I have fostered hundreds of dogs over the years, and I feel a deep connection with every single one of them. I feel unbridled joy when they find their forever homes, and while it’s bitter-sweet because I dearly miss them after they’ve moved on, I take them in knowing that I am a temporary stop on their journey to their forever family.
However, the moment I met a certain would-have-been foster dog, I knew that she wouldn’t be leaving my side for the rest of her life. If I didn’t believe in love at first sight then, I sure do now. I wasn’t sure how my husband would feel about bringing in a permanent third dog right now, but all doubts faded away when I saw them together.
As soon as we got home, Dan and I had the talk. Were we ready to add a permanent third dog to our home? We had originally planned on fostering Paisley, but Dan and I agreed that we couldn’t see her with anyone but us. We decided to give it a few weeks before we made it official, just to be sure she was a good fit for our family. She wouldn’t be available for adoption for another month anyway since she needed 30 days of down time after her heartworm treatment, so we had some time to make this big decision.
It’s only been a week, but it’s official, Paisley is now a permanent member of our family. We are head over heels in love with her and have huge plans for this amazing girl. Once she’s off activity restriction, she will be taking her CGC, TDI, and ATTS tests. I’ve ordered her a custom weight pull harness from BrownDog Harnesses, and it should be here in about 3 weeks – perfect timing! She’ll be off activity restriction and we will be able to start conditioning for weight pull. We are also going to give rally and agility a try. I’m so ridiculously excited! Welcome to the family Paisley!