Cash

Looking back, Cash was one of my favourite fosters. I'm kind of upset I don't have more pictures of him. I'm kind of a sucker for big dogs and he was the biggest we'd had so far (and since, I think). I don't like them for their big, scary, tough appearance. More so because I've never met a large dog I didn't like. Big, goofy, lazy for the size - that's my kind of dog. And every big dog I've met is a total baby, and Cash was no exception.

He followed me around the house and always wanted to be touching someone. He was always sticking his giant egg head into your lap or putting his elephant nose under your limbs. At first he was scared of everything but he quickly managed to build up his confidence. I remember he loved people, especially kids, but when meeting new people, dogs, or in a new situation he'd hide behind my legs like a shy toddler. Kind of a funny sight to see this great big dog peeking out from behind my small self. I remember his needy-ness kind of pissing off my boyfriend because when I wasn't available Cash would be following him around like a lost puppy.

For his size he was rather skinny. He had this giant, leggy, houndish frame but barely weighed 65 pounds. The rescue saved him from a shelter in Kentucky just days before he time was due and he really wasn't in the best shape. You could have gave a skeletal lesson with him just standing there. At the park I found it necesary to constantly tell people "We just rescued him! He'll be gaining weight soon!" We started helping him put on some healthy weight and his dull fur soon became soft and shiny. You can  seem him shinning it up for the cameras in the pics

Cash gave me my first experience with a completely insane potential adopter. Ok that's not fair, she wasn't insane.. just a little loonie toons. I read her application and although I didn't think it was the best fit (for multiple reasons) I agreed to let them meet. When the middle aged woman and her older teenaged son got to my door I sensed a little bit of the crazy but they were perfectly polite. We talked and they met Cash. Cash seemed kind of indifferent to the whole thing but when he jumped up on the son - a habit I was trying to stop - the son turned around and walked out of the house and the mom started crying. For the record a HUGE pet peeve: you tell your jumping dog to get down and the other person is all "ohh it ok I don't mind!" and continues to pet and play with the dog. When someone tells their dog to get down its more than likely their trying to teach the dog manners, so when your all baby-talking "oohhhh puppy" you're not really helping. Rant ended. Anyways, turns out the anniversary of the death of their last dog was coming up and the son had just gotten a tattoo on his chest of the dogs paw print, and Cash touched it. The mom decided they wouldn't be able to make a decision till after the anniversary of the dogs death and said she'd been in touch the next week.

Flash to three days later. I happen to check the email I use for fostering and there's a nnnnnasty email from the woman criticizing me for not getting back to her. Apparently she had sent me an email the night before and since I hadn't replied by 5pm the next day she assumed I'd given Cash to another family. Turns out the crazy train had arrived and it would be way too long to get rid of it. She basically called me every name she could without swearing. Must have used a thesaurus because she didn't seem that creative in person. For the sake of the rescues good name I didn't fire back! No, I took the high route! I sent a rather nice and contained email back informing her that since I hadn't expected to hear from her for another week because she was taking the time for her old dog, and I was still considering her application, I wasn't checking my email as often. I also threw in there the fact SHE had asked for the time to think, and I was respecting HER wishes.

For the record: coming to meet a dog and/or filling out an application first does not entitle you to the dog! You can't call shot gun on a dog's life! In the case of two great applications I'd definitely consider giving way to the first person but if you're not a good match you're not a good match. Enough said. That weekend we took Cash to an adopt-a-thon and he wowed the crowds. We actually saw the woman there for a brief second and she was kind enough apologise. By the end of the day we had a few good applications, and two that I especially

I HAAATTEED the thought of telling crazy mom about my decision, but she had seemed so calm and collected on the weekend I figured she'd understand. Besides, she did see us at an adopt-a-thon, what did she think we were doing there? I emailed and let her know that we'd gotten an application that was a better fit and I even offered a couple other dogs from the rescue that may be a better match. Crazy got crazier. She went off not only to me but to the rescue, flat out making up lies about me to the resuce's founders. I'm a bit fuzzy on the details but basically said we had already signed the deal in blood and I changed mind to personally destroy her. WTF? Thankfully the ladies from the rescue were seasoned pro's at sniffing out cases of the loonies and trusted my judgement. To their credit they didn't question my actions once and respected my opinion to choose the family of my foster. They had always kind of left me on my own when dealing with adoptions, and this lady wasn't about to change their opinion of me.

Look at that adorable egg head!

A few weeks later I saw the husband and wife who adopted Cash at a local festival. They weren't hard to point out in the crowd since they towered over everyone. They reported that Cash was completely in love with the kids and thanked me multiple times for choosing them. You could just tell how important Cash had already become to them, especially the husband, as they told me stories from his first few days. I'm so glad I didn't give into the pressure one crazy woman because it would have meant sacrificing the happiness of Cash and his new family.