Fostering hope

A little while ago, I received an unexpected package in the mail from PAWS With A Cause. Inside was a framed photo of a young Gunther and other pictures of him as a puppy. They had come from his foster puppy raiser, Amy, who had sent them along through PAWS so I could have them. It probably comes as no surprise to anyone that I think G dog is adorable just as he is right now. But baby G dog? How simply precious. It meant so much to have these images of him, especially since that part of his life has always felt like a mystery.

A couple of things really stood out from the pictures I received: 

1) With those incredibly expressive, wrinkly eyebrows, Gunther has always looked like an old soul, even as a baby. 

And… 

2) He looked so happy and well-cared for in his foster home.

In a previous blog post, I had written about how it takes such an enormous village to raise and train these service dogs. In no way do I want to diminish the roles of everyone who touches the lives of these amazing animals, but there’s a part of me that thinks these foster puppy raisers have the most difficult jobs of all. 

Imagine welcoming this little creature into your home and pouring all that love and attention onto them so that they can grow up to be well socialized and behaved. And then imagine—after they’ve become such an integral part of your family—having to say goodbye in about 12-18 months as they move on for more advanced training. What these foster puppy raisers do is such an incredible and selfless act of compassion. To make such a commitment of your time and your heart to help a complete stranger achieve a better quality of life—there are just not enough words of gratitude. 

I know that some foster puppy raisers follow this blog to learn about life on this side of the fence and how that might impact what they do with their pups. I say, just get out there and expose them to everything. One of the things I’ve been most impressed by with Gunther is how not much really seems to frighten him. We worried about how the 4^th of July fireworks would impact him since we live so close to where our community sets them off, but he was utterly unfazed. I have friends who have had to put thunder shirts on their dogs to help calm them during storms and fireworks. What a relief for us that we don’t have that concern.

Vacuum cleaners, blenders, coffee grinders, food processors, anything that makes loud noises—expose your puppies to all of it. We had a little bit of remodeling done last week, and Gunther had to hear drills, saws, and nail guns for hours at a time, and he remained calm throughout the whole process. As anyone who has read this blog from the beginning knows, the first couple of months together is such an adjustment period as you and your service dog are learning how to trust each other, and they become adjusted to their new surroundings. It’s just so helpful not to have to deal with their adverse reactions to some scary, never-before-heard home appliance noise during this transition period. 

Last fall, we took G dog to an extremely crowded marching band competition at a high school stadium. And, while he was curious about the throngs of people walking about, he wasn’t at all fearful of the loud band music, applause, or cheering. This gives me the confidence to bring him to concerts and live musical performances, which are events I thoroughly enjoy attending. 

Other than exposure to outdoor terrains such as grass, concrete, dirt, gravel, and sand, I think contact with a host of indoor materials is a big deal too. Carpet, sisal/jute rugs, tile, linoleum, laminate, and wood floors—let them feel the different textures on their paws, so it isn’t alarming to them when they encounter it in someone else’s home.

After last week’s experience with elevators and G’s nervousness with them, I’d recommend giving your puppies some exposure to those as well. Many disabled people need to ride on elevators since they may not be able to use stairs, so I’d consider this pretty important.  

The only real fear we’ve had to deal with so far regarding Gunther is his panic with getting in the pool. When I saw the puppy pics, they showed that G had certainly been exposed to water, specifically a lake. It’s hard to know why our pool seems so scary to him—perhaps the deep steps are distressing him, whereas a pond or lake would offer a more gradual slope for him to get into the water. We’ll try again this summer and see what happens.

Amy, I really want to thank you for sending me these pictures. But most of all, I thank you for your dedication to this worthy cause and for making Gunther so sweet and a complete pleasure to be around. My heartfelt gratitude goes out to you and all the other foster puppy raisers that are part of the PAWS family. Please know that you are indeed making a difference in people’s lives!