"Happiness is a form of courage."

As Mandy's adoption day nears, I become sadder and sadder and become more attached by the minute.  We snuggle on the couch.  We take pictures together.  We snuggle on the bed in the morning.  We nap together.  Mandy even spends time at home outside of the crate while I'm gone.  I love my foster dogs to pieces, but I'll be the first to admit that they get a little "extra love" when I find out they will be going to a new home soon.

Whether it's for me or them, I think it helps both of us through the process.

Foster dogs are members of your family, but they are also projects.  You bring them into your home with the hope of preparing them for their forever homes.  You love them like they are your own, but you also try your hardest to mold them into a dog that someone would be lucky to have in their household.  My dogs sleep in the bed with me.  My foster dogs sleep in a crate.  My dogs are loose when I leave the house.  My foster dogs stay in a crate.  I love them just as much as I love my dogs, but it's my duty to try to turn them into a "model dog" for a family.

When the time comes for a foster to go to a new family, I find myself letting the dog stay out of the crate while I'm gone on occasion.  I might even let the foster sleep in the bed one night!  At this point, my fosters know that I love them.  Hopefully they know how to act in a house.  They know how to act around dogs and cats and people.  They're ready, and I suppose that's what matters when it comes down to it.

I can't even voice how much I'm going to miss Mandy, but I've taken the pleasure of Face-stalking Mandy's new family, and I feel completely and totally confident that they are perfect for each other, and Mandy is going to have an amazing future.