A meeting for Maddie

Tonight we had a good time.   The paw challenged ones came home with some pizza bones.    We should have been allowed to go pick them out ourselves, but the ones they brought were pretty good.    Maddie likes pizza bones, a lot!  It was fun to share a special snack time with Maddie and Nala.   

Nala gets the first treat, and she also gets the last one.   Something about her time getting short, so she gets extra treats, extra petting, extra everything.   If I get on Nala's bed they make me get off of it.   Nala is still getting around well once she gets up.   Even with her pain management pills, she has a bad time getting up and down.    Once up, she stays up, once down, she stays down.   She walks unsteady on her hips, but she still comes looking for her share of attention and she is always first in line for treats.   She still makes her trip outside just after midnight, she makes a quick inspection of the back yard, then she comes back to sleep.   She still watches out the front glass door and lets us know if someone is coming down the walk.   The morning sun hits her bed, and as soon as she is done with her breakfast, she returns to soak up the sun.  More and more often, people come in the front door and Nala barely wakes up.   She will wake up to greet them, get her attention, then its back to nap time. 

Then there was a long telephone call.    There are two applications for people that want to meet Maddie.   They were told to call them and set up an appointment to meet Maddie.   The first phone call was a long one, it was decided that the home sounded like a perfect match for Maddie.   The lady had lost her Golden and wanted to find another full time companion.    She was offering a home with just two hands to pet her, but they are full time hands.   Lots of walks in the neighborhood, a nice back yard for those times that a lady needs a backyard.   Full time house privileges, room in the bedroom for her bed and lots of attention.    Maddie will be tested to see if she can become a visiting therapy dog at a local retirement center.   If she passes, she will be spending time with hundreds of hands to pet her and enough attention to wear out her fur.    What a life that would be for a loving lady. 

Maddie says she is not excited about the attention right now, but she will see if she can work with it.   She is shy, and she will have to work her way out of her shell.   The reward will be so much attention that she will never be alone again. 

Wish Maddie luck, tomorrow afternoon she will go see if she likes the arrangements.    If she does, she will stay and start her new life.   If she decides not to make that her Forever Home, she will be back and we will call the next applicant and interview them.

We checked the list of our foster visitors.    Maddie is the 73rd foster we have had here.   I was number one, and I have stayed number one.   I was also the first foster failure, the first foster that they took in and refused to give up.   It happens often in the rescue business, and it is what makes rescue so much fun.   73 is not a landmark number, but we are tracking so when we hit 100, we can celebrate. 

Mogley G. Retriever