Waiting

Jojo here and man do I have to do a lot of waiting at foster lady's house.  She keeps telling me that we are waiting for my skins to get better and we are waiting for my furever home and we are waiting for my spay, which I have no idea what that is.

She also tells me I have to wait to get treats and wait to be asked to be on the couch and wait to get my paws wiped off when we come inside.  I have to wait when the door is opened.  I also have to wait for her to get done doing things in the kitchen cause us dogs are not allowed in the kitchen unless invited.  See, here is a picture of us, waiting:

Po and Remi get tired so they lay down, but I just keep standing, waiting, not even sure what I'm waiting for:

Then I remember what we are waiting for, WHIP CREAM!  Foster lady often treats us with a squirt of whip cream so long as we are good and wait outside the kitchen.  I have to wait again to get the whip cream but I don't mind waiting for this:

Look how nice I am waiting!

Eating the whip cream is the best part because we all get it all over ourselves and then help each other clean up!

mmmmmm

Trying to get it off my face

Okay, so maybe waiting isn't all that bad!

Oh also, something you should know.  I am super cute and foster lady says I have a really cute nose!

That's all for now!

Only a partial foster parent

Recently one of Jojo's siblings was adopted and his foster mom, Mindy, wrote about passing through a portal and becoming a true foster home/parent.  It really got me to thinking about how in the world I'm going to part with such a loving and sweet little pup.  Bringing Jojo in to our house was the easy part.  Letting her go is going to be the hard part.  I keep getting asked how I'm going to do it and honestly, I'm not sure I've thought that far.  However, now that her spay has been postponed and we realize we'll have her for a few weeks longer than anticipated, I realize that the hardest part of this journey is going to be letting her go.  I don't think I can truly call myself a foster home/parent until I go through the letting go part of this whole thing.

Everyday I look at that sweet pup and my heart breaks because she deserves to be with her forever family in her forever home.  Not that our home isn't a great place for her to learn and grow up, but man, someone out there is missing out on some fun times with Jojo.  She is so playful and heart warming.  I look at her and am filled with a feeling of satisfaction, knowing that I'm a step further in my journey to helping rescue/rehabilitate and find homes for as many dogs as possible.  I have a soft spot in my heart for dogs in general and an even softer spot for pit bulls and other misunderstood breeds.  My long term life goals are to take on the more difficult cases, to give those mistreated and misunderstood dogs a safe place to find peace and happiness in life. 

My job is my job, but my dogs are my passion.  Hopefully one day the two can merge but for now fostering little Jojo gets me one step closer to what I want to be doing with my life. 

Now on to Jojo, man is this pup cute, and brave and strong! 

Strong: We took out the carpet in most of our house and now my two big dogs have trouble jumping on my bed because their feet slip.  I have to help both of them on the rare occasion they get to sleep in bed with me.  However, Sunday I was folding clothes and had all the dogs in the room with me.  My phone rang so I stepped out of the room to grab it, shutting the door behind me.  I came back in not 15 seconds later and Jojo was on my bed, on top of a pile of clean laundry, with a sock in her mouth.  How in the world?!

Brave: We have a huge umbrella that covers our patio, which is up right now so I can BBQ in the rain.  On Saturday night the blinds were open and it was windy outside.  Jojo woke some snuggling me and started looking out the window.  Next thing I know a bark bigger than Jojo came out of her and she was up in this I'm a big bad dog stance, staring at the umbrella.  What did my grown pitty mix do?  Hide, she ran and hid while Jojo the puppy charged forward to see what was moving around.

Cute: It goes without saying that pitty puppies are super cute and in my opinion up there for some of the cutest puppies out there.  Jojo is no exception to that, even with her bad skin and all.  When I make hot chocolate I have to have whip cream and my pack knows they will get a little spray from the can if they sit politely and don't bully me in to giving them some.  Jojo quickly caught on and follows my pack in to the kitchen and sits politely, waiting for her squirt of whip cream...too cute!

A minor set back

So I know I'm as cute as can be, but my skin doesn't seem to want to cooperate with me these days.  I went back to the vet on Friday where they scraped my skin and messed around with me for a bit.  Now I have to take this icky tasting stuff everyday.  However, my skin feels better and is started to look better.

I had a home visit over the weekend and although I was told how great of a girl I was, guess the lady didn't want me to live with her.  I'm okay with that though because I love my foster lady and foster mister and foster brother and foster sister and foster CAT.  Whew, that's a big foster family!  Foster lady says next time I go to a home visit or adoption event I have to wear my cute outfits, like this one:

Foster lady and foster mister say I remind them a lot of Remi, my foster sister.  We play the same, sleep the same and even look a lot a like.  Sometimes they accidentally call me Remi, which I think is a compliment!  Look at her pictures from when she was a puppy, we look a lot alike huh?!

Our opposite ears flipped forward first, but soon I'll have ears just like her!

I've learned a lot in the last few days.  First, whenever foster lady makes hot chocolate (which is often) we get whip cream.  It is YUMMY and might be better than peanut butter kongs, might.  Second, I have an uncanny ability to make foster lady and foster mister lazy, at least that's what they say.  When I get up in the morning I get them to snuggle with me, then all of a sudden foster lady is running around the house telling me she is late!  Third, I LOVE going on walks, yes I do!  I don't get to go much of anywhere because I still need some shots, but I LOVE LOVE LOVE going on walks.  I can't wait until I am all better so I can go on long walks with my foster family!  Forth, I have mostly figured out how to play with the C-A-T.  His name is Phoenix and we have become pretty good friends.

So lets recap why I'm a great dog and should be adopted by a great family.  I eat whip cream, I snuggle, I love going on walks and I play nicely with cats.  What more could you ask for?!

The itchies

So foster lady says I have the itchies and I'm making my skin worse.  She says that my skin has to get better so I can find my furr-ever home.  She puts me in these tiny t-shirts (she says I need a bigger size) and puts all kinds of lotions on my skin.  The lotions feel good, but I'm pretty sure she is trying to turn me in to a human baby!

Here I am with my new favorite treat, bully sticks!

I suppose I think I'm a baby as well

I don't really mind all the attention though and really hope my home visits go well this weekend!

Lawn Mowers and T-Shirts

Remember how I told you that foster lady and foster mister said I was brave and curious?  Yesterday was a sunny day and I played outside FOREVER with foster seester and brother.  We played chase and I explored.  When it was time to take a nap I snuggled up on the couch with foster lady while she worked.  I don't understand this work thing, but her weird lap TV makes for a warm pillow.  I was all snuggled up when all of a sudden this loud noise started coming from the front yard.  I barked at it because I couldn't see the noise and wanted it to know I wasn't afraid!

Next thing I know, the loud noise thing is in the backyard.  It was red and was dragging foster mister around the yard.  I was able to get a good look at it through the window and watched to make sure foster mister was okay

Making sure foster mister was okay

My foster brother and seester came over to check things out as well, they said I shouldn't worry, its just the lawn mower.  Then all of a sudden water started spraying all around.  Foster brother told me that is his favorite summertime toy and not to worry about that either.

Waiting patiently to go outside and play in the fresh grass!

Everyone says that foster seester and I look a lot of like.  I sure hope so because she is such a pretty pitty.  Foster mister says I'll probably be bigger than her since I'm only 4 months old.  They call her a pocket pit, sounds fun.  I want to be a pocket pit!

Hanging out with my foster seester

 Last night I had the itches and foster lady didn't want me scratching all over, so she found a pink shirt just for me.  Foster brother was jealous that he didn't get to wear a t-shirt, he loves wearing t-shirts!

I think it brings out the color of my eyes

This morning was a ruff morning for me.  I was super sleepy and didn't want to get up, all I wanted to do was snuggle with foster lady but she had to get ready for that whole work thing.  The house was a bit cold so I decided I was going to snuggle by myself, I've very self-sufficient foster lady says.  I don't know what that means but that blanket sure was comfy!

Foster lady says it's time for me to go in my crate and take a nap, however I wanted to quickly remind you how cute I am!

Have a good day and remember, I'm available for adoption!!

My Name is JoJo

Jojo here, the nice foster lady thought it would be fun for  me to write from my per-spective.  I'm not sure what that word means, but I can sure tell you about what I LOVE to do!

First off, there is this small, furry, 4 legged dog in the house, but he is not like a dog at all.  He teases me and I get in trouble every time I chase him.  The foster lady tells me he is a C-A-T.  I've never heard of that kind of dog before, but I L-O-V-E him so much.  Everytime I see him I start to wag my tail and my whole body gets wiggily.  I am trying to learn how to play with him since I get in trouble if I play with him like I play with my foster seester and brother. 

He didn't like me at first but how we're friends!

My tail wags so fast its a blur!

Speaking of my seester and brother, I got SQUISHED today by my foster brother, who is a 110lb rottweiler.  I love him so much that I let him do it, the foster lady felt so bad and he got in trouble, but I honestly didn't mind.  He just laid on me like I lay on him, it was his way of showing me how much he LOVES me, just like I LOVE him.   I love my seester and brother and am doing my best to be JUST like them.  Everything they do, I do.  I follow them around inside and outside.  We wrestle and play chase and they taught me how eat pea-nut butter kongs, AH-MAZING!  When we get tired I cuddle with them and give them TONS of kisses.  My foster brother cleans me, so does my foster lady but in a different way.

See, brother Po cleans me!

Which brings me to something I do not like so much, bathes.  Su-pposedly I have some skin problems so the foster lady gives me bathes.  She puts this tea-oil stuffs on me and makes me stand in the tub all cold and shivery for FOREVER.  Okay so only five minutes but I am REALLY dramatic about this and shiver my little legs in hopes she'll cuddle me in a towel and put my doggie fleece back on.

Trying to look as sad as possible so the foster lady will snuggle me

It worked, the bath is over!  My sad face gets her every time!

Foster lady and foster mister always comment about how curious and brave I am. 

Checking out the front yard, I LOVE to explore!

When something scares me I usually turn to check it out, except when I'm outside and the wind blows.  Things start moving around and I don't like it!  Foster lady and mister says I am confident and very smart!  Guess that means I'll find my forever home in NO TIME!

Alright, time for a puppy nap with my brother, my puppy life is ruff!

The Journey Begins

One definition of the word foster is to care for or cherish.  As we journey in to fostering pit bull pups(all combinations and mixes and likely other breeds as well) we plan to care for and cherish the heck out of each dog that enters our house. 

I've confessed in my other blog that I follow blogs written from the perspective of a dog and I don't feel bad admitting it!  Secretly I want to be clever enough to do the same, however since I am fostering puppies right now and don't anticipate them staying with us for too terribly long, I'll probably do most of the writing :)

I got home from Minnesota on Thursday and welcomed Jojo, our first foster pup, in to our house: 

Right away I was greeted with cuddles and kisses and wags.  She is the sweetest pup there is (don't tell Remi, she would be jealous) and is SO deserving of a wonderful forever home to call her own.  After spending a day adjusting she has developed some favorite activities and has really grown in to her personality.  She loves to snuggle and would snuggle all day if I let her.  She absolutely loves her foster brother (Po, our rottweiler) and foster sister (Remi, our pit bull mix).  She follows them around and copies everything they do, it's too cute!

Waiting for a treat, Jojo sat just because the others were, not because she was asked to



Waiting patiently for breakfast

 She recently learned that peanut butter kongs might just be the best treat ever!

Trying to figure this whole peanut butter kong thing out

She is a super smart girl, quickly learning that at our house you are only allowed on the furniture if/when invited (grown up dogs are never invited but she gets invited often!).  She has also learned that she shouldn't chase or bark at the cat, rain boots are not chew toys, going potty outside gets TONS of praise and love and her foster mom can't resist her smiling face and wagging tail.

Check back often for updates on Jojo and any/all foster pups that come through the Gill household.  I can't wait for her to get a forever home as it breaks my heart that such a sweet pup hasn't already found her forever home!