Becoming a Foster Dog Dad

I lost Hershey, my 13 year old chocolate lab two weeks ago. It has been a long week of emotions and emptiness after years of spending time with Hershey and becoming best friends. She lived a long and happy life. She helped me though so many difficult times. At the same time though, she was also like having a child in that she required a lot of attention. I got up at 4:30-5 a.m. EVERY morning to take her for a walk about always made it home to walk here in the afternoon and evening, rarely spending time away for vacation or visiting friends because I had to take care of her.

Now, I’m struggling with feeling empty and missing the fact that she needed me as much as I needed her. Yesterday, I visited the ASPCA. It was smaller than expected but they have many animals in foster care already, just waiting for someone to adopt full time. The couple of dogs I met were very friendly and had I stayed longer I would’ve likely walked out with a new friend.

Right now, while I’m still missing Hershey and figuring out what my life will be like moving forward, I’m going to become a foster dog dad. I have a lot of flexibility in my schedule and think it would be a great idea to help me while being about to spend some quality time with a dog that needs help. I met a few dogs that seemed great. The only downside I see is that, not being puppies, I think many of the dogs have histories that could make them unpredictable from a health and emotion standpoint. I adopted Hershey when she was a puppy and took the best care of her throughout her life. It is still difficult when I realize she is gone.