Our first foster dog(s)

On August 9, 2008 Katie and I met at Minneapolis Animal Control to pick out a foster dog. The director of Underdog Rescue met us there to point out a few dogs she thought might be a good fit in our home. Before Katie arrives, I have a chance to walk around and look at the dogs in their cages. I turn the corner and lay my eyes on a beautiful smooth-coated collie. He is giving me the look that says "Hey you! Get me out of place!" and I decide right there that I am going to do whatever I can to trick Katie into taking him home with us.

I can immediately tell that this dog is full of energy. He is franticly jumping up and down and seems excited that I stopped at his kennel and am now talking in a high-pitched voice to him. I can tell he is going to be a handful and that he is not the type of dog Katie wants but when I see that his shelter nametag says "Due Out" I don't care what Katie thinks. When a dog's nametag is stamped "Due Out" it basically means they could be euthanized any day. The collie was an owner surrender so he had only been in the shelter for a week before they stamped him.

Katie arrives to the shelter and I start working my trickery. I excitedly take her over to his kennel and say, "This is the one we should get. Look how awesome this dog is!" She scrunches her forehead which is something she does when she thinks I'm nuts. "Okay, let's look at the other dogs," I tell her. We walk around and see a very calm dog who also seems excited and happy that we stopped in front of her. Her tag also is stamped "Due Out" so she needs to be rescued ASAP. This dog is small (20lbs), calm, and seems like she will be a very easy dog to foster. This is the dog Katie wants to be our first foster dog. I can't help but think about the collie. I ask Katie if we can foster both dogs. She scrunches her forehead at me. Bad sign. Luckily, the director Shannon is standing nearby and hears us talking. She works some amazing trickery and somehow we manage driving home with both dogs. We decide to name the collie "Drake" and the small, calm dog, "Bella."

Katie was right, having 4 dogs was a little much. I felt like one of those crazy dog people that you make fun of at the dog park. Luckily, both Drake and Bella have found their forever homes with really great families!