Bendrea, the Dog (Foster) Parents

Editor's note: This post is the sequel to Ben, the Dog Uncle. Ben, the dog lover himself, has graciously volunteered to do a guest post.

Ghost Editor's note: As it turns out, Andrea does not always edit her own blog. So imagine the irony when the editor's edits were being "ghost edited" by the true editor. Yep, sad realities hit hard when you realize you can't trust anything anymore. Also, I'd like to dedicate this blog post to my dog-loving niece, Reese. That had a nice rhyme to it.

Hi blog world. It's me, Ben. Dabbling in blogs is strange, even slightly disconcerting. Kind of like wondering onto the set of an Oprah episode about hoarders. Not that I'm calling you all hoarders, but I feel out of place among them, and among you. I'll make my sojourn here short and if everything goes well maybe I'll visit again someday.

Today was a milestone. After over a year of my puppy (allergy) shots, I've learned that pollen doesn't have to ruin Spring, that I can have a dog in the house and survive the night, and that my wife likes dogs. A few weeks ago I submitted an application to be a short-term dog foster parent with a local rescue organization. Andrea (per usual) feigned reluctance publicly, but was extremely supportive privately. Anyway, after a telephone interview and a home inspection, we were given the green light to foster a dog of our own.

I wanted a solid, medium-sized dog. Perfect for the condo, and perfect for a canine exercise companion. And then along came Bambi...

The rescue organization wanted to start us off easy, so they asked if we'd take in a 7-pound Cairn terrier mix named after a cartoon deer. I rolled my eyes and Andrea laughed out loud. In all seriousness, though, our little warrior princess has been through a rough patch. Two days ago she was in a high-kill dog shelter in South Carolina waiting to be euthanized. She was rescued and sent up on a LONG truck ride to meet us yesterday. We only had her long enough to give her a bath and a meal, and then take her to an adoption event a day later. It turns out that she's a pretty good ambassador for small dogs (I'm not a fan), because in less than 24 hours she won us over and had us both in tears as she left. No, I'm not a cry baby...but real men know when it's context-appropriate to show a little emotion and get some sympathy for it. Ha ha.

Anyway, Bambi broke my stereotype of small dogs. She was quiet, confident, and amenable. When we wanted to go out walking, she was the first in line...but she also beat us to the couch to hang out and watch Modern Family. Bambi has been through a lot, and showed resilience that was admirable and even enviable. By the way, don't believe Andrea when she rolls her eyes about dogs...she's a bigger pushover than I am when it comes to loving them. In fact, she was visibly upset that I didn't bring Bambi home today after the adoption event.

This little video is an attempt to memorialize our good memories with her... when she just came to say hello