Forever Fosters
Sometimes we find we have dogs in care that cannot be adopted. The trauma they have experienced has had such negative impact that they cannot cope with having to move from foster care to a forever home. The health conditions they have are so serious that they require ongoing expensive care with a prognosis that is not positive. We have found that with the ongoing love and care of wonderful fosters, these dogs are surviving much longer than their prognosis suggested and they are enjoying a great life after years of suffering. Their care is often costly and your support continues to provide these dogs with lives that are filled with love, comfort and without suffering.
Because of their health conditions and/or emotional trauma, these dogs will not attend adoption events.
Emily (Forever Foster Dec 4, 2016)
Sometimes dogs come into care and we try really hard to find them the perfect home. But we see that the dog has been so hurt, physically and/or emotionally, by the lives they had prior to coming into our care, a forever adopted home just doesn't seem to be possible. We know there are lots of good people out there, but not all are able to take on a dog that may never be that perfect, loving, gregarious dog.
Miss Emily is one such little lady. She quivers with fear and is easily afraid. Loud noises, a “Shh” done with too firm a voice, a hand reaching out to her can cause her to shake with fear and, at times, get physically ill and vomit. Physically, she is in great health. But her spirit was broken in her pre-Cupcake days.
Healing has been happening in tiny steps and each little positive moment is a gift. We are so thankful for the life Emily has with an amazing foster mom. They have helped Emily not be terrified of absolutely everything. There are still days and moments when all she can do is cower and quiver – even though she knows her foster mom loves her with all her heart.
We know Emily loves her foster mom and relies on her totally. So the decision was made to remove Emily from the list of dogs available for adoption. Cupcakes has committed to caring for Emily through her forever foster, who is committed to loving Emily forever.
While this means a long term emotional commitment, it is also a financial commitment to care for all the costs for Emily for the rest of her life. However, we feel it is the right thing to do. She will not need to endure the adoption events and Meet and Greets that caused her such tremendous stress. She can live her life, loving her Fluff and her mom. She can watch the world go by, without any stress. We hope you will join us in thanking her forever foster mom, and continue to support us as we assume this long term emotional and financial commitment to Emily.
June 15, 2018 update, written by her forever foster mom:
"Sweet little Emily has had a lot of hurdles to get to the place she is now. At first I had to feed her on her bed (her safe place) and gradually moved her dish closer to the kitchen, which took months. There always has to be a pee pad that she can stand on as this too seems to be a safe place for her as well. If there is no pee pad in the kitchen she will turn around and run away. She now comes running into the kitchen when I tell her that her food is ready and always sits on her pee pad. While she is eating I have to ignore her. If I come anywhere near her, she will run back to her bed. She still has issues going through doors. At the beginning I would have to pick her up and bring her to the door, now if I stand far enough away from it, but still where she can see me she will charge through the door. Coming back in, she will never come to the door unless I call her and let her see where I am. Again, still leery of the doorway, she charges through it and past me. If I bend over to try and touch her she turns around and runs back out. Outside in the yard she will run away from me or cowers when I come near her. But as soon as I pick her up, she is ok. Another positive thing is that she has stopped shaking when I hold her. Bedtime has gone from me picking her up and carrying her to the bedroom to me calling her and she walks to the bedroom, where I pick her up. At one time she slept closest to the end of the bed and now she sleeps closer to me. I have tried to introduce toys to her but she is very afraid of them. Since Fluff has been gone (Fluff was also a forever foster with Cupcakes who passed away January 2018) I have seen a change in her, but because my friend drops her dog Vana off every day she has gotten better and even barks when she sees her. Emily sometimes meets Vana halfway when she comes through the door. She still has no idea what playing with other dogs is; when Emily starts to run, Vana will playfully chase her, but Emily just drops and cowers until Vana walks away. When company comes over, she will always come over to me to pick her up. Emily has come a long way and has learned to trust me. I have become one of her safe places when I hold her. The words that make her ears stand straight up are 'Food,' 'Treat,' and 'Fluff'."
We are very thankful that Emily has wonderful sponsors who cover all her food and treats each month and visit her regularly. They have been an incredible blessing and have been delightfully spoiling sweet Emily. They also have a timid senior dog and two have become friends.
Dusty (Forever Foster Aug 13, 2022)
Our sweet little puppy Dusty is in a tough spot.
He has a severe heart abnormality with an atrial-septal defect (a hole in his heart). We do not know how long he will comfortably be with with us before he crosses the Rainbow Bridge.
We are monitoring him closely and providing him with the best care and showering him with loads of love and attention.
Our vet has strongly recommended he not be adopted out as his life span is very limited and his care needs are daily.
His amazing foster will be providing him with care for as long as he can be kept comfortable and happy.
We have made the decision to move Dusty from "adoptable" to a forever foster. He will remain with us and we will give him all the love and care needed and more besides!
Dusty, you are loved to infinity and beyond, and you will live every single day without any doubt to the dept of our love for you.
Gandalf (Forever Foster Nov 13, 2022)
Gandalf and Sam came into rescue on May 3, 2022. Gandalf is a German Shepherd and Sam is a Dachshund; but they are brothers, a bonded pair for life.
But life is not always easy or fair. Our big guy Gandalf has been dealt many blows in terms of his health with lots of tummy issues and skin issues in particular. This is part of the aging issues that seem to be all too common for older German Shepherd dogs. He is quite a costly guy and we have had no interest in having someone adopt these boys with Gandalf being at the vet every couple of weeks. It is very daunting. We know his time is likely short.
Gandalf and Sam have the most amazing foster family who love them completely and understand that the trauma of separation for these two is just too much to entertain. We all agree that we cannot separate Gandalf and Sam. But we also know that our gentle giant Gandalf is just a “hard to adopt dog” when his health is declining.
Cupcakes Rescue, together with the foster family, have made a decision that we all love! Sam has been adopted by the foster family. That is a huge win for Sam as he loves his human brother and sister, the walks, the play time, and the love. Gandalf will also stay with the foster family, as a forever foster. Cupcakes Rescue will continue to provide for Gandalf's medical and care needs for the rest of his life, however long that might be.
Gandalf and Sam will stay together, with the same wonderful family who welcomed them into their home in May, 2022. And when the time comes for Gandalf to become a guardian angel, Sam will have his people to love him, carry him through the loss, and keep playing chase the ball with him.
This is the best thing that could have happened for Gandalf and Sam. Cupcakes Pommy & Friends Rescue is so honoured to have Gandalf as a Forever Foster.
Pepsi (Forever Foster October 21, 2023)
Pepsi came into rescue on July 21, 2022. It's been a long journey for her, both medically and in learning how to be calm and happy.
Pepsi had many, many nightmares when she first arrived in rescue, where she would wake up growling at her fosters. As time went on, and she learned that these were humans she could trust, the nightmares happened less and less often.
Pepsi has blossomed in a calm and stable environment. She loves being kind-of-close-but-not-too-close to the humans. She likes to be spoken to while she sits on the opposite end of the couch (close but not too close!). She loves going for walks. Car rides have become enjoyable instead of stressful. She is slowly beginning to play with toys.
Her canine foster brother has been leading the way for her, teaching her that human attention is a good thing, scratches feel nice, and that snuggles with another dog are second to none.
Pepsi has undergone medical challenges as well. She still has quite a bit of anxiety, which she takes daily medication for. Pepsi also has a clotting disorder, which makes any type of blood draw a challenge. She came to us with very high blood pressure, and while that was eventually brought under control with medication, it caused permanent damage to her blood vessels. The combination of her clotting disorder and the damage from the high blood pressure have made it unsafe for her to ever be spayed.
Due to Pepsi's special circumstances, we felt it was best for her to become a forever foster instead of being adopted. We are so thankful for the immense amount of work her first foster family did - for teaching her that humans can be safe and will provide love and stability. Rehabilitation is not quick or easy, but as we have seen with many previous dogs, and again with Pepsi, it is worth it.
March 19, 2024
Our beautiful Jacob came into rescue November 1, 2023 as an emergency intake along with his two doggie siblings. Sadly Jacobs human was very ill and shortly after surrendering the dogs, they passed away. We have been honoured that we could give Jacob and his canine siblings new loving homes.
However, for Jacob, we quickly realized that that adoption was not a good option for him. At 16 years old Jacob is not in the best of health with significant cardiac/lung issues and we do see he is slowing down as his health declines. As a result, we have made the decision that he will never have to move or get settled in another home. He will remain with his foster family and our rescue will continue to provide care for his needs through our forever foster program.
We thank Brenda and Les for opening their hearts and home to make Jacobs last days/weeks/months comfortable and surrounded with love.
We thank you, our incredibly loyal friends of rescue, for supporting us and making it possible for us to assume the medical costs for Jacob and to ensure he lives each day with the best of medical care and the most amazing loving humans.
March 20, 2024
Our sweet goofy pesky little Gizmo has been in rescue for two years now. He was what we would lovingly refer to as challenging to adopt out. Gizmo was a one person dog at most and frankly his response to anyone other than his one person was to use his bite. And his bite hurt and caused damage. His foster home learned that he had one person, his foster mom and she can do anything with him but she sets very firm limits on his behaviour with her. With everyone else, they know to never ever touch him - even if he comes all sweet and climbs on your lap - never ever touch. To touch means you are almost assured you will be cleaning a bite wound. We always hoped we would find him a one person home who would give him the time and patience so he could choose them as his one person.
Sadly, Gizmo is entering a new phase in his life. HIs grumpy is more pronounced, he has pain associated with recurring cysts and arthritis and now we believe he is entering into early stages of dementia.
Our goal now is to support his foster family as they give him quality days and support Gizmo medically as well with the best care that is appropriate for him. He is happy with his mom at his side and trying to hide his treats from everyone else in his mom's clothing (which she is wearing at the time!).
We have made the decision to move Gizmo into our forever foster program and give him the best days we can while that is best for him.