Ria’s Forever Home (With Me!)

Ria is officially a foster fail!  I decided that a couple months ago and am just getting around to writing this post. Her potential adopter decided she wasn’t ready to adopt, and I did feel like Ria wouldn’t be completely comfortable with anyone else. She’s just so attached to me, and I’m attached to her too!

I went away for a weekend at the end of June and sent all my dogs to boarding. After Ria’s great escape the last time I was away, I was a little worried about her, but it was only two nights and she did okay although she waited sadly by the door and refused to eat or drink. When I saw how overjoyed she was when I came back, I knew she was mine!

So she’s now a permanent member of the family. I thought I’d just introduce all her siblings:

Merrell: My baby boy, my first ever dog, going to be 7 years old next month. I was volunteering at a shelter in 2017 and someone had just dumped some newborn puppies. They were only 2 days old so I asked if I could try to foster them to see if they could survive. Merrell was one of those. He was the first of them to open his eyes and I knew I was keeping him. His three sisters all lived too and were adopted. Merrell is a sweet, reserved, loyal boy and he’s always been gentle with Ria.

Nymeria: This gorgeous girl was abandoned in a park near my house four years ago when she was 7 months old and still had stitches from spaying. I thought surely she was a lost dog, but a microchip revealed she’d been adopted from a shelter 10 days before and then abandoned. I’d fallen in love with her already, so of course I kept her. I named her Nymeria after the direwolf in Game of Thrones. She’s my running buddy, loves running even more than treats! She’s also the most outgoing of the pack, always wanting to give everyone she meets a hug.

Penny: This cuddly, hyper little girl is almost 2 years old; she arrived 6 months before Ria. I was fostering her for a rescuer who named her PIA (pain in the ass), so I decided to think of a nicer name that starts with P! She’s the self-appointed guard dog, always letting me know if anyone or anything is outside. She hated adoption drives and just wanted to sit on my lap all the time, so I kept her too. Since she and Ria are so close in age, they’re friends most of the time, but Penny can be rough sometimes. She’s learning to give Ria space when she needs it.

Big Guy and Bengtiao: My two Taiwan cats, aged 12 and 11. Adopted in 2013, I brought them with me to Malaysia in 2016. They hate Ria and Penny because the two dogs would team up and chase them. I feel a little bad for them since it was their house first, but now Bengtiao is comfortable in the foster cats’ room, and Big Guy has found his own lair where he feels safe.

Patches: Another foster fail from when I was fostering four cats in 2021. Merrell and Nymeria decided we had to adopt her! She loves all the dogs and all the dogs love her. Ria loves playing and cuddling with her. Every day, Patches goes around grooming the dogs. Penny is her favorite, and Ria is a close second.

And of course, there are the fosters. Only one foster dog, David, who stays outside because he’s always lived outside and has no interest in coming in, and three foster cats, but I keep the foster cats separate from the dogs.

In my small house, Ria really has to be the last foster fail (although I said Penny was going to be the last!). She knows her home will always be with me. Whether it will always be here, I don’t know. Her annual vaccination is in the first week of November, and I’m going to get her a pet passport; just got them for the other three dogs last week, and Big Guy’s turn is on Tuesday. While I don’t have any plans yet, it’s good to have them ready just in case.