Elway's play date

Today Elway, my mom, and I met Elway's foster family. Why did Elway have a foster family you might ask, well here's a little background:

We adopted Elway from the humane society October 1, 2007. Puppies cannot be put in the shelter if they're under 8 weeks old, so people foster them until they're old enough (and well enough). So Elway lived with a foster family until he was old enough to be put up for adoption. Elway's foster family was a loving group of folks, consisting of a mother, her two teen daughters, and their dog Chloe. They have been fostering for 2 and half years and have fostered over 90 puppies. They deal with all the pee, the whining, the destruction- but of course they also get the cute cuddly moments (which for their sake I hope makes up for all the other stuff!). When we adopted Elway, we got a nice letter from this family, with pictures of Elway with his sister and brother, and a little bit about his history. We learned his name was Peanut, and he had a brother and sister: Butter and Jelly. They also included their email, in case we wanted digital copies of his puppy photos, advice, or anything else.

They also have a great website: http://www.freewebs.com/fosterpuppies/

Their website allows for them to see their foster puppies grow, but it also keeps us adoptive families connected to them. The 16 year-old-daughter maintains the website, and she also sends out emails about special dog events around Tucson. She's a great resource. Earlier this week we got an email from the foster family saying they were throwing a puppy party at a local dog park and they would love to see their old friends. My mom and I went to the reunion this morning, and it was so great to meet the people who do such fantastic work for the puppies of Tucson. The two daughters are so responsible, and are learning some life lessons through their fostering work.



This is a long post, I realize, but I am very touched by the work this family is doing. They obviously care about these animals and they go to great lengths to make sure the puppies succeed in their new homes.