Adoption Day Downer

Today was the Atlanta Dog Squad's Adoption event at Petco in Roswell. This was Cracker Jack's (aka CJ) first time to attend an adoption event.

He seemed to love all the people and all the dogs. He played in the water pools a lot and got to play with some other dogs, so that was great. 

I was proud to show him off and how well he can behave once settled down. And even more so proud to tell other how well this dog learns.  In less than 3 weeks he went from a completely wild and untrained puppy to now being a fully house, crate and leashed trained dog. This is quite a challenge for any puppy at 4-1/2 months old, when I first fostered him 3 weeks ago. Since then, he's not only grown, but has become a great dog who friendly, fun and behaves really well.

But the best news is that CJ's personality won some people over today. He got a lots of attention from different people looking to adopt while having multiple families interested in adopting him. So lucky for him, he was quickly adopted by a seemingly very nice couple with two kids and a nice fenced yard. So it seems like they will make a great family together. With the young kids they have, and CJ being so young himself, these guys will be able to grow up together as happy family together for a long time.

If I can be honest, I almost wished everybody ignored CJ, because I was hoping I would get to spend more time with him... and I will definitely miss him too. I think that's the hardest part about fostering a dog, because you know it will not be permanent, even if you want it to be.

So tomorrow will be a tough day when I have to part with CJ and take him to his new owners and help CJ get acquainted with his new family.

I'm sure I'll get another foster dog in a day or so, or sometime this week, but no new dog can replace the old ones you've trained and bonded with even over a short weeks. So I'm sad for losing CJ, but glad we saved another rescued dog... and that we will also be able to save another abandoned dog to be placed with a good family before they are put down.

The good news for me though, is knowing that CJ will be going to a nice permanent family who can show him lots of love and attention.