Feb 13 2007
Pup 21: Ranger
February 2, 2007
Lynne called mid-evening to ask if I could possibly foster Ranger that night. Since he looked almost exactly like my Birdie, I dropped everything and went to get him. He’d been mostly in kennels for a couple weeks and was in desperate need of exercise and attention.
Poor Ranger. He was relentless in his demands for affection. Worse was that he stunk — not like a dirty dog but like a long-unwashed person. You couldn’t tell he’d just been bathed by a professional groomer. I sprayed him all over with hippie deodorant a few times but the smell was still enough to make you gag.
So he stayed mostly outside with Stella. They ran around a lot, he wagging and she yelping in pain. It was nighttime and dark at the edges of the yard so I couldn’t see what was going on, but I expect he was herding her with his teeth.
He was the first visiting dog that she didn’t like. He was the first I didn’t take a picture of. He was the first I wasn’t very nice to. He didn’t do anything wrong. He just didn’t do anything right.
I feel horrible that I didn’t show him love when that’s all he was asking for. I couldn’t do it.
I took him back the next day. That night Milo called and asked if I could foster him one more night but I didn’t get the message till too late. The day after that someone adopted him. The following day he was returned. I don’t know what happened next.
Sometimes this foster stuff is just too sad.
