My New Foster Daughter

Isn't she sweet?!




Art Dog teaching her "fetch"

Puma Kitty is rather unhappy about this new turn of events....

We took her to the lake, and she got a little tired walking.....and wanted to be carried.

She was much more presentable after her bath.....









Miss Moonbeam tried walking her and things got a little tangled up.....

In the pink striped dress.....precious

Doesn't she look smart?!?

In the flower dress....sweet!

The Sock Fashion Expert was not all that thrilled, but seems to be warming up to her ;-)

Congratulations are in order! Yes, I am the proud new foster mama (of a dog) lol!! Its quite an exciting tale ( for me anyway)!! I've been waiting a L-O-N-G time :-)


Zinc Arkansas Miracle was the best dog EVER!! Zinc for short. We had him for many many years. He was a once in a lifetime kind of dog, rated right up there with Lassie and Rin Tin Tin. His story was the kind legends are made of...... Back when I was pregnant with Art Dog, I barely got off from work so we could make a trip into the Ozark Mountains of Zinc, Arkansas. It was a cold Spring in Minnesota and we were excited to be going some place warm for the week. Nobody at work wanted to give me the days off and it was nothing short of a miracle. Thrilled, we packed our kiddies up and made the trek over with my in laws. Flowers were blooming there and everybody was anxious to be out hiking. For quite some time, I had deeply desired a dog, a German Shepherd, but my husband had said "no dogs" and "especially no German Shepherds". With that in mind, I didn't even pray for one because I didn't want to go against my husband. Crazy as it would seem, wild dogs were running around down there and somebody had shot one leaving it up on a bluff. The one it ran with would run and snarl and dodge bullets, but once its companion was shot, it loyally remained near the body. Night and day it stayed there. One man held a gun up to it, but something made him stop. This time the dog no longer seemed to care, and just looked at him. "Its up there" he said.

I had been gone shopping and when I got back, my son, The Archer, was petting this wild dog that had come down off the mountains. Scrawny and wild, this dog had survived in the wilderness for some time, though there was something of kindness and intelligence to him. "He's probably full of ticks and worms, but you can take him home if you want to". I couldn't believe my ears. My own real German Shepherd mix dog! It was such an exciting day! That dog was the most wonderful dog ever. His exploits and honorable behavior is too long to mention here, but he learned fast and protected the children many many times. His death was 5 years ago this past spring. He was sadly missed, though he lived a very very full life.

For 5 long years, I waited for my husband to agree to another dog. About 6-9 months ago he said "okay" but had rather strict specifications. Month after month I emailed him pound pups and newspaper ads, but none of them impressed him at all. Many times I'd ask to stop at the pound and many times he'd always say "not today". Still, I never gave up looking. The other night at work, there I was on pet finder again. We happened to be going through another city on the way home and he asked me where all I wanted to stop. "Hmmm....thrift stores and the pound" was my usual answer. After all our stops, there we were driving home and I didn't mention a second thought about the you know what. Would you believe he drove up to the pound?! "Do you want to come in?" I asked gingerly. "No" he said " don't go picking out any run of the mill dogs. It has to be special. If its a special dog, I will come and look." I could hardly believe it! Dogs barked everywhere jumping up and down. It was a little overwhelming. Then I saw this sweet little puppy from across the yard. I just couldn't see any other dog after seeing her. She was so little and lost and my heart just melted. Instead of jumping up and down and barking, she just wanted to be cuddled. I couldn't bear to put her down so I asked the lady if I could show her to my husband. Turns out she couldn't be adopted until she was fixed, but she could be "fostered". I had had an application on file there for months and was already approved. "No puppies" my husband reminded me as I brought her out. "No big dogs" was another specification and she was a Lab puppy. Come to think of it, Labs were also not on his list of favorites ;-) When I explained the "Foster Mama" idea he seemed to think. I didn't have to pay for her yet. We could just take her home and "Foster her". If she didn't work out, she could go back. Amazingly, he said "YES!"

The rest was all a happy blur. There I was all muddy cuddling this little puppy and the nice pound ladies were loading me up with a dog dish, toys and a gigantic bag of puppy food! Since we've gotten her home, she's been such a good girl! Everybody in the family has different plans for her. The Archer has already taken her for walks, a motorcycle ride, swimming a few times and has been teaching her about how to find sheds. He has high hopes she will be quite the hunting dog and shed finder. Super Catman and Art Dog are working on "Fetch". Miss Moonbeam mainly doesn't want to be jumped on. Me, well house training and coming to being called are my biggies. She's making great progress in only a few days.

Today before work, I was lying on the swing trying to get a nap in before my night shift. Miss Moonbeam came to snuggle and poke and do what 3 year olds do. Puppy came home from her "swimming lesson" with Archer and wanted to snuggle too. There I was lying on the swing with a 3 year old and a wet, shivery pup. It was a crowded spot, but a happy one ;-)

We considered a lot of names... Penelope, Patience, Ebony, Dingo, Tabitha, Samantha, Luna, Cinder, the name ideas just kept coming. Finally we settled on Libby Liberty. Libby being her first name and Liberty the middle one. I'm sure we will be having a lot of adventures ahead with little Libby.......