9

 
 

Hoover & Jubilee

 
They could be from the same litter if we didn't know any better. 

Jubilee, Foster #9

 
We've had a debate about if she counts as a real foster. We dropped by Petco to drop off Bentley's paperwork -- he was adopted by a great couple in Port Orange. While Betsy was explaining that we were through fostering for the year I was getting the beautiful Jubilee out of her crate to meet her. She looks like she could be Hoover's sister.

While we had her out of the crate a potential adopter met her, liked her and filled out an application. If everything goes well we will only have her for one or two nights. Just long enough to get her to the vet to get her chip implanted in the back of her neck. 

Lazy Slug

 
One last for good ole' Bentley. He sure knew how to relax and could nap anywhere. 

Bentley Profile

 
I like this shot of Bentley. He followed me out to the driveway and sat for me while I sat down and shot photos of him. Photo 11/11/2005. 

Bentley

 
Our family just adores Bentley and have nicknamed him Smooshy because he is so cuddly. 

Hoover & Bentley

 
The secret to getting a Lab to pose for a picture is treats. Lots and lots of treats. 

Bentley, Foster #8

 
Bentley came to us in September. With Betsy still recovering we asked for a gentle dog, and there is no dog gentler than Bentley. He is the first foster that we allow off the leash in the front yard as he has no desire to leave our sides. Just a great dog. 

Hoover & Shane

 
This is as good as we got. Shane sure was pretty. 

Hoover and Shane

 
Had to get pretty wide angle to catch them close by each other. 

Shane and Hoover

 
It took a while to get them together in one photo. 

Shane

 
Here is Shane in the car on the way to be adopted by his forever home. No one knows why a dog this nice, calm and beautiful wound up in a shelter. But he sure has a nice home and family now. 

Shane, Foster #7

 
We had Luke for what seemed like a long time, about 6 weeks or so then took the summer off. On August 15 Betsy was rear ended by a dump truck and flipped over so we were not going to have any more fosters while she recovered.

About two weeks later stopped at the Petco to say hello to the Mid-Florida Retriever Rescue folks. Just to say hello. Right. David fell for Shane, who needed a foster home. Against Betsy's wishes we brought him home. Oh what a sweety he was. Just a young puppy, but calm and squishy.

He was gentle enough on a leash that Betsy could walk him while she recovered from her accident. And he was adopted out in about 6 days. 

Luke

 
Still can't get him to stand still for a decent photo. May, 2005. 

Hoover the Happy Dog

 
Either this picture or the "scrunchy nosed puppy" shot at the bottom of this blog is my favorite all-time photo of Hoover. 

Hoover & Luke

 
It was often hard to get Luke to sit still for a photo. 

Luke, Foster #6

 
In April we got Luke. Luke is a mixed breed Lab plus Coon Hound. Got along great with Hoover but stuck around our house for a long time. Mutts are hard to find. Luke sure ate a lot of socks while he was here. If he saw a sock on the floor he swallowed it whole.

I like this picture. I had him sitting to take his web shot picture and he leaped up and tried to swallow the camera. 

Hoover and Jewel

 
We always try to get a picture of Hoover and his foster friend together. Here is Hoover and Jewel. Note that there isn't a picture of Hoover and Boone together because we couldn't get Hoover to stay in the same room as Boone. 

Jewel, Foster #5

 
February 2005 sure was busy for us as Jewel was the third foster we took in that month. Jewel is so far the only girl dog. She was very nice, but quite a handful. Her favorite pasttimes were jumping on the furniture and counter surfing. We were able to break her of getting on the furniture, but the counter surfing was a challenge.

She was adopted to a super couple who dedicated themselves to training her properly. Betsy found a site that described the "can-monster" and forwarded it on to Jewels new parent. The can-monster is a bunch of tin cans tied together with string. When the dog counter surfs it gets caught up in all the cans and makes a terrible racket. The owners are then advised to make fun of the dog while it's miserably dragging the loud cans around the house. We are told it worked great for Jewel.

Later we heard her foster dad had to have surgery and she proved to be a great nurse dog by not leaving his side while he recuperated. 

Boone went sailing

 
In the short time we had him we took Boone sailing. Hoover was nice enough to loan him his life jacket. Boone just sat at attention the whole time and watched as the birds flew by and a large group of dolphins came to say hello. 

Boone, Foster #4

 
The mysterious Boone. He came to us in February, 2005 after being found wandering on the side of busy Sand Lake Road. The person who picked him up reported that he sat quietly in the front seat of the car, looking out the window for the 45 minute trip to his rescuers home.

When Boone came to us he was a perfect gentleman, but didn't know how to interact with other dogs, and didn't know any commands. We were so mystified we even tried giving him commands in Spanish. He didn't know anything, but quickly learned all the rules of the house.

Hoover was terrified of him. Mostly we think because Boone was bigger and so stoic. Hoover would try to play and Boone would just stand perfectly still, as if he didn't know what to do. Poor Hoover.

Fortunately, Boone was adopted out after just 10 days with us to a great family that adores him. And Hoover got his house back. 

Dudley and Hoover

 
It was exhausting work for the young puppy to follow Hoover everywhere he went. 

Dudley, Foster #3

 
In February 2005 we opened our homes to #3. Originally named Jim, we dubbed him Dudley. A dudley labrador is one without any black pigmentation. Dudley was quite young and just adored following Hoover around and copying his actions. As with most young and beautiful fosters, Dudley went quick. After about 8 days he was adopted by a family in Hillsborough County where he enjoys boating. 

Hoover Christmas 2004

 

After Willy was adopted Hoover caught a break and was able to spend the holidays as an only dog. We think he is somewhat amused with being a foster dog mate, but really enjoys his time as the only dog of the house.

Such is the sacrifices that we are asked to make. 

Willy Returns

 
In December David received a call from Lab Rescue. We had told them we were taking the holidays off after adopting Jake out. But Willy was coming back into Lab Rescue and they needed an emergency foster. Of course we would take Willy back. We were heartbroken to find out that his mistreatment as a pup had caused him to flunk out of the SAR program.

It just so happened that Betsy was driving around with the crate in her truck and picked him up a few hours later.

The truly wonderful news is that we picked him up on Friday night, brought him to an adoption days at Petco on Saturday. While there he met and fell in love with a great couple who didn't even know they were out looking for a new dog to replace their beloved lab who had passed away 3 months prior. On Sunday we brought Willy to his new permanent home. We still enjoy hearing from his new parenta about how he is doing!