Marvelous Marvin moves on

I'll try to write this quickly, without a lot of tears. This was another of those days when rescuers see their work fulfilled and their hearts broken at the same time. My foster puppy Marvin has moved to his new forever home.

He cried when we left his new house without him, and it brought me tears too. His new family is nice, a young couple with a chihuahua that Marvin will terrorize for a few days and hopefully will eventually be a playmate.

It's quiet here, Marvin's crate has been moved to the garage. Tomorrow I'll clorox it out and prepare it for the next little puppy that needs our help for a few weeks. Tonight I will probably lay awake and sob off and on all night, knowing that he will wake up in the middle of the night and cry because he doesn't know where he is, or where Jim and I are.

Our Casey will miss him most of all. They played together so often. Tonight Casey has moped around, stood where Marvin's crate was in the dining room and looked puzzled. She used to lay near his crate so he always had company. Here are a few photos of them playing with a tennis ball yesterday afternoon, and a poem dedicated to foster moms and dads.

Don't know what else to say, except I miss him and hope I've placed him in a home where he will have a wonderful life.

To My Foster Mom (and Dad)

There I sat, alone and afraid,
You got a call and came right to my aid.
You bundled me up with blankets and love.
And, when I needed it most, you gave me a hug.
I learned that the world was not all that scary and cold.
That sometimes there is someone to have and to hold.
You taught me what love is, you helped me to mend
.You loved me and healed me and became my first friend.
And just when I thought you'd done all you do,
There came along not one new lesson, but two.
First you said, "Sweetheart, you're ready to go.
I've done all I can, and you've learned all I know."
Then you bundled me up with a blanket and kiss.
Along came a new family, they even have kids!
They took me to their home, forever to stay.
At first I thought you sent me away.
Then that second lesson became perfectly clear.
No matter how far, you will always be near.
And so, Foster Mom, you know I've moved on.
I have a new home, with toys and a lawn.
But I'll never forget what I learned that first day.
You never really give your fosters away.
You gave me these thoughts to remember you by.
We may never meet again, and now I know why.
You'll remember I lived with you for a time.
I may not be yours, but you'll always be mine.
- Author Unknown