A Hershey kiss, then goodbye

This was a tough week. Last Sunday I did two home visits. Monday evening my foster puppy Gilligan went to his new furever home, leaving his little friend Hershey behind. On Wednesday Hershey was at the hospital being neutered, and on Friday afternoon he went to his furever home. That's a lot of goodbyes.

Hershey came to stay with us on March 23. He is one of a litter of 7 rottweiler mix puppies. His mom is a pure bred rottie, as calm and sweet as can be. Hershey takes after his mom. We don't know who dad was... apparently some opportunist.

His coloring isn't typical rottie... he must get some of that from his dad. He is a drop-dead gorgeous mix of brown, black, tan, and white.

For the first several weeks of life, he lived in an exercise pen with his 6 brothers and sisters. He didn't get outside much and hadn't had the opportunity to develope his muscles and coordination. When we got him, he couldn't sit and scratch himself without falling over! He didn't know what stairs were, and he tripped over his big paws. He was a big clumsy 10 week old puppy. And I do mean big!

He loved to play with our other foster puppy, Gilligan the hound mix, who would chase Hershey around the yard and play tug of war or wrestle with him. Gradually Hershey developed his coordination.

He got a nutritious diet, including Nussentials MORE and PET RESTORE added to his food. His coat became silky and shiny, and he started to fill out.

I took him to several adoption events, and people loved him, thought he was beautiful, but were scared off by the thought of this cute puppy turning into an 80-100 pound dog. Go figure! Finally last Saturday at a PetSmart adoption event, just when we were starting to get ready to go home, a nice woman stopped to talk and fell in love with him.

Hershey and I visited their home Sunday afternoon and on Monday we got the call: the family adores him and wants him to be a permanent part of their lives starting Friday afternoon.

I was so excited for him - 3 kids, a great mom and dad, a new grandma with a doggie named Mugsy, a super big fenced-in yard to play in, everything I had hoped for him to have. But I was sad for me to be giving him up so quickly. I spent as much time with him as I could over the next few days. He loved to cuddle and nap with me. We played catch and chase and worked on "sit", "shake" and "take it nice".

The week flew by, and before I knew it we were in the car, heading to his new home. He was so excited to get there and see everyone! He ran in, wiggling and wagging, and had to greet everyone with kisses. Such a sweet little boy.

His new mom and I completed the adoption paperwork, and then while he was distracted with his new dad, Jim and I slipped away.

We've heard from his mom that he's doing really well and they are having lots of fun with him. I'm looking forward to hearing how he's doing in months to come. They already have reservations for him to stay at Camp Bark in a few weeks, so I'll get to see him then.

I haven't slept well for a few nights. I keep waking up thinking I hear the puppies, but then realize they're both gone. I feel at loose ends, it seems so strange not to have the two crates in the dining room. They're cloroxed and in in the garage waiting for the next little one, as is the puppy playpen.

Noir and Casey are getting extra doses of attention, but even they seem to wonder where the little guys have gone. Casey will pick up a toy and wander around the house looking for someone to play with.

Hershey was a heart thief. All the things I look for in a dog: beautiful, killer eyes, sweet, calm, funny, and destined to be large.

I long for just one more Hershey kiss.