Things don’t always happen quite like we expect, but what we always know is that our amazing foster families will take great care of their foster dogs. And that has definitely been the case with James and his foster dog Dozer.
In early August, the Kennebec Valley Humane Society reached out to us to see if we could provide a foster home for Dozer. Dozer was 13 years old and in pretty rough condition. He was unsteady on his feet and his blood work showed that he was anemic. The goal was to get him eating well and getting stronger and to reassess. Dozer went into one of our foster homes temporarily, and then James stepped up to take over his care.The first thing James started doing was walking Dozer more and more to build up his strength, but also because Dozer absolutely loves going for walks!! Another thing James started doing was cooking for him and making sure he was getting some great nutrients to help build him back up. Well, as you can imagine, Dozer was loving his life with James with all of the wonderful long walks and delicious home made food. His blood work started to improve, he was getting stronger and more steady so we were beginning to think about putting Dozer up for adoption. We got through all of the veterinary requirements and got him posted on our website and Facebook page. We even got more than 10 adoption inquiries in on Dozer because he is just that awesome!Right before we had a scheduled meet and greet with a potential adopter, James started noticing that Dozer had blood in his urine and that he was not as lively as before. He wasn’t eating as well and he didn’t want to go on those longs walks as much. James got Dozer right in to an emergency clinic and we learned that Dozer has advanced prostate cancer and the best thing to do for him is to make him as comfortable as possible for whatever time he has left.Without hesitation, James offered to keep Dozer and to care for him for the rest of his days.
What started as James fostering Dozer turned into James hospice fostering Dozer (otherwise known as “fospice”), and this is an incredibly selfless gift that James is giving Dozer.There are no words to express how thankful we are to James for what he is doing for Dozer, and to all of our fosters who have provided hospice care for their foster dogs. It is not easy, but it means so much to our special old dogs who are nearing the end and deserve to be spoiled and loved for their remaining days. You’ll be happy to know that Dozer is still enjoying walks with James and some snuggle time too. Dozer is right where he needs to be, and he is loving life and living in the moment. And what more can an old dog ask for?
