Confessions of a Foster Fail
By Kelly Waldron
My foster failure story begins with my love of all animals, of course. I have an affinity for just about every creature that walks the planet; unfortunately, my passion for saving pandas in the wild didn’t pan out like I had planned as a young girl. So, having a dog, then two, became good enough, especially since I had already been teaching for 20 years and going back to school wasn’t a feasible or reasonable option.
About 5 years ago, I remember reading about Desi dogs and how India was trying hard to decrease the number of them on their streets. I started dreaming of having a Desi dog in my family, but at that time, living in a townhome, it wasn’t practical. But what was the harm in fostering, right? So just over 3 years ago I began my fostering adventure for OPH, with the help of my daughter Kyla. My first 3 fosters were from down south, and I of course wanted to keep them; in fact, I’ve wanted to keep all of my fosters, but again, 3 dogs in a townhouse - not good.
In the winter of 2017, I was convinced by the incredible Desi dog leader Irene, to take in my first foster from India. Pari was gorgeous and amazing! She was adopted quickly by friends of ours, so I get to see her almost every week on my running route. About a month or so after Pari, Irene brought Bundi to me- my first puppy from India. Needless to say, Bundi was adopted just as quickly as Pari. Yet another heart stealer!
A few months later Irene then dropped off Jessy, yet another Desi dog. Jessy was such a sweetheart who was incredibly difficult to give up, especially since she was with us for a few months. Jessy, like Pari and Bundi, hit the jackpot by being adopted into a fantastic and loving home.
Months went by. I didn’t foster since it was the start of a school year and coaching basketball. As soon as the season was over, I decided it was time for another foster. Furry entered our home and immediately fit right in with my other two dogs. She has an infectious personality and it broke my heart to see her get adopted two weeks later. Unfortunately for Furry’s adopter, but fortunately for us, Furry did not do well living in a condo, so she was returned to me. Being the gut-wrenching basket case that I can be, I just could not see putting her through another adoption that might not go well, so that was my excuse to adopt her;
thereby, foster failing!
Furry, now Mia, has not been easy by any means. Adopting a Desi dog takes more time, patience, and energy than most other dogs. They have all lived on the streets, having to fend for themselves. They are stubborn, independent, and definitely do not come house broken. We have now had Mia for a year. She is finally house broken and the difficult issues with her have subsided. She is cuddly, friendly, loyal, easy to manage (unless I leave the garbage can unattended) and does not leave the yard unless I make her. I honestly can’t imagine our lives without her! I also realized that having three dogs really isn’t much different than two. It simply amounts to that much more LOVE to share and receive!
