I consider myself to be good with dogs. Although I'm not a professional trainer, I still have had some success with getting dogs to do what I want them to. But Summer was a different story. Summer was a beautiful dog — a Brittany mix with a gorgeous face and fantastic eyes. Summer was also what Arleen and I would call an ADHD dog.

Summer was a puppy, about four months old when I got her, so I expected typical puppy energy. But her energy was much, much more than plain puppy energy. If I took Summer to the dog park for an hour and she ran and ran, it made no difference. She was just as crazy before as after. I have never seen a dog with so much energy. She bounced off the furniture, bounced off the walls, ran around the house, chased anything she could, and then she ran some more. Summer NEVER sat still! YIKES!!

In addition to her manic energy, Summer never, at least with me, learned what "no" meant. No matter what Arleen and I did to teach her, she simply didn't learn. I don't think she was stupid, just stubborn. She terrified Dinky, my little 12-year old Shih Tzu to the point he was afraid to move. No matter where he went, she chased him. I thought the poor old guy was going to have a heart attack.

And, to make matters even worse, she was toy and food aggressive and became very protective of me. She wouldn't let any of the other dogs near me or the food or the toys. My poor babies were not happy at all. She dug holes, growled and chased the other dogs, chewed everything in sight, and generally annoyed all of us.

But she was so cute! That sweet little puppy face was just adorable, even when she was destroying everything in our house. I walked her, ran her, played with her, and tried, and tried, and tried to teach her — but nothing... She just never got it.

It finally became obvious that Summer was definitely NOT a good fit for our family. I had to call Metro and ask them if someone else could take her. I didn't want my dogs to feel like they didn't belong and poor Dinky was having such a hard time trying to avoid her.

I talked to Marian and explained the situation. She asked me if I could take another foster in place of Summer and I told her yes as long as the dog wasn't as manic as Summer. In the end, we traded dogs with another foster mom. She took Summer and we got Nan, a Black Lab mix puppy. Nan was Nelly's sister and we had fostered Nelly for a while. It turned out that the other foster mom had a Brittany of her own and her dog got along just great with Summer. In the meantime, we welcomed the more sedate Nan into our home and everyone relaxed.

At first I felt like I had failed with Summer but Metro reassured me that sometimes fosters are just not a good fit. Because most of my animals are older, a crazy, energetic puppy like Summer just didn't work. Nan was a much better fit. Although she was also a puppy, she was much more laid back. And hour in the dog park would wear her out for a while and she got along with my dogs. She was also much more willing to learn.

In the end, both Nan and Summer got what they needed. Summer had a huge backyard and another Brittany to play and run with and Nan got a quiet, easy going home. Both were adopted into the perfect forever home and are living happily ever after. Summer is an only dog and totally spoiled and Nan has a big Lab sister to keep her company. I just love happy endings...

Rev. Claudia and the critters...

Not long after Bridgette, now spelled Brigette, found her forever home, I was asked to foster Nelly, a sweet Black Lab mix puppy. Nelly was a very laid back, calm dog and was already used to being in a home, so she was much less work. That was a good thing because Arleen and I needed a little break from the crazy puppy stuff. She stayed with us a week and was adopted.

Then there was Miki, a sweet Shepherd mix. Although still a puppy, Miki was a little more comfortable with being in a home. Miki loved the dog park and got along great with our dogs, but we only had her for a week. The very next week at an adoption event, Miki went to her forever home with a big sister for company.

After Miki, actually at the same adoption event, I was given another dog named Summer. Summer was a young Brittany mix from a litter of four. Two of her siblings were adopted at the same event as Miki. Too bad Summer wasn't adopted. She was our first failure.

Summer was, to put it mildly, a handful. For the three years (I kid you, we only had her three weeks, but it seemed much longer), she drove all of us, human and animal, absolutely crazy. More on Summer in the next article...

Rev. Claudia and the critters...

Miss Bridgette was learning how to live the good life. And from that once frightened dog, a full-fledged puppy began to emerge. If you haven't puppy-proofed your house before you get a puppy, you will once that puppy comes home. Bridgette was now that puppy. She was into everything! She chewed shoes left on the floor, socks, papers, bags, anything she could get her puppy mouth on. Arleen and I worked diligently, and constantly, to teach her what was a toy and what was not. Still, it didn't stop her from trying everything and I have the chewed up stuff to prove it!

In addition to daily walks with my other dogs, I began taking Bridgette to dog parks to learn to socialize with other dogs. On sunny days, we went to an outdoor dog park. But during the early spring rains, we headed over to Canine to Five's indoor dog park for play and socialization time. They have an indoor dog park in a large warehouse setting. There are tables and chairs, but if you sit down, you may end up with a dog in your lap! Its a lot of fun for both the dogs and humans and Bridgette LOVED it.

She ran and played with every dog she could find and got as much attention from the humans as she could. And she made friends. One of those was a black dog named Riley. She really loved playing with Riley. They chased each other, wrestled, and generally ignored all the other dogs.

Riley's owner, Gwen, noticed how much they liked each other and pretty soon, she became interested in adopting Bridgette as a friend for Riley. It took about a week and Bridgette still had to be spayed (it's the law in Michigan) but finally Gwen filled out an application and formally adopted Bridgette. She picked her up from the vet after her spay surgery and they have been together ever since.

Sweet little (not anymore) Bridgette went from being an abandoned puppy living alone under a bridge to being a much loved house dog with furry and human friends and tons of love. It was a great ending to my first foster experience. Even though once Bridgette was gone and I did miss her, I knew she went to a great home with a great family. And with my first foster experience, I knew I would continue foster dogs as long as I could. And I still do!

Rev. Claudia and the critters...

The first day I took Miss Bridgette for a walk, I wish someone had taken a video of us. I'm sure anyone who saw us was hysterical. Here I am, this little, short, fat lady with two normal, sedate dogs walking by my side and one absolutely wild animal on the end of a leash. Bridgette jumped, pulled, ran to the end of the leash and got pulled off her feet, wiggled, struggled... She was NOT a happy dog. But still, occasionally, she would lay down in the grass and just fill her nose with the smell of Spring.

It was fun to watch her learn about the world, even though I thought my arm was going to fall off. We didn't go far, but we did get a sort of walk in. Later when I wanted to take her in the car, I had to lift her up to put her in. She really didn't like the car at all, but I dragged her along anyways. My other dogs kept looking at me as if they thought I was nuts! Why on earth would I want to have this crazy, squirrelly puppy living with us?

But Tootsie did help me a lot with Bridgette. Tootsie became her stand-in mother and taught her a lot about what to do and not to do. She kept Bridgee in line. Bridgette followed Toots around all the time, when she wasn't following me.

We began immediately to work on house training and Bridgette soon learned to take herself out the dog door. But she still had accidents. One thing I did right away was crate train her. Knowing that she was safe in her crate while I was at work was a total blessing. I didn't have to worry about her tearing up the house or relieving herself everywhere. She took to the crate really well.

I remember when Arleen and I first got Bentley and Gypsy (our Cocker Beagles) from Ar's daughter Sandra. She said she didn't want us to put the puppies in a crate. "It's cruel!" she said. But we crate trained them anyways and even now, at 16 years old, Bentley still loves to sleep in a crate. He always has. His crate is his home, bed, safe place, den, and favorite place to rest.

Bridgette soon learned to walk on a leash, sleep quietly in her crate, and finally, to jump in the truck all by herself. She was slowly learning to be a pet. And she loved it!

Rev. Claudia and the critters...

I finally got the courage up to contact a rescue organization in my area and volunteer to foster a dog. I was scared, but I knew I wanted to try it. A short while after I got in touch with them, and after attending several adoption events, they called me to see if I would foster a four month old puppy named Bridgette. She was found living under a bridge on the I-96 expressway (thus the name). The lady who found her already had several dogs, so I told them to bring her to me and I would give it a shot.

I had been watching Cesar Millan and remembered him saying that when you bring a new dog into your home, take the dog for a nice long walk before you go home. So I loaded the dogs into the car and headed off the meet Helen and this new puppy. I thought we'd all take a walk then go home.

But when I met Helen, she told me this dog had never had a collar or leash on and didn't know how to walk. She was hunched down and terrified. I ended up just transferring her into my car and going home. My dogs seems okay with her despite her fear. Once we got home and I struggled her into my fenced yard, she headed straight to the yard. I finally coaxed her into the house where she immediately tried to find a place to hide and cower.

This poor baby had never lived in a house, wasn't potty trained, and was afraid of every human she met, even Arleen and I. I did stop to consider that maybe I had bitten off more than I could chew on this foster thing. And the first few days were more than a challenge.

We got her to settle down for a while, then she went outside and disappeared! Oh my gosh, I've lost my very first foster dog! Now what!?!? I spent several hours driving around searching for her then went home to call the rescue group. Imagine my surprise when I found her hiding in the bushes in the backyard.! So much for the lost foster dog. But our adventures didn't end there. Not by a long shot. Stay tuned for more of my adventures with Bridgette.

Rev. Claudia and the critters...

I avoided fostering dogs for many years even though I wanted to. I was so afraid I'd fall in love with every dog and it would break my heart to let them go. But as the years went by, I realized that each foster dog I gave a temporary home to and let go gave me room to foster -- and save -- another dog. And many of these dogs might otherwise be killed.

Actually, I started by driving rescue transport for dogs. It's like a rescue railroad that moves dogs from rural shelters where they have little chance of adoption, to larger, more populated area rescues and shelters where they can find a home. I read an article on the web and decided that if I can't save all of them myself, I can at least help give them a chance for a home. Each person on the transport drives anywhere from 50-75 miles then transfers the dog or dogs to the next driver for the next part of the trip. A coordinator keeps track of the dogs and drivers during the transport. Each driver calls in when the dog is passed and reports on any problems with the dogs or the roads.

My first transport was from downtown Detroit to Toledo, OH with a high-energy Brittany named Loni. She sat in the front seat and looked out the window the whole trip. I got a picture of her before I sent her on her way.

After my first transport, I did one pretty much every weekend as long as I could afford it. Each driver donates the gas and time. The experiences I had running transport would make a book, if I could remember all of them. I never took any notes, just enjoyed the rides and the dogs.

Rev. Claudia and the critters...