 | FOXYAt the tender age of six, our Foxy found himself in rescue because "Mom's" new hubby was severely allergic. However, me thinks that the "New Hubby" might have been allergic to Foxy's big mouth and his impersonation of Cerberus, the mythic Guardian of the Gates of Hell. In short, Foxy was accessing his inner Rottweiller. Foxy was his Mom's first dog, so the leadership and obedience work had been a bit sketchy. He was used to running the household and displayed the typical Eskie tendency to mind everyone's business but his own...if proper exercise and discipline are not part of the daily routine. Honestly, if you give an Eskie an inch, he will certainly take two miles....and that is precisely what Foxy did. He assumed the role of "Protector of the Family," and gave considerable grief to any unlucky visitors, and I conjecture that he gave the new husband a run for his money. |
| Foxy's family was at a loss to control him, and their wit's end led them to us. And so, Foxy joined our New York foster home, with Mike and Diane, who have successfully adopted Parker, Jack and Timmy from us. At the time, Mike and Diane were also fostering our girl, Abby, so Foxy had quite a diverse dog pack to face. And, for an only dog, he did pretty well. There is something to be said for the power of the pack. |
Foxy's foster buddy, Abby |
 | Our initial foster reports were pretty good. Pack life was agreeing with Foxy, and a few weeks passed until we had an adopter inquire about adopting Abby and Foxy together. I was hesitant at first, but the applicant seemed well qualified, boasting of 23 years of Eskie experience. I was duly impressed....which I daresay is not a state that I find myself in very often. Soon, I surmised that 23 years of Eskie experience translated into two perfectly behaved Eskie girls. Somehow, these folks managed to drum up the only two perfect Eskies that had ever lived. |
| Now, I just don't think there are any perfect dogs...and yet, some folks' expectations are pretty high. I suspect that rescue dogs fall a bit lower on the perfection scale than the average dog, so, guess what? Foxy and Abby fell quite short of the perfection mark. And the adopters fell quite a bit short of the commitment mark. It was reported that Foxy and Abby double teamed these folks and scared the crap out of them. After 24 hours, they gave up and, so, Foxy and Abby re-joined their foster home just in time for Christmas. |  |
 | Shortly, thereafter, Abby was adopted to folks who had contacted me right after the adoption faux pas. Now, Foxy was alone in his foster home, and as the holiday madness approached, he began to act up. Foxy wore out his welcome pretty quickly as the influx of holiday guests increased, so we moved him up to Massachusetts for a bit of boot camp, with our new foster Mom, Susan B. It was pretty easy to get a handle on Foxy, once we removed some of his stressors, and immersed him in structure, exercise and discipline. And due credit must go to Susan's alpha girl, Chloe, who had a paw involved in the Foxy Situation. |
After a few weeks, Foxy blossomed and at last, the perfect adopter turned up. I was contacted by Susan L, of New York, a few days ago, and immediately got the right vibe. She is an experienced rescuer, who had adopted her Border Collie/Chow mix, Bogie, from a shelter where he was considered nearly feral. Susan worked miracles with Bogie, and now, she was anxious to adopt Foxy. What a break for him. The adoption meeting was a roaring success. Foxy took to Susan and Bogie right away. He hopped right in the Jeep and made himself at home. I have the highest hopes that this time, Foxy is home...forever! Here is Susan's first report: |  |
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February 3, 2008 Hi Denise, Just want to let you know, we had a nice quiet ride home, every time I looked in the back seat at Foxy, he had a great big smile on his face. When we got home, I walked him around the pen, and he did his business, then we took a tour of the house. He follows me where ever I go, and not even being home an hour yet, he is on the couch with me laying in back of me, back to back, taking a nap! So he is settling in quite nicely, and seems content, I believe everything is going to be fine, once Bogie gets a hold of him, Bogie is drooling which I have never seen him do before, must have something to do with the smell of Foxy. And of course Bogie is very concerned about me right now, but I will work on that and his confidence up that he is not being replaced or abandoned. Foxy is doing better than him! If I don't call you in the morning, I will email you before I leave for work. Best to you and your new Eskie coming in today. |
