The Joy of Fostering Puppies

Jan 2019

Asher and Journey have been wanting a dog again, but we aren't ready for that kind of commitment. Instead, we decided at Christmas to foster a pregnant black lab, named Ziva for the local Humane Society. They thought she wouldn't have her puppies for another month, but when we arrived home I noticed the puppies moving in her belly, which meant she was further along than they believed. Daddy built a box for her and we returned to pick up a baby pool to use as a birthing tub. In the early hours of New Years Eve, I awoke to a squeaking noise. The first puppy was born! I rushed to wake my children and we waited, and waited. An hour passed before the second puppy was born, but after that, they came rather quickly. Eight puppies in all! Asher and Journey documented the time, sex and distinguishing marks for each puppy. 

Ziva is an amazing mommy, she took care of her puppies and seemed to appreciate us jumping in to help. At 5 weeks the Humane Society came to our house and gave everyone their shots. (Later we learned this should have been done at 6 weeks.) By now the puppies were bounding thru the house. So fun and playful! Once they reached 8 weeks the kids said their tearful goodbyes and I drove all 8 puppies and Ziva back to the shelter. Upon arrival we found out the shots had been done too soon and they wanted us to keep the puppies for a couple more weeks. I just couldn't. As fun as they were, puppies are A LOT of work and I hadn't slept thru the night in those eight weeks. I cried as I walked away empty handed, without even a "thank you". While we didn't do it to be appreciated, it would have been nice. It was still a great experience for my family and we do hope to do it again in the future, though maybe not for the full eight weeks.

Note- If you are open to fostering a pregnant dog or cat, I'd encourage you to try it. Our Humane Society was asking for people to commit to 2-4 weeks, though it was clearly assumed we'd keep them for 8 weeks once we took her home. Be clear with your intentions. Do not let them vaccinate before 6 weeks.