slept. Tango, Bella, and Shiloh got good practice being therapy dogs during those days.





A good friend came over to visit and brought all the dogs and cats toys and treats.









We are lucky to have wonderful friends. We have met hundreds of great friends since moving to the D.C. area. One of those very kind friends came over to our house the following Monday and fixed the hole in our bedroom ceiling. He also finished the project Wes had been working on.



At the end of November, my parents came to visit for Thanksgiving. My dad has advanced Parkinson's Disease, so it was a huge accomplishment for him to be able to come up here. He was in a wheelchair most of the time while he was here, but he loved every minute of touring the Nation's Capital and visiting with us.

Topher and Tanker came with us to pick my parents up from the airport because Tanker needed his 5:30 medicine. Wherever Tanker goes, Topher goes too. Topher loved seeing my mom and he curled up to her as soon as she got in the car.



The animals got plenty of therapy practice in while my mom and dad were here. Tango loves to snuggle. She also got some practice with walking next to a wheelchair. Bella and Shiloh did really well with it all too. I have not found anything that scares them yet. They seem to take everything in stride.



















In December, we took Topher, Tanker, and Tango to the Jingle Bell Walk in Richmond in support of the Arthritis Foundation. Somebody sponsored The Foster Zoo to go through Bully Paws, one of the rescues we work with. The three dogs did a wonderful job showing everyone how great rescue dogs are!