I first started fostering dogs in a casual way, by taking in a friend of a friend’s dog when they had to have an extended hospital stay. At that time, we had two pug crosses – a mother-and-son duo called Ruby and Bear – both of whom had never been an “only” dog and, as a result, were not particularly phased by the appearance of a long-stay visiting pooch. My husband, Paul, and I found looking after our little foster friend so rewarding that, once we handed her back to her owner, we decided to seek out another opportunity to foster. As our dogs were pug crosses, we thought it would be a good idea to find a foster dog with a similar temperament, so we googled “foster a pug” and the PDWRA popped up on the screen. We applied straight away.
That was in 2023, and after a vetting phone call from Jackie, the VAC, and a virtual home check, the first pug that swaggered through our doors was a handsome brute called Teddy, who was then 10 years old. We quickly shortened his name to Ted to give him the gravitas his age and bearing demanded. We collected him on November 5th, which made for a challenging first night with fireworks going off all around, but after that initial hurdle he settled in well.
Teddy had found his way into care quite late in life. Having been a much-loved pet, his former family found that he couldn’t adapt to their very young children and, after a couple of incidents in which he showed possessive behaviour, the decision was made that he could no longer live with kids and had to be moved. Paul and I initially expected him to be very sad and pining for his family, but amazingly he settled in immediately and we got the feeling that he was relieved to be in a dog-centric environment rather than a child-focused one. He basically started to kick back and enjoy his retirement.
In fact, he settled in so completely that the discussion quickly turned to adoption. As always, there were pros and cons to be considered and, at the top of the cons list, was the fact that our older dog Ruby had started to become really bad-tempered – not just around Ted, although it did seem as though his introduction into the home had been the catalyst. This left us weighing up whether it would be fair to both dogs to make Ted’s stay permanent. Sadly, the decision was taken from us when Ruby unexpectedly died.
Jackie was brilliant and we asked if we could take just one more week to consider Ted’s future with us, as we needed to see how Bear losing his little mum, and then being alone with Ted instead, might alter the dynamic in the household. They settled down together very quickly and it actually really helped all of us to have Ted there to fill the void Ruby left behind. We knew from then on that Ted was in his forever home. I suspect Ted had decided that from more or less his first day – he just had to wait for the rest of us to realise it.
We were able to adopt Ted seamlessly. Being an approved fosterer meant that we had already been vetted and home-checked, so it was simply a matter of signing the forms, paying the adoption fee, and acknowledging that he was already home.
Since adopting Ted, we have gone on to foster many more PDWRA pugs, which, with difficulty, we have resisted adopting as well. It can be challenging at times, especially as Ted has his issues with being possessive over food and a tendency to get a bit John Wayne when he thinks the others are being undisciplined. We’ve found that divide and rule works best at mealtimes, along with making sure everyone has a quiet, safe space they can retreat to if things get too much — humans included!
I wholeheartedly recommend fostering and adopting through the PDWRA. It’s incredibly rewarding to be able to help a little dog who may be abandoned or traumatised, to win their trust, and help them find love again. And sometimes, the love finds you too.
