Foster Journal

July 2002: A Real Home For Diamond

July 28, 2002

For those of you who were following the saga of my foster bc/spaniel mix, Diamond, I wanted to give a quick update. I took her back into foster care last month because her elderly owners just couldn't handle her. A few days ago she went to her new home. Her new family loves her to death. They have a fenced half acre yard for her to run around in and they also like to take her for walks. Eventually she will work up to jogging several miles with her new mom! When they picked her up they had a crate with a blanky and a new toy. It seems like a perfect match!

I also transported a seven year old beagle to her new home with Diamond's previous owners. She needed a new home because the family had several young kids and felt like they were neglecting the dog. She has been there almost a month and it also seems to be a perfect match! The dog basically likes to sit around and watch TV, so she is much more suited to their lifestyle.

I know I complained before about these people, so you might wonder why I helped them to get another dog. I grilled them extensively before agreeing to help them get this beagle, and they gave me all the right answers. It really did seem to be just a bad match between them and Diamond because of activity level.

So, happy endings all around!

July 30, 2002

Hi, I'm David, Susan's husband, and I wanted say thanks for the great fostering job you did with Diamond. She's been great. She's very playful with the entire family and has yet to have an "accident" of any kind. I'm also impressed with her sociability -- very loving and almost comical at times. I cannot believe how quickly she has acclimated to her new family and surroundings. After losing Claire, our border collie of 12 years, I didn't think another dog could compare. But, happily, Diamond certainly does and our entire family is now in love with her. It's eerie how much she is like Claire with her expressions and the way she runs full speed around the yard. You would swear they were related somehow.

I also wanted to let you know you could not have picked a better person that my wife to adopt her. She has always been a huge animal lover -- in fact, if there were such a thing a reincarnation, I would want to come back as a dog owned by Susan!! Diamond already sits by door and waits for her anytime she leaves.

Anyway, thanks again. I certainly admire the work you do, and hope you feel good when it turns out this well.

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Hi!

It's great to hear from you, and I'm happy to know that Diamond has fit in so well. I have been telling everyone I know about her, and about how well she is fitting in with your family. I felt like I let Diamond down by not selecting her new home the first time I fostered her. I returned her to the shelter after she was healthy enough to be spayed,
and she was adopted by a nice -- but totally unprepared -- older couple. So when I got her back, I was determined to keep her until the perfect home turned up. Thank goodness you guys came along!

Please keep in touch! Email is a wonderful thing. =) (Pictures are good too!)

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