The first morning I opened the door to the room of our four 4-week-old foster puppies, the tiny bundles yipped, licked and fell all over each other to climb into my arms. I turned to my husband and said, “You are going to have to up your game. Now, this is a greeting!”
On March 14, I called the Aiken County Animal Shelter hoping they had a foster dog for us., Everything was happening so quickly around the pandemic situation and decisions were being weighed whether to delay transfers or even close the shelter, so we wanted to help.
Yes, they needed us – they had new puppies. We had never fostered puppies before but were given care instructions and eagerly picked up four black, 2½-pound squirming labs. The ride home exhausted them; they fell upon each other into a heap and promptly were sound asleep. So began our 6 weeks of isolation, social distancing and immeasurable entertainment! When we set out their puppy food and supplemental milk, they climbed over and under each other with such eagerness it reminded me of several of our family’s Thanksgivings.
We had a difficult time telling one from the other and their genders. It seems laughable but they were so young, not every part of their cuteness was evident! We named them Scooby, Rubble, Clover and Berrie and set to work on Puppy Olympics. The 2020 Tokyo Olympics had just been postponed and since they were daring adventurers, we prepared them for their first event – stair climbing. Roly-poly Scooby had the hardest time but was also the most determined. Mastering the downward climb event was like slalom skiing. They all jumped back up after taking a tumble.
We built balance beams with boxes and mats and then introduced curling where they chased my push broom around while I cleaned their room. Mixed martial arts came naturally – they playfully nipped, wrestled and pinned each other.
Since they came running when they heard our voices, associating us with their meals, we set up races with their food at the finish line. Puppies are easily distracted. Often in the middle of an Olympic event one would curl up to sleep or chase a bird.
Other events included a low crawl through a little tunnel and a ball chase under a tiny bridge. Hide and seek in the monkey grass was also a daily event. As the puppies grew, we introduced them to swimming. Falling, leaping, belly flopping, splashing into 4-5 inches of water followed by true doggie paddling fascinated them. And was endlessly entertaining to us.
Their most accomplished achievement was napping every two hours and sleeping through the night. Following weeks of all four curling into one tight ball to sleep, they started to nestle by themselves in small areas. After six weeks, they were ready to leave the foursome and fill other families’ hearts. When they left with their forever families, the pups were healthy and happy.
Fostering is as nurturing for us as the dogs we save. If you would like to try it, please send an email to info@fotasaiken.org!
Their lives are in our hands.
— By Betty Ryberg, FOTAS Foster Volunteer
