Pick me! - Choosing a foster dog

Yep, yep - Another bust dog has landed safely in CA.

I fear there may be yawns all over the place with more bust dog news, so I won't go into detail about this wonderful fresh arrival just yet. After all, Mikey (below) is just another one of dozens and dozens of dogs coming home from the "biggest-baddest-bust-eva." They're everywhere!

While we celebrate an unprecedented number of bust dogs saved from an unprecedented dog fighting sweep in the midwest this summer, the loyal homebodies among us are understandably right to ask:

"But what about our own LOCAL dogs-in-need?"

GOOD QUESTION! The conundrum of choosing which lucky dogs get those rare foster spots is an important topic and a common theme during our weekly lunchtime meetings after Pit Ed classes. One thing's for sure, we aim to rescue at least one or two local dogs for every out-of-state dog we take in. That unofficial policy has been in place since back when we committed to ten Vick dogs. So the arrival of out-of-state Mikey signals a shopping spree for BR reps looking to fill a special foster home with a special local dog.

In short, we're looking for a new ambassadog in the making. But with so many, how do you pick?

Here's the climate: In the SF east bay, pit bulls don't really need us like they did ten years ago. Strong adoption programs in our local shelters means the squishiest, most well-socialized dogs get snapped up quickly - without question. Even the "needs a little work" dogs find relatively fast homes. Nowadays, REAL pit bull rescue in the east bay involves taking dogs that have medical or behavior issues and then shining those rough diamonds up into little super stars. For example, in the past 12 months, we took ownership of over 30 dogs while working within Oakland Animal Services. Eight dogs had medical problems that required either surgery or focused vetcare before they could be adopted out. Twelve had challenging but workable behavior issues that stemmed (typically) from lack of socialization or a good old fashioned proper upbringing. Six dogs presented unworkable behavior issues and were given compassion holds. And another six were 'easy keepers' who helped us train new volunteer handlers before they found their way to some very lucky, usually novice homes.

So, here we go again...Scanning the shelters and comparing notes with each other on what we've seen. Who needs us the most? Should we go to the next county and save a highly adoptable dog that has near-zero options? Stick close to home and help a dog with issues? Scan our email for a desperate family in foreclosure? (tons of those) How do we balance out the personalities and sexes we already have? And - very important - how much vetting, training and socializing do we have the energy to do this time around? Easy keepers are like a happy vacation and a breath of fresh air to tired rescuers after placing one or two more difficult dogs. But then again, the difficult dogs are the ones that bring some of the biggest rewards. Sigh.

It's a strange mix of privilege and burden to save a life. In the end, it's probably safe to say that we don't choose our rescue dogs. Rather, they always seem to find a way to choose us.