Foster Journal
April 2003 - Patience Pays
Off: A Perfect Home For Murray
April 12, 2003
I left a msg on your machine that Murray was going to be adopted
today by the people who met him at the bingo event. The woman decided
she is allergic to him, and she can't take allergy medication because
she is pregnant. So Murray is still with me. This poor dog has some
kind of evil curse on him, I think.
If we can get an ad in the paper this week, I'll try for another
week. If I still have him after that, I'll return him to the shelter
and see if he has better luck there. I've never had this much trouble
placing a dog and I just don't understand why. It's extremely frustrating.
Thanks for your help.
April 14, 2003
Amy,
I spoke with Gail and Christina previously in response to your other
email and Murray is going to be in the paper for the Pet of the
Week. I believe Christina is also going to highlight him on the
radio. Again, please feel free to bring him to as many off-site
functions as possible. The exposure may definitely help get him
adopted. Thanks for hanging in there :)
Beverly
---
Hi Beverly,
Murray was adopted this evening! They saw him on the web and then
saw his poster at the shelter. He seemed very comfortable with
them. So hopefully this time it will be a permanent placement.
The best part is that they live about 10 minutes from me!
I'm taking a break from fostering for a couple weeks, but I'll be
ready to foster again soon. So keep me in mind! Submissive males
generally fit best with our dogs.
Thanks for all your help!
---
Yeah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Great Job Amy!!!
Thank you so much for your help and your patience. :)
April 15, 2003
Hi Gretchen,
I already sent the good news to Beverly but forgot to CC you -- Murray
was adopted yesterday! They saw him on the web
and came to meet him, and they loved him. Yay! Hopefully it will
be a permanent placement this time.
Thanks for your help! I already told Beverly I'll be ready to foster
again in a few weeks. I'm a glutton for punishment. =)
---
I am so glad you are a glutton for punishment! You are a saint!
Take Care!
April 21, 2003
Hi Lisa and Polly!
I just wanted to check in and see how things're going with Murray.
I figure no news is good news, so hopefully he's settling in okay.
I felt so bad for Brin. He was depressed that his little brother
went away. I'm not kidding. He sat around here looking all droopy.
That first evening, he kept asking to go outside, and then he'd just
sort of stand there and look around. I swear he was looking for Murray.
:-( He was always glad to see the other fosters go away. But he seems
to be doing better now.
Let me know if you would like to get the "kids" together
for a play date. I'm generally available anytime on weekends, and
weekday evenings.
April 23, 2003
Hi Amy!
Glad to hear from you. I've actually been composing an e-mail (mentally)
to you for the past few days but have been unable to find the time
to actually sit down and write.
Let's see...Murray's transition was actually really quick and
pretty trouble free. He made himself at home rather rapidly and
accepted
us just as quickly. The only problem we had initially was getting
him to stay in the crate. He would go in willingly--both on his own
and when he was told to do so. However, when we shut the door and
left him in it, he'd whine and bark. We live in a big victorian which
is split into three separate apartments. Since I'd prefer that our
neighbors NOT hate us, we realized that we couldn't leave him alone
if he was going to bark like that. We practiced a little...leaving
him alone (in the crate), we'd leave the room and tell him "quiet!" when
he barked. This usually worked but not to a point where we were totally
comfortable. We then tried using a baby gate in the kitchen. The
first time I left for work (while Murray and Polly were in the kitchen),
he heard me open the front door, then swiftly jumped the gate and
tried to follow me. Finally, we decided to do some trial runs with
him left alone in the house. We're lucky because every room on the
first floor (except for the kitchen) has a door, as does the second
floor. So, this left him with the run of the kitchen, as well as
the first floor hallway. He actually did really well. We have to
be diligent about locking the office door, the living room door,
the bathroom door, the door to the second floor,
the pantry door, etc. but he's done well. There have been a few casualties--a
small broom, a plant that was knocked over, etc.--- all of which
were our fault for not properly securing a door. We just make sure
he has a rawhide, his kong, his rope toy, etc. I think he entertains
himself pretty well (fortuantely, with suitable items) while we're
gone. There has been no destructive chewing or anything like that.
No issues with bathroom habits either. I figure as long as he's happy
and safe, I have no problem with him not using the crate. At this
point, I think that we have "Murray-proofing" down
to a science.
What else? As I said, he seems really comfortable in our house.
As long as one (or both) of us is home he pretty much has the run
of the place. This isn't a problem because, as you know, he is always
in a room with someone---never alone. We take probably 4 to 5 walks
per day at this point. We've also discovered a park just a block
down the street from our house. There is a large portion (half grass,
half concrete) which is fenced, save for one area where a gate used
to be. We run around down there, play ball, etc a few times a day.
He's been extremely solid on coming when called, so much now that
I'm comfortable letting him run off leash down there. In addition,
he's discovered playground equipment---he'll go up the stairs, crawl
through the tunnel and run down the sliding board. Completely fearless
and incredibly confident. I think we may have an agility dog on our
hands!
He's been learning pretty quickly, too. He definitely understands "no!".
He picked up on "leave it" almost immediately. He's even
figured out that he has to "wait" when we open the door
or are leaving without him. We're still working on "off!".
I know he knows what it means but he doesn't always listen, likely
because he loves to jump up on us. He hasn't been destructive or
aggressive at all. He's still in the mouthing stage but he does stop
when told to.
We're going to start dog school in a few weeks. I don't think he
needs a basic class since he seems to know most of the stuff covered
there. I think we'll start him in a novice class---get him solid
on stay, come, heel, etc and then, hopefully move him into an agility
class. I think he'd do really well at that.
Allright...sorry for my long-windedness. I could probably go on
some more but I'll spare you. All in all, Murray is doing very well.
We're happy with him and I think he's happy with us---but you can
ask him the next time you
see him. By the way, I think it would be great to get all of the
dogs together to play. My schedule is a little goofy...I typically
work evenings, Tuesday through Saturday. Generally off on Sunday
and Monday. Perhaps we could do a Monday evening? Or, actually, I
think this coming Sunday would be good for us, as long as it's after
5:00 PM or so. Let me know what you think. You can e-mail me back
or just give us a call at the house.
Thanks for writing, Amy. Please do keep in touch. And, more importantly,
thank you (and Warren) for taking care of Murray for so long and
for making him a part of your family. I truly believe that his adjustment
and behavior here have been so great mainly because of the care that
you guys gave him.
Take care and hopefully we'll see you soon!
Lisa
---
Hi Lisa,
Wow, you have no idea how great I felt after reading your message!
After having him for so long, with
so many failed attempts at placement, I was starting to think there
was no home out there for him. This is better than I could have imagined.
I debated many times over the past six months about whether I should
just find a way to keep him, but I knew that I couldn't give him
the attention that he needs and deserves. You are doing so much more
with him than I was willing/able to do, and I just think it's awesome.
I'm glad you've been able to wean him off the crate. I noticed that
he really only did the barky/whiney thing when he knew one of us
was close enough to hear him! But if you don't need to use the crate
at all, that's great.
I'm not at all surprised that he shows an aptitude for agility.
He has the right build for it, and he certainly has the energy! I
always meant to start him on weave poles (yes, I have some in my
living room) but somehow never got around to it. I mean, he was *only*
here for six months. ;-)
Sunday evening would be a good time for a play date. I'm totally
free that day, so any time you pick should be fine. Monday evening
would be fine too, after about 6:30 or so. We can meet at Frick.
We usually go to the fenced area in upper Frick. Let me know what
works for you.
Thanks so much for taking such good care of "my" boy!
P.S. Don't feel bad for writing a lot -- I live for this stuff!
---
Hi Susan,
I have some wonderful news! Murray has found a permanent home. He
was adopted last week, but I wanted to wait and make sure it was
for real this time. Bonus: They live just a few minutes away from
me. They take him to a nearby park several times a day, where he
likes to play on the playground equipment. He will be going to
obedience class and possibly agility classes after that.
He was actually almost adopted the day before Lisa met him. A family
brought their dog to meet him, and then took him home for a short
trial. Within an hour or so, the mom became terribly allergic to
him, and they returned him in tears. So I guess it's not so strange
that David had some trouble, because this woman isn't allergic to
their other dog.
Anyway, Murray is doing great! I'll be sure to say hi from you next
time I see him, which might be this weekend. (We are planning a "play
date" at
Frick Park.)
Thanks for your good vibes and prayers -- it's definitely a happy
ending for Murray!
---
Dear Amy,
I am so happy to hear Murray's good news. You made my week. He is
such a sweetie, I am thrilled for him and for you. Thank you for
hanging in there with him so long! Your dedication is incredible.
Diamond went on vacation with us last week to Charleston, South
Carolina. We drove there and stayed with my parents. She was so good!!
My parents said they would love to have another dog if it was as
precious as Diamond.
She loved the ocean!
Keep up the good work.
Susan
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