The current situation at the home of Poodle and Pooch foster Ashley: four permanent rescue dogs and five fosters, including three puppies. “It wasn’t my goal to have nine dogs, but here we are,” Ashley says with a laugh. “I can never say no.”
She credits her first foster fail, Oliver – a 5-year-old chihuahua mix – as the reason she is able to take in more dogs, including the hard cases. “He gets along with all dogs and knows how to comfort them,” Ashley says. “Every dog just clings to him.”
That is particularly true for one of her current fosters. Avery, a terrier mix who came from a hoarding case, is constantly with Oliver. Ashley has been fostering Avery for 10 months.
“He doesn’t like anyone to touch him, but he follows me everywhere. He plays with the dogs; he’s happy as can be,” she says. “Every single day I notice a little bit of progress. But the touch is still the same.” Because of his issues, Ashley will likely permanently add Avery to her family. “I told my vet, just go ahead and start a record for Avery. He’s basically going to be mine soon.”
Ashley’s husband and 12-year-old son are all in on helping with the dogs. Ashley does a lot of dog transports, and her son will go with her to sit with the dog if it’s super nervous.
Ashley also is currently fostering a mama dog named Becky, who was under quarantine at the Orange County animal shelter, and her three puppies. Becky was stressed at first, but she’s warmed up, and Ashley has been letting her sleep in the bed at night. “I’m not sure if my husband didn’t notice or if he just didn’t say anything about one more dog being in the bed,” Ashley says.
Ashley doesn’t plan to slow down on fostering dogs any time soon. “My husband keeps telling me we’re not fostering anymore, but whenever I show him a dog – even Avery, who has had such a hard time – he’s like, ‘but this is it.’ And we just keep going down that rabbit hole.”
Thank you, Ashley. We appreciate you so much!