2017 was a year I decided to sign up for some volunteering work, and signed up with the Pug rescue to foster pugs. We have a pug, Frisbee (not a rescue), who is 2 years old, and he is both my husband and my first dog ever.
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| Frisbee, our little baby |
Since we felt comfortable with the breed, and we live in a house that cannot take bigger dogs, I signed up specifically to foster pugs.
Pugs, as every other breed, come with specific needs that have to be taken care of, given the bulgy eyes prone to infection, smashed faced driving breathing issues, and uncontrollable love for food, causing obesity and other forms of diseases. But it is all these traits that make a pug the cutest looking look — the bulgy eyes, smashed face, and barrel like body!
Thus far we fostered 3 pugs who all got adopted, with the last one being close to my heart, Geordi, now named Alan. He came to us newly blind and our bond grew together in him understanding his new life without sight, and us just cuddling him and letting him know its ok. He found a lovely caring home, and we could not have asked for anything better.
He was a bit rough on me to let go, he will always be my special one, little Geordi.
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| Geordi aka Alan, the one that stole my heart |
Long story short, I took a break after Gerodi to recover, and decided now was a good time to start fostering again since I will have more time without the hassle of a full time job.
So I ended up going to the vet to get Mimosa, and ended up with two pugs, Mimosa and Rosemary, since they had a lot of rescue pugs come over the weekend.
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| Old Lady, Rosemary |
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| Mimosa |
Both of them are old (10–11years) ladies, but Mimosa needs a bit more care since her hind legs do not function as well and she also had bladder issues. This meant that she needs to relieve herself 3–4 times a day, and has medicines she takes through the day.
I felt like this was meant to be, since now I had the time to actually help her out and also get her used to her Wheelchair.
Rosemary is a chilled out grandma. She eats, sleeps, finds her space. She does not demand attention, but if you give it, she will roll over and show you where to give her the rubs. She is one of the easiest ones I’ve had so far!
This has been an exciting year for us since we started fostering. My husband was indifferent towards any pet until we brought Frisbee to our house and now we make friends based on how humans interact with animals…
The experience has been exhilarating, while a little overwhelming too. We love to bring home new fosters and learn about them, their personality and interact with them. But soon we realized our approach to dogs is not a “one-size fits all” strategy. Each one of them is different in their own ways, and it takes a day or two to understand them, and then modify how we handle them.
Frisbee is a spoiled only child, and he is my baby. But this experience has also helped him calm down and learn to share, just like it has taught us to share the love to every new foster that comes home.
Being so involved with rescue pugs has also made me more aware of other living things, and empathy towards other animals. I have been vegetarian for a while now, but as every day passes the need to be vegan grows stronger in me. Perhaps one day I will, one step at a time.
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I’ve learned a lot from these little rescues too. Most importantly, their resilience. These are dogs who have handled illness, new disabilities, old age, lost the homes they probably grew up in and landed in homes completely alien to them. But they continue to adapt and live happily.
It’s not the size of the dog in the fight, it’s the size of the fight in the dog. — Mark Twain
The first day I brought Geordi home, my husband was extremely sad just looking at the stitches on Geordi’s eyes. But Geordi was wagging his tail. He kept circling around the first few days and kept hitting himself on chairs, walls… until he did not. He learned to nagivate from the couch, to the floor, to his water and food. He did not just survive, but he fought to live happily. He would follow Frisbee based on the jingle from his collar.
I see the same with Mimosa, who was given up by her family due to personal reasons. Mimosa is old and overweight. She has arthritis, hind legs that do not function, and a bladder infection. Yet, she tried to crawl her way out of her bed to the kitchen. If she is resting near us, she reaches out and asks us to give her a belly rub. She is excited to go out… and most of all, she has not given up.
You know how they say, stop and smell the roses? It came from dogs who stopped to smell other dogs in the grass.
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“If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went.” ― Will Rogers
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With every foster I have always only wished one thing, that they find a family that loves them the way they unconditionally love every human. I hope to continue these efforts, and probably have more life lessons from these fur balls. Until then, I’ll just cuddle with them and let their wet noses rest on my lap, as I sip on a cup of coffee.
Follow Frisbee and our fosters on Instagram
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