Easy way to make yourself insane...as experienced by Sageofages - Page 2

scbelle · #16 12-07-2007, 03:31 AM

As someone who has used this program to foster our beloved bulldog Churchill, I can't sing your praises enough, Pam! It is a wonderful thing you're doing and will undoubtedly allow the soldier mom of these two poochies to buckle down and do her job, secure in the fact that her "children" are being well taken care of. Give 'em some pats for me.

FSUZeta · #17 12-07-2007, 08:56 AM

i think that somehow we should notify "the dog whisperer" about pam and her foster children(and of course, her original babies, too). anyone have any idea how we could do this?

i will start looking for coupons. we have an 80 lb. golden who goes thru the food too quickly-i cannot imagine 4!

kstar · #18 12-07-2007, 09:33 AM

Pedigree? Yuck. If you switch to a high quality food, the dogs will eat less and you will not go through a bag so quickly. It sounds more expensive, but you end up saving money in the end.

ForeverRoses · #19 12-07-2007, 10:09 AM

That's wonderful! I never even considered what happens to the pets when people are deployed. Will you be sending doggie updates to the Mommy while she is in Iraqi?

sageofages · #20 12-07-2007, 11:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kstar

Pedigree? Yuck. If you switch to a high quality food, the dogs will eat less and you will not go through a bag so quickly. It sounds more expensive, but you end up saving money in the end.

Our dogs either turn their noses up at the more expensive stuff, or worse, end up with it being rather nasty when it reappears... Pedigree works very well for us.

Happy and Dopey were eating the Pedigree when they arrived here (which was a relief), and according to the foster agreement, we need to feed them according to their mom's instructions.

We are going to set up a myspace/website (depending on their mom's access..as some bases have myspace blocked) for them. I keep referring to myself as "aunt pam"...my sons are cracking up over this.

We will have photos up somewhere by the end of the weekend. It snowed yesterday (it is Iowa in Winter afterall), and they are just adorable against the snow. The best part...I can seem them at night then!

EEKappa · #21 12-07-2007, 12:27 PM

I hadn't heard of this program, and I am just filled with admiration for you for doing this. Happy and Dopey are so lucky to have found such a wonderful foster mom!

SthrnZeta · #22 12-07-2007, 12:35 PM

I've never heard of this program either. I can see it being slightly traumatic for the pets, but far less so than a shelter, that's for sure. Truly a great thing to do. Makes me wish I was buying a bigger house...

sageofages · #23 12-07-2007, 12:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SthrnZeta

I've never heard of this program either. I can see it being slightly traumatic for the pets, but far less so than a shelter, that's for sure. Truly a great thing to do. Makes me wish I was buying a bigger house...

It has been far harder on Happy than Dopey. Happy kind of cried for quite a while the first night...sort of a whispered wimper..with occasional howls. He barked constantly the first day out in the yard...but by today, no whimpers and no barking in the yard. He is definitely a "mommie's boy" and follows me around our house, demanding attention from me.

Dopey is perfectly happy with our chaos and to be part of it.

nittanyalum · #24 12-07-2007, 04:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sageofages

Happy and Dopey

LOL, I LOVE the names! You are a good woman, sage. Like others, I never even gave a thought to what the soldiers do with their pets when they have to go...

UGAalum94 · #25 12-07-2007, 08:19 PM

Sageofages,

Perhaps you could suggest to the organization that they set sometime up online to allow donations that they could then redistribute to foster caretakers to help offset costs for the fostering folks?

ETA: Er, they already do https://www.netpets.org/netp/donation.php. (SofA, did you already mention this? I'm struggling with reading comprehension lately.) But maybe they don't hand the money out to fostering folks directly?

Or if you want to put all your personal info on Greek Chat, which I personally wouldn't, I know that I'd be happy to mail you a Walmart gift card for you to spend on food. (not that the amount I could send would make much of a dent in the overall bill.)

I bet that the number of people who would give money to this cause would be bigger than we could imagine. It combines being about to show support for deployed troops with helping animals; who wouldn't want to help?

sageofages · #26 12-07-2007, 08:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by UGAalum94

Sageofages,

Perhaps you could suggest to the organization that they set sometime up online to allow donations that they could then redistribute to foster caretakers to help offset costs for the fostering folks?

ETA: Er, they already do https://www.netpets.org/netp/donation.php. (SofA, did you already mention this? I'm struggling with reading comprehension lately.) But maybe they don't hand the money out to fostering folks directly?

Or if you want to put all your personal info on Greek Chat, which I personally wouldn't, I know that I'd be happy to mail you a Walmart gift card for you to spend on food. (not that the amount I could send would make much of a dent in the overall bill.)

I bet that the number of people who would give money to this cause would be bigger than we could imagine. It combines being about to show support for deployed troops with helping animals; who wouldn't want to help?

No they don't distribute the donated funds to the folks doing the fostering. The service member is to pay the costs of "living expenses and vet care". However, until she gets it set up...we are bearing the costs for these two. (They really are good boys!). So far, I have noticed an uptick in the amount of food my dogs consume as well...I see it as a competition thing for a while.

Since they are here, I have discovered two pressing needs. I need to extend my kennel fencing to surround my back door. As it is, we normally walk the dogs out the backdoor, down some steps and then put them into the kennel gate. Our german shepard complies with verbal commands for this....HOWEVER, our golden retriever must be restrained (held) because if he is loose, he is *gone* in a blink! I don't know Happy and Dopey well enough to know if letting them loose is a good idea or not. My sense is *not*! I want to extend my wooden privacy fence about 13 feet in one direction out from the garage and then 15 feet perpendicular to the side of the house (along a concrete pad we have). This would allow me to just open the back door to let them in and out all day long as they need. The kennel will still have its own gate, and give me a "ante" area for getting them out the door with no escaping. UNFORTUNATELY, we now have 4 inches of snow with 4 more predicted for tomorrow. Not gonna put up fencing in that weather.

Second, I need to find a better watering situation. Before Happy and Dopey arrived, we used an old 18 qt stainless steel stockpot for water. This was sufficient for both dogs for all day (and they could both drink at the same time). Not working for 4 big dogs. I need to get something with a wider mouth and more capacity. Additionally, I will need to be able to put a heater on it to keep it from freezing during the cold. I priced a nice stock watering unit from Ritchie Industries (here in Iowa), but learned while it is EXACTLY what we need, the price was way more than I expected. I am going to talk to the local distributor to see if I can get some sort of "trade-in"/loaner or sponsorship for it. I will really only have this large a need for about 15 months (or so).

Day three has gone well otherwise.

Anyone (especially fence builders

LOL ..JK)seriously wanting to help, please PM me.

LPIDelta · #27 12-07-2007, 09:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sageofages

The dogs are IDENTICAL..except one has spots on his tongue and other does not. So I bought them two different color collars so I don't have to say "ok pant so I can see who you are".

This made me LOL!!! I agree with everyone else--you are AMAZING!

Two words: Pet Butler. My husband got me this as a "going away" present when he deployed and I LOVE IT! I have not had to scoop poop since June and it is a god send. With the allotment, it might be affordable.

I am truly touched that someone would do this--thank you!

Buttonz · #28 12-07-2007, 10:06 PM

You are doing an awesome thing! I'm sure it will be lots of fun and you'll be able to enjoy them all...I bet once they are gone it's going to feel empty without them!

nittanyalum · #29 12-07-2007, 11:42 PM

Hey sage, how about setting up a paypal account (with an anonymous email address so you can still protect your identity) that people can send monetary donations to? Would that work? I don't know all the ins & outs of paypal...

sageofages · #30 12-08-2007, 12:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nittanyalum

Hey sage, how about setting up a paypal account (with an anonymous email address so you can still protect your identity) that people can send monetary donations to? Would that work? I don't know all the ins & outs of paypal...

I do have a paypal account.

PM me for any additional information.