Foya, Raleigh, NC
Hi! My name is Foya and I am a 3-year-old American Staffordshire Terrier. The beginning of my life was not a lucky one. I’ll spare you the details and just start in January 2011.
I had been abandoned in an empty garage in Queens, NY, with severe mange and was malnourished. After a call to the NYC Animal Care & Control (ACC), I was tranquilized, removed and taken to the shelter.
For the first few days, they kept me sedated for their safety as well as mine. I wasn’t in the best of spirits. After I figured out they weren’t going to hurt me, I began to let them get close and was friendly enough with the staff. They were feeding me so I was pretty happy.
At this point, things got fuzzy for me because I don’t understand exactly what happened, but my mom tells me that I was placed on something called the euthanasia list. When that happened, a very nice woman named Melissa saw me and convinced the founder of Posh Pets Rescue, Linda, to save me.
They lined up a foster, got me out of the shelter and to the vets for my skin. Things were looking up for me…then, the foster backed out of the agreement. 🙁
So, after I got out of the vets I went to stay at a boarding facility while I waited for another foster to step up.
I waited.
I waited some more.
I kept waiting.
A year passed. I kept waiting…
Linda and Melissa were doing everything they could to find me a foster but every time they’d get close, the person would change their mind. I was still taking medicine for my mange but the stress was making it not work so well.
I was also getting crankier the longer I was in boarding. I developed a dislike for men and was picky about the other dogs I could tolerate. Things were not looking good for me. Then it happened. After 14 long months of waiting, in April of 2012, I got a visitor!
A lady named Bonnie brought Diamond, one of my former kennel mates, and her two dogs up to meet me. She had seen a plea on the Posh Pets Rescue Facebook page for someone to foster me. She was Diamond’s foster mom and couldn’t take on another full-time foster, but she could come get me on the weekends and take me to the lake for lots of walks — giving me a break from the kennel life for a few days out of the week.
The meeting went well and it was agreed that Linda would bring me down to her the next morning. When I got there, the first order of business was to get my rabies vaccine updated. So, off to the vet we went. They also gave her some other things to help with my skin. When we got home I ate the best meal I’d had in forever!! 🙂
After my bath and some TLC, that night, for the first time in a very long time, I slept soundly on a soft, fluffy, clean dog bed in glorious peace and quiet.
The next day was Sunday, the day I was scheduled to return to the kennel. Realizing that I hadn’t gotten any fun time in and also that the kennel staff wouldn’t be able to keep up with the bath schedule the vet had recommended, Bonnie called Linda and asked if I could stay for 2 weeks until the next Posh Pets adoption event where she hoped to find a full-time foster for me. Linda was thrilled and so that day instead of going back to the kennels, we went to the lake for some play time!
During those 2 weeks, my temporary foster mom took such good care of me and learned a lot about me. She spoiled me with treats just for learning simple commands and kept raving about how smart I was.
Time flew by so quickly. I heard Bonnie on the phone one night with Linda talking about the event. Something about it wasn’t a good idea for me to go because of my behavior around other dogs and men. Would I have to go back to the kennel since my 2 weeks was up and I couldn’t go to the event and Diamond was already her full time foster?!
Fate’s answer was “No.”
The second weekend I was there, Bonnie had taken Diamond to an event in Hoboken, NJ. While she was there a very nice couple met Diamond and took an interest in her. They ended up liking her so much they submitted an application to adopt her. Two days before my stay with Bonnie was up, Diamond got adopted!! Bonnie immediately informed Linda that I could stay and become her permanent foster. What a relief!!
Over the course of the next few months, my foster mom worked on my training and my physical condition. We met with a lady named Sarah from Sleepydog Training who was very nice and helpful. My skin started to improve. I gained some weight so my ribs don’t show as much anymore. I get along great with her two other dogs. And, I even do okay around men now. 🙂
My foster mom is very attentive to my behaviors and always vigilant for what she calls my ‘triggers’. She also never gave up on trying to find my forever home…until it hit her: I already had one!
My foster mom had always made it known to Posh Pets Rescue that as long as I needed one, I had a place to stay with her. One night she kept thinking about that. She also thought about the fact that in over a year and a half, nobody had applied to foster or adopt me. She thought about what would happen to me when she moved in the fall. She wanted to make sure that my next caregiver would continue my training and be as dutiful to me as she is.
The answer was obvious. The only solution was for her to adopt me herself!
On July 1st, 2012, at Adopt NY’s launch event, I was officially adopted by Bonnie from Posh Pets Rescue and became a part of her pack. My foster dog tag was replaced with my own personalized tag and I finally have a last name! I couldn’t be happier! 🙂
My mom takes me on hiking trips and over to the lake so I can run around on the long lead for exercise. I get to go in the water and sniff stuff as much as I want. Then we moved to Raleigh, NC, where my mom found us a place with a nice fenced-in back yard so we can play even more.
Words can’t even begin to describe how great it finally feels to have a family! I hope and pray that more dogs get to know this feeling.
Lots of kisses and tail wags,
Foya
Parent: Bonnie