Learnings from a 1st Time Foster Dad

My wife Laura has shared many stories with me from her prior fostering experiences. While I enjoyed hearing about the racer’s transition into retirement I really had no idea how quickly or slowly this adjustment would take.

Foster Renee waiting for trick-or-treaters on Halloween

One afternoon I received a text from Laura telling me that there was a cat-friendly female foster available. Obviously the next text message was asking me if I was really ready to give fostering a try. Following a deep breath and reassuring thoughts from all the positive experiences my wife had shared I let her know that I was ready, but it wasn’t until Renee came home that evening that I could say I had no idea what I had gotten myself in to.

Renee at her first meet & greet

Upon arriving at our house Renee was first introduced to two-thirds of our little pack. With those formalities out of the way it was time for Renee to be introduced to Hairy, the twelve pound feline member of the pack (just don’t tell him he is not a dog). While Greycie allows Hairy to groom her and Havana tolerates her little furry brother it wasn’t a certainty how the cat-friend foster would react. It took only three steps for my first fostering experience to take place, two slow steps into the kitchen followed by one quick step back as Hairy introduced himself. Finally I had my first fostering story, a tall greyhound being unsure about a cat that is small enough to walk under her.

Renee and Hairy

Since that first evening there have been a continued number of these first experiences for myself. The difficulty I had to get Renee into the kennel to eat dinner after never having to ask Greycie or Havana twice if they were hungry. Listening as Renee sniffed every inch of the house, wishing she would just lie down to relax (or that I could relax from the clicking of her nails on the hardwood floors). Then there was the lifting of the sixty-five pound dog into the back of my car while our two girls jump up under their own power. I think it was about this time that I was asking myself if I was ready to take on this “fostering thing” and it was only the second evening.

Renee, Greycie, and Havana taking a car ride

At this same time I started to realize that these experiences were more importantly firsts for Renee. Watching her as she figured out that she could lie down on the comfy dog bed and while Hairy walked by (to assert his dominance in the pack) Renee just gave him a quick sniff and then reverted back to her evening of relaxation. Then there was the night that we were taking the three girls out to visit my parents, I was preparing to hoist this girl up but before I could bend over to pick her up she leaped under her own power into the back of the car (a moment that might have made a nice Subaru advertisement). Then there was the evening when Renee was staying up as I was attempting to finish up some work and I glanced up to watch Renee carry each squeaky toy from the toy bin to the dog bed (prior to that moment Renee seemed to be frighten of these little toys that squeak when you bite down on them). Then to top it all off each morning she attempts to meet that other dog that she only sees on the other side of the bedroom mirror.

Renee and the squeaky frog

In summary, I think this “fostering thing” is more similar to fostering a child than I ever expected. While Renee is now a retired racer she is also a young child who’s eyes are opening to all the wonders of the human world. Her three and a half years of experiences on the track could have never prepared her for her life in a house, but with each day I spend with Renee I have no doubt she will enjoy a long and happy life as a house dog.