I write a lot about the relationship Flipflop has with my fosters, how he takes care of them and teaches them, but I seldom talk about his relationship with, Dahlia.  Dahlia arrived in our home in  April 2017.  She was to be foster number 4 but I ended up adopting her and she became part of my forever family.

Dahlia is 9 or 10 years old (9 if you go by the birth date I gave her, but I don’t know for certain when she was born), and Flipflop is 4.  Despite her being the senior dog, she was very broken when she moved in with me, and she too got schooled by Flipflop (and continues to learn from him).

She looks up to her baby brother and he looks out for her. I am so used to seeing them together every day, I often forget how sweet their bond is, but was reminded this morning.

Last night I was at a Christmas party, hosted by my good friend and neighbour.  When the crowd thinned out late in the evening, I went and got the dogs (my neighbours dog, Miss Ellie, was at my place during the party as well).

Dahlia eventually laid and slept, she had a very long walk that day with Flipflop and Miss Ellie.  She had also met Santa for the first time that afternoon so it was an eventful day for her.  When I got up to leave the party, Flipflop followed me to the door and I put his leash on.  I called Dahlia and grabbed her leash, she wasn’t moving.  She was exhausted!  It’s not the first time Dahlia visited my neighbour and invited herself to sleep over, by refusing to get up.  I thanked my neighbour for the fun evening and allowing Dahlia to spend the night.

This morning, Flipflop and I got up and went out for our usual long walk. When we got home, I was certain he was going to eat breakfast and fall asleep.  But I was wrong. Flipflop was expecting to see Dahlia when he got home.

He ran into our apartment and bolted to the bedroom, upon seeing Dahlia was not there, he ran to the living room and was looking for her.  He immediately became concerned and wanted on the balcony to check for her there.  I told him she would be home later and made his breakfast.

Normally Flipflop ravenously eats his meals, but today he took a couple of pieces of his kibble and dropped them on the floor.  He had no interest in food, and just kept walking around looking for Dahlia.  He sat beside me and whined with concern.

I texted my neighbour asking when I could come and get Dahlia to soothe Flipflop’s concern.  I waited for my neighbour to respond and remembered I had a marrow bone in my cupboard which I gave Flipflop to busy him.  He gnawed on the bone but after a few minutes left it, something he never does, he usually chews on the bones until there is no trace of marrow left.  But today he had too much on his mind, his sister was no where to be found.

Dahlia did make it home and when she did, Flipflop was so relieved and happy to see her.  He sniffed her from nose to tail to make sure she was OK, Dahlia was also happy to be home.  The two of them danced around and then they both ate their breakfasts (every last bit) before Flipflop went back to his bone and finished it! He then joined Dahlia in a content sleep.

At this moment I am watching the two of them peacefully sleeping, happy  to be home together.

Lynne Nikolopoulos passed away on  December 3rd, 2018 after a long fearless battle with cancer.  I do not know Lynne, we have some mutual friends and she and I are Facebook “friends”.  I have never met Lynne, nor even spoken to her in my life, and yet hearing of her death brought tears to my eyes.

Lynne is a rescuer, she dedicated her life to Potcakes and from what I hear from those who do know her, she was an angel on earth to all living things.

Being a foster mom, I feel a connection to those who rescue, I know the heartache, the sadness, pure joy and love that come with it.  Lynne is no different, even while battling cancer, she fought for animals in need and continued to do her part.

Although this blog is short, I wanted to take a moment to honour Lynne and all the heroes we have loved and lost. Lynne was a stranger to me but I feel like I knew her, through our commitment, bond and love for animals in need.

Lynne was an angel on earth and her spirit will live on through all those she saved, all those who knew her and loved her and through strangers like me, who know her, even without ever meeting her.

Rescue Rainbow Bridge Poem (Author Unknown)

Unlike most days at Rainbow Bridge, this day dawned cold and gray, damp as a swamp and as dismal as could be imagined. All of the recent arrivals had no idea what to think, as they had never experienced a day like this before. But the animals who had been waiting for their beloved people knew exactly what was going on and started to gather at the pathway leading to The Bridge to watch.

It wasn’t long before an elderly animal came into view, head hung low and tail dragging. The other animals, the ones who had been there for a while, knew what his story was right away, for they had seen this happen far too often.

He approached slowly, obviously in great emotional pain, but with no sign of injury or illness. Unlike all of the other animals waiting at The Bridge, this animal had not been restored to youth and made healthy and vigorous again. As he walked toward The Bridge, he watched all of the other animals watching him. He knew he was out of place here and the sooner he could cross over, the happier he would be.

But, alas, as he approached The Bridge, his way was barred by the appearance of an Angel who apologized, but told him that he would not be able to pass. Only those animals who were with their people could pass over Rainbow Bridge.

With no place else to turn to, the elderly animal turned towards the fields before The Bridge and saw a group of other animals like himself, also elderly and infirm. They weren’t playing, but rather simply lying on the green grass, forlornly staring out at the pathway leading to The Bridge. And so, he took his place among them, watching the pathway and waiting.

One of the newest arrivals at The Bridge didn’t understand what he had just witnessed and asked one of the animals that had been there for a while to explain it to him.
You see, that poor animal was a rescue. He was turned in to rescue just as you see him now, an older animal with his fur graying and his eyes clouding. He never made it out of rescue and passed on with only the love of his rescuer to comfort him as he left his earthly existence. Because he had no family to give his love to, he has no one to escort him across The Bridge.

The first animal thought about this for a minute and then asked, “So what will happen now?” As he was about to receive his answer, the clouds suddenly parted and the gloom lifted. Approaching The Bridge could be seen a single person and among the older animals, a whole group was suddenly bathed in a golden light and they were all young and healthy again, just as they were in the prime of life.

“Watch, and see” said the second animal. A second group of animals from those waiting came to the pathway and bowed low as the person neared. At each bowed head, the person offered a pat on the head or a scratch behind the ears. The newly restored animals fell into line and followed him towards The Bridge. They all crossed The Bridge together.

“What happened?”

“That was a rescuer.” The animals you saw bowing in respect were those who found new homes because of his work. They will cross when their new families arrive. Those you saw restored were those who never found homes. When a rescuer arrives, they are allowed to perform one, final act of rescue. They are allowed to escort those poor animals that they couldn’t place on earth, across The Rainbow Bridge.

“I think I like rescuers,” said the first animal.

“So does GOD,” was the reply.

My Potcake, Flipflop, is a mix of a lot of different breeds, however; the one breed that is dominate in him is the Jack Russell.  Jack Russell’s are very smart, intelligent dogs, as is Flipflop.  They are also very high energy, as if Flipflop!  Flipflop, Dahlia and I go for a lot of long walks and when we’re lucky we find a safe place for Flipflop to run, play fetch, wrestle, or play tug.  Even when he’s tired, he loves to play and today was no different.

After our morning walk (including some fetch and wrestling), Flipflop contently went to bed as soon as he finished his breakfast.  I ran out and did some errands and when I got home an hour later, Flipflop was ready to go again.

I put him and Dahlia on their leashes and off we went.  We got to the large fenced off baseball field, used in the summer by many dog owners as a safe place for our dogs to run and play off leash, it is now locked up for the winter.  I knew Flipflop could fit through the opening in the gate, so let him go off on his own. He had so much fun running and sniffing on his own, while Dahlia and I waited for him outside of the field.

When  Flipflop had his full of running he ran back to the gate where Dahlia and I were waiting.  It then occurred to me that in his excitement to run free he ran through the opening with no hesitation.  But now that he was no longer excited, he didn’t have the momentum to run through the gate and with every attempt would back away, fearful.

It broke my heart because I knew he was so worried and upset that he was trapped away from Dahlia and I.  I crouched down, encouraging him to come to me.  I had his leash in hand and tried to gently pull him through, but as soon as he got his head out he’d back away again.

After a few minutes, I remembered I had some crumbs left of duck jerky in my pocket.  Flipflop (and Dahlia) love duck jerky, and I sometimes carry it with me on walks to work on some training reinforcement with them.  As soon as I remember I had the bag in my pocket (even with only crumbs left in the bag), I pulled it out.

As soon as Flipflop saw the treat bag out of my pocket, he poked his head through the gate.  I put some crumbs on my hand, and called him to me, he backed away again. So I put some excitement into my voice, while I encouraged him.  I could tell he was still really unsure, but the smell of duck jerky was too much to resist.  And with a slight pause, Flipflop barreled through the gate and gobbled down the crumbs of jerky.

He then jumped up for a hug (he loves to be hugged) and we continued our walk home.  Mental note to me, not to let Flipflop go through the gate alone again, unless I have some trusty jerky in my pocket!

It’s the holiday season and all my favourite holiday classics are making their appearances on television.  As I watch Rudolph, I am recalling as a child how it upset me how mean Santa was to Rudolph when Santa saw Rudolph’s shining nose.  Poor Rudolph had so many turn against him, just for being different.  It seems so unfair, but then again, humans wrote the story and humans, many of us anyway, are flawed and many of us cast judgement on differences we don’t understand.  But Santa wasn’t the only one who turned  on Rudolph so did his reindeer friends!

Seeing this reminded me of my previous dog, Dupont, and how he and a group of dogs first made me realize what a wonderful world it could be if humans treated each other like dogs………..

Dupont, my precious collie/shepherd mix, passed away almost 4 years ago.  I have so many wonderful memories of our time together and one of those memories is a hike we were on with a hiking group we belonged to.

We were hiking in a beautiful conservation area, with lots of water falls, wooded areas and bridges.  Dupont had never been there before and was having a wonderful time.  That was until we got to a metal bridge that, for some reason, made Dupont nervous.  I tried coasting him over the bridge, he wouldn’t budge.  I went across it myself and called him over to me, he still froze in fear.  I tried and I tried, as all the other dogs and owners crossed and waited.

Dupont was not coming over that bridge, no way, no how!  One of the fellow hikers crossed over to Dupont and picked him up (all 100 lbs of him!) and carried him across.  Once Dupont was safely carried over to the other side, the hiker put him down.

The human in me thought for sure the dogs would now shun Dupont, not want to play with him because he was fearful of a bridge that they all crossed.  But of course that is not what happened.  What did happen is Dupont resumed playing with the other dogs as if nothing had happened and had a wonderful rest of the day.

I remember thinking, for the first time in my life, at that very moment, how much kinder the world would be if humans treated one another like dogs.

Benjamin Button, that is my nickname for Dahlia, my Catahoula mix who I adopted last year, at 8 years old.  Dahlia’s story is recounted in my book and some of my blogs.  She constantly amazes me with her continuous improvement in both trusting humans and learning how to be a real dog.

When I adopted Dahlia I expected her to live no more than a year, she could barely walk and was afraid of everything and every one.  She hated going for walks and would often refuse to leave my buildings property and when she did leave the property, she would lay down and refuse to get back up.  She was so nervous and unsure a mere glance in her direction would have her coward and urinate on the spot.

So why do I call this girl my Benjamin Button of dogs?   Because as every day passes, Dahlia literally gets younger. These not so long ago memories seem like a lifetime ago. Dahlia is now 9-1/2 and I swear she’s going to live at least another 5 years.

Not only does Dahlia enjoy long walks, she loves to run and play with other dogs. The dog who used to watch Flipflop play fetch endlessly now plays fetch herself, and loves to have a toy or ball to carry around.  Each day Dahlia does more and more that makes her behaviour pass as a young dog, rather than a senior with 8 years of an abusive pass.

Last week on a walk with my neighbour, she was watching Dahlia prance around, something that always makes us happy.  She said to me, “I wonder what was going through her head two years ago when she was laying in a ditch thinking her life was over.”

“I can’t,” I responded, “I can’t even think  of this girl being left to die with so much life left in her.”  And Dahlia has SO much life left in her, she is literally the Benjamin Button of dogs, as every day I see this senior get younger before my very eyes.

It’s always an adjustment when a foster leaves, and it takes a few days for my emotions and life to return  to “normal”.  I am grateful for the families that stay in touch and keep me posted on how the dogs are adapting to their new homes.  I love hearing about them and seeing photos.  And I love when a family takes the time and effort to reunite me and their dog!

On Sunday I was lucky enough to have a visit with Ben, now called Douglas.  I was delighted when Douglas’s mom got out of the car and told me that as soon as they turned onto my street Douglas had memory of the area and got really excited.

When Douglas got out of the car, he immediately remembered me and jumped on me to show his excitement.  He then excitedly say hi to Dahlia and Flipflop.  Much to my surprise, Dahlia was happy to see him and gave him a kiss. Flipflop was happy to see him, but not overly excited. As Douglas tried to engage Flipflop in play, Flipflop opted to stand behind me, communicating to Douglas, he did not wish to play at the moment.

We took the three dogs for a long walk and then for a run in a field, when we were done the three dogs were exhausted.

It was great but the best part, aside from seeing Douglas again, was seeing his changes.  Once called my “boggle head” dog, as he had such a large head on what appeared to be a tiny body, Douglas now has confidence.  So much confidence he stands tall, and no longer looks too short for his body.  His ribs are no longer evident, but he still still slim, just very muscular from the exercise and great food his mom gives him.

Douglas no longer hides at loud noises or lunges at bikes, he sits and waits for other dogs to pass him, and doesn’t shy away from people.  His mom has done such amazing things with him, and his life.

Douglas and his mom are still working on his training, and he loves it.  He wakes up every morning excited for his mom to put him to “work” and thrives when he can show off to someone how good he is.

I knew he was doing well, as his mom and I stay in touch, but to see the physical transformation of this young dog, made me happier than words can say!

Douglas in foster – still under weight and lacking confidence

Douglas now – filled out and at a healthy weight

A year ago at this time, I was fostering Lucy. A Jack Russell Terrier mix who was just 2 years old when her owners decided to surrender her to rescue due to a divorce.  Lucy was with us for 6 months before she picked her family.

Over the months since she’s been adopted, her family and I have been in touch and have had several failed attempts for a play date, but we finally got one that came together.

I imagined our reunion to be a happy one, which it was.  I pictured Lucy running to me with excitement the moment she heard my voice, which she did not………….

When we arrived at Lucy’s home, she was outside waiting with her mom.  I got out of the car and started talking to her, but she barked at me and backed away, staying close to her mom.  I know Lucy, so I understood her insecurities, I also knew she was now bonded to her forever family (as she should be) and was protecting her mom.  I stopped trying to get Lucy to come to me and went to the car and  brought Dahlia out.

The moment Lucy smelled Dahlia, all her memories came rushing back, she stopped barking at me and immediately ran over to me and jumped up and hugged me.  We had a few minutes of pets and hugs and kisses and then I went back to the car and let out Flipflop.

Flipflop and Lucy loved each other from the moment they met.  They were inseparable and best friends.  The moment I let Flipflop out and he and Lucy saw each other, it was like no time had passed.  They immediately started chasing one another and running around Lucy’s amazing yard.

We took the dogs for a walk through the woods, while Lucy and Flipflop ran, chased and wrestled, Dahlia held back with me and Lucy’s mom.  While running through the woods and showing Flipflop her favourite spots to swim, Lucy would take a time out once and a while to run back to me and jump up for pets and hugs.   She definitely remembered us all!

After our walk, we went inside for a cup of tea, where Lucy sat quietly by my legs the whole time to be pet.  It was so nice to spend time with her again and see her so happy!!

When it was time for us to leave, Lucy walked us out to my car.  Dahlia got in immediately, Flipflop gave Lucy a little nuzzle and then hopped in.  I gave Lucy a hug and told her how happy I was for her.  Lucy smelled the car, almost like she was trying to figure out if she should get in or stay. She stayed, she choose her family 6 months ago and she happily wanted to stay with them now.

There were times when I worried Lucy would never find her match,  but she knew what she was doing and waited for the perfect home for her.  I am so grateful Lucy’s family opened up their home to her, and to us to come and visit her.

Willie and Bambi left my home three weeks ago.  The shelter contacted me and said there was room for the two.  It was, as I expected, a sad moment for me. It broke  my heart to know they would be shelter dogs, but I also knew that this meant they would be posted for adoption and on their way to finding forever homes.

I thought of them often, checking the site to see if they are still on there, even though the shelter promised to keep me in the loop on their adoptions.  It’s hard being a foster mom, for me anyway, but it is even harder to let the dogs go when they don’t have homes. This was my second experience with this, and it was just as hard as the first time.

And then a week and a half after the shelter took them in,  I saw a message from a member of the humane society board.  Bambi was approved for adoption.  I was so happy for Bambi and heartbroken that Willie was being left behind. I did check on Willie, however; and was told they separated the pups a few days ago to see how they are on their own, and Willie was happy, healthy and quite content.

I have been in touch with Bambi’s mom, who has shared photos of Bambi quite happy at home with her new family.  Her name has been changed to Vanya and she is trying to encourage her two feline siblings to play with her.  I can tell from the couple of conversations I had with Vanya’s mom, and the photos of Vanya owning her new home, that she is definitely where she is supposed to be.  Lucky lady.

Just a few days after Vanya’s adoption,  I got another message, Willie found his forever home! I heard from his mom and she is smitten with him.  As we expected, Willie is taking some time to adjust to his new surroundings, but he is coming around quickly.

I am so excited these siblings have found their families, and the best part is both families are interested in the pups staying in one another lives.  They have exchanged numbers and will arrange play dates for Vanya and  Willie to be to life long friends.

With most rescues their actual date of birth and age is unknown and is estimated.  Flipflop was 8-12 weeks old when I got him, so I decided to give him the age of 10 weeks and calculated his birthday to be September 3rd.

I look at him now and it amazes me on how he’s grown and matured.  Fostering other dogs has really matured him.  I look at his face,  seeing white where black fur was once dominate, it makes my heart sad.  But I remind myself that he’s only four years old.

I reflect back to when I got him, just a small pup, with more confidence than I’d ever seen.  Flipflop had more energy than I ever came across in my life, the Jack Russel in him so obvious!  I couldn’t tire him enough, so he ended up at daycare 5 days a week, and then slowly his days there became less as he matured.  Just recently he’s stopped going to daycare, as he has reached a point where I am able to give him suffice exercise, finally!!!

Every now and then that crazy Potcake energy comes out and Flipflop becomes completely unmanageable, but after a good run or play with a friend, he calms down and his crazy energy out burst passes.  Unlike when he was a puppy and these bursts would last for days, now they last for a couple hours and aren’t frequent at all.

He still loves to play fetch and run and be chased but most importantly, he still loves to give me hugs and snuggle up to me while I am watching TV.

When I had Dupont I felt I would never love another dog as much as I loved him.  I was wrong, I love all my dogs deeply, but like the people in our lives, all the dogs are different.  The love for one does not out weigh the love you had or have for another.  Your heart just keeps expanding and loving more.

Flipflop on the beach in Bahamas, after being rescued.

Flipflop on the beach in Canada, a few years later.

Happy fourth birthday to my sweet baby boy.