To finish off our three-part fostering series, we asked Charissa what her most memorable foster was. Her first response was, “Wah, that’s hard, because they are all memorable!” However, here is her story of Lulu Lamb.
Lulu lamb at an adoption drive.
“Luna, or Lulu as she was affectionately called, was one of the puppies that Save our Street Dogs (SOSD) rescued. For some reason, Luna failed her numerous trial homestays as a puppy and ended up with another foster before she came to me. SOSD allows potential adopters to have one week of home trial stay before potential adopters sign the adoption papers. In Lulu’s case, they all returned her because she was stubborn or aggressive.
Goofy at Bishan dog run!
Lulu is the first foster dog that I didn’t get to do a meet-and-greet with my own dog, Lady-Mae, because her case was rather dire. At six months old, she already had a record of failing more than three home stays! As a dog grows older, it’s usually harder to rehome them because most people prefer to adopt cute puppies.
When I first met Lulu, she was a lanky, out-of-control dog. These were some of her problem behaviors:
– pulled on the lead
– very little impulse control
– barked to get her way
– sensitive to being handled at the collar (she gave me a rather nasty bite the first time I held her collar)
– did not allow people to pet her head
– barked at strangers
– lunged at everything that caught her attention
– not trained in basic obedience (sit, down, stay, come)
– highly distracted, could not focus
– ate anything off the ground
– not accustomed to being touched at her paws (another nasty bite!)
– jumped onto table and counter tops to steal food or to look out from the window
In short, Lulu was never taught manners as a young puppy and hence grew into an adolescent that displayed all the classic traits of a dog lacking in training.
Learning boundaries.
I chose to give special mention of Lulu because in the six months that she stayed with me, I saw how she had to learn all the necessary behaviors that a dog needs to have to adjust to our human world. And, because she had a late start, it was more difficult for her; it took her much longer to learn acceptable behavior(s). Also, her story reminded me of my first dog, Curly, a Bishon Frise that was abandoned. And just like Lulu, Curly took over a year before he became a well-adjusted dog.
During her stay, Lulu learnt to trust me and allowed me to hold her by her collar, tug her ears, play with her tail, rub her paws, cut her nails, inspect her ears and mouth. She also learnt to respect boundaries, i.e. no jumping on kitchen counter tops or tables or the couch. She also slowly learnt to trust humans of all shapes, sizes and skin color.
One of her biggest milestones was allowing strangers to pet her at adoption drives. All the volunteers at SOSD were amazed and thrilled to see Lulu transform from gangster dog to man’s best friend.
Through it all, she learnt to focus. She learnt all the basic obedience commands and could even hold a stay on a pavement along a busy road.
Sit-stay by a busy road.
The one thing that stood out for her from the other fosters – she knew how to test my patience and push my buttons. Dogs that push our buttons are always the ones who teach us about ourselves and how we can personally challenge ourselves to grow.
It was also through Lulu that I got to see a different side of Lady-Mae, who started to accompany Lulu and I to the various adoption drives because I accidentally discovered that my dog knew what was happening. I discovered it when someone came to my home to view Lulu. Lady-Mae greeted the potential adopter and showed Lulu how to greet and get to know strangers. She also took out her toys to play with Lulu and kept nudging me for treats. That caught the amusement of the potential adopter who told me that my dog was trying to promote Lulu the foster dog.
I saw it happen again recently when Toto’s potential adopters visited my home – Lady-Mae went through the same routine.
New collar and leash from Charissa as she goes off to her forever home (as a symbol that they are going to start a new chapter of their lives with their new humans).
Through the various fosters, I saw how generous Lady-Mae is. She’d take out her favorite tattered and torn toy to play with the foster dogs. She’d offer her favorite toys and not the ones she doesn’t like.
Fostering dogs also means I have less time for Lady-Mae. Over this past year fostering, I learnt to set one day a week that I’d take Lady out one-on-one. These outings help to give her respite from the challenging dogs that come to live with us. It also reinforces to her that she’s still my number one priority.
Dogs are like us, they too sometimes connect better with some dogs. For the fosters that Lady connected better with, it did affect Lady when they left. Lady would be slightly depressed for a couple of days. For dogs like Lulu who had such a hard time looking for their forever home, Lady knows how to share the joy.
Photo op at the Green Corridor.
Recently, we met Lulu with her adoptive family at the Botanic Gardens and Lady was overjoyed to see everyone together again. Lulu’s family, first-time dog owners, said that they have no regrets adopting Lulu because she’s such a good dog. She listens to everyone in the family and has adjusted well in her new home.
Lulu’s story tells us that the old saying “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks” is a myth. Her story shows us you can teach an old dog new tricks, you just need to be patient, and that is what Lulu taught me in return.”
What a heartwarming story! We really admire all the patience, selflessness and generosity that goes into fostering. We just want to have a special mention of Charissa’s current foster, Roody, in case anyone is interested in opening up their home to him!
Roody the black beauty at an adoption drive.
Roody is almost six months old and “has the highest ‘positivity’ I’ve met in a dog!” Highly intelligent, he learnt his basic commands and mastered them in the home within a week. He learnt ‘Fetch’ in ten minutes and was soon bored of it. Dogs like Roody are special. And special dogs need special humans. Roody will need a human that’s willing to put time and effort to continue training him. He is affectionate and good with people and dogs (although he does tend to bark at a pack of dogs out of insecurity – this is what Charissa is currently working on with him).
As a young dog, Roody needs a human who is willing to teach him how to integrate into the human world and be a well-adjusted dog. If you wish to inquire about him, leave your contact via SOSD’s adoption page here.
The Furry Tales 