I said goodbye to him with tears in my eyes and a heart that was aching. I shuffled away knowing that he was going to a great home but that didn't stop the pain that was seizing my heart and the tears that were building in my throat. Some foster dogs just grab your heart and never let go. Tibet was one of those fosters...
As a foster home for many dogs over the past 8+ years, I'm accustomed to the ebb and flow of dogs coming and going in my household. Some enter and just as quickly move onto their permanent home. Some linger and you wish they'd find their own home and then there are those who you just wish would never leave. Tibet was one who could have stayed...With a few adjustments in my home, he fit right in. Of course it helped that he fit our color pattern. He joined a duo of black and white Lhasa-Shih Tzu's already here. It was kind of cute and particularly funny when they were all three in the yard and people would stop to stare. And even funnier when friends would have to ask, "Now, which is that Tibet or Tabasco?"
Tibet became my co-pilot on the road trips to No. CA for adoptions. He sat on the console on his pillow and to Donna's credit, she never once complained. He would warm our seats when we'd stop along the way but he never tried to get out of the van. Nope, he was there just patiently waiting for our return. Tibet never did manage to stay in the x-pens at adoptions because the minute I walked away he was up and over and chasing after me. Yeah. I kind of liked that. One time I found him wandering in the store and I scooped him up really without even thinking about why he was loose and then I saw the trail of volunteers chasing after him. I realized then maybe he needed be in back with me. Another time I tied him to the cart that had about 30 folding chairs. He could sit on my feet while I did adoptions but I could also get up when I needed without a shadow. Or so I thought. Little did I know that little Lhasa was a sled dog and if I was getting up, so was he and he was perfectly happy to drag that cart of chairs where ever I was going...
So just when I was beginning to believe he wouldn't be going to another home anytime soon, a wonderful woman came into adoptions. She was initially interested in another dog and described what she was looking for and I quickly realized who she was really describing was Tibet, not the other dog. Oh the panic in my heart. I had to be fair to him. He needed his own home and he needed a home where he didn't have to share. He'd get to be King of the Castle and that's what he deserved. I had to let him go. And just as quickly as we introduced her to him, he climbed in the boyfriend's lap and I realized he wouldn't be returning home with me.
It was hard to read in a follow up email that he sat at the door as if waiting for me to come back and get him for the first day or so. That broke my heart. But I knew by day two or three he'd slowly begin to adjust. He may never understand where I went or why but I know I did what was best for him. It's what we do as foster parents. We say goodbye.
So, I'll miss my little buddy. I have another foster already who I've sworn I'll keep my heart a safe distance. But he's already edging his way in there...
No comments:
Post a Comment