People always ask me  “How can you just foster a dog?” They look so sad and confused. “You spend time with them and then give them away?”

This is why:

A letter to Veteran Jon Bott , from the Foster Dad of  Zoltan;

To Zoltan’s Veteran and new Dad-

One evening in July while watching TV I decided to flip through facebook to check out the dog listings promoted by local rescues. I don’t do this too often because it can be rather depressing. Too few homes for far too many dogs. I came upon a listing someone had copied from Craigslist. It was for a family dog that someone had since he was a young pup. It was the usual situation with people moving and now there wasn’t enough time for the dog. The ad stated that he would be taken to the local shelter within a couple days if a home wasn’t found quickly. There were a couple of very poor quality pictures. This dog who’s name wasn’t given was laying playfully on his back staring into the camera. I guess that’s what got to me. Here was this playful loving animal who didn’t know any better who would most likely be euthanized for no fault of his own. So I emailed the contact and asked her to give me a few days to see if I could help. Unfortunately there weren’t any open fosters at the Better Life Canine Center rescue. I already had a foster plus my personal pet. A day later the woman responded to my email and I asked for more time again she told me if he wasn’t gone by Wednesday am he was going to the shelter. I had a business meeting 5 hours away that I was already on my way to. Had to make it work so I called the woman and told her I would pick him up on my way home. When I picked him up he was extremely excited to meet me. Zoltan had been allowed to meet people this way so he didn’t know any better. I went about my business of processing the surrender. Zoltan’s new life would begin.

I took him for quick walk and while he pulled just a little but this beautiful looking dog kept looking up and checking with me every few seconds. This is very good. We jumped in my truck and headed home. After a few minutes he put his head on the console of my truck and slept the rest of the way. When we got home I introduced him to my personal dog Servo. It was pretty funny as I don’t think Zoltan had met many other dogs in his life. He really didn’t know what to do at first. But soon enough they began to play and wear each other out. For the next few weeks Zoltan would exercise with Servo and go everywhere with me. Work, pet stores, parks, basically anywhere I could take him he went. The expectations for him also changed. There would be no more greeting people without permission. No more eating without permission. No jumping up on humans. His manners while not horrible needed some adjusting. He learned at a very rapid pace and every day showed me how hard he was trying to please. Then on a Sunday a few weeks later I took him for a walk in a local park. There were hundreds of people and a very loud car show going on. Zoltan showed me what he was truly capable of that day. In this distraction filled environment he focused all his attention towards me. He ignored pretty much everything and stayed calm. When people approached asking to pet him he remained sitting like a well behaved boy. Zoltan was ready to be adopted. So I made a couple of videos to promote him even though I’d secretly begun to want to keep him. Then I was contacted by Barb at Better Life Canine Center telling me that Jen and Donna from Stiggy’s were looking for dogs for their next class. I knew what Stiggy’s does and was all for the cause. They were very pleased with Zoltan and brought him in.

It’s an honor for me to have rescued, helped train and donated Zoltan to Stiggy’s Dog’s. They truly believe in what they’re doing and you can see the passion in every one their volunteers. Working with Zoltan I know he will do his absolute best to give you and your family unconditional love and happiness the rest of his life.

Mathew Sica