One Dog at a Time: Blogging About Fostering and the Pet Lover’s Blog Hop

This week, I’d like you to meet Aaron Foster, pictured to the left, and his foster mom, Mary Doane. Mary is an incredibly upbeat, compassionate person who has taken on the challenge of fostering a shy, frightened dog in need of someone to love him and teach him that there are good people that he can trust and that he is now safe from harm. At the same time, she has also taken on the challenge of blogging about her experiences with Aaron at Mary’s Dogs Blog.

Fostering Hope – One Dog at a Time

Fostering hope – one dog at a time. That’s Mary’s tagline for her blog. And she lives it up to it. Her blog is a chronicle of her journey with Aaron, her timid frightened foster dog. The blog starts at the very beginning, when Aaron first entered Mary’s home. Since then Aaron and Mary have been through much and have made many breakthroughs. And Mary shares all of those moments on her blog, the triumphs, the frustrations, the joys.

Mary has an engaging way of writing, drawing you right into her story and making you share all of her feelings. While reading her blog posts, you’ll laugh with her, you’ll cry with her and you’ll share her feelings for Aaron. She lovingly calls him Aaron Foster.

From Day One to Present with a Frightened Foster Dog

Mary’s blog starts at the very beginning and she talks about how she came to invite Aaron into her home. She recounts the tale of how his eyes captured her heart before she ever laid on eyes on the real dog…she saw him in a photo first, with his sad pleading eyes. It was those eyes that convinced Mary that Aaron deserved a chance, a chance to lead a normal dog life, a chance to be loved and love in return, a chance to not be frightened of everything and everyone he encountered.

Against the advice of some of her circle, who said that Aaron would be too much for Mary to handle, she took Aaron in and started working with him. At first, it was stressful for Aaron, getting used to his new temporary home. He had some minor health issues that Mary worked through with him. And he had to learn to trust.

Mary’s most recent blog post is a good example of what you will find at her blog. Entitled “Of fortitude and squeaky toys”, it tells of the most recent breakthrough Mary has had with Aaron in developing trust and confidence and how she accomplished the breakthrough with a game she calls “Find It”. Mary recounts how Aaron is “developing self-reliance (can dogs do that?) and gaining courage. He’s beginning to trust that things are going to be good. And they are.” She also rejoices at teaching Aaron a recall using the same game, what Mary refers to as a “two-fer’ deal.

Promoting Fostering and Creating a Journal for Aaron’s New Forever Home Parents

Mary’s purpose with her blog is two-fold.

• She wants to leave a record, a journal of Aaron’s accomplishments and acheivements and his trials and tribulations so that when he finds his forever home, his new two-legged mom and/or dad will be able to see what Aaron has experienced and how far he has come.
• She also wants to promote the experience of fostering a needy dog and encourage other pet owners to consider taking in a foster pet.

Both goals are equally important to Mary and she is accomplishing both admirably with her wonderful blog. It’s one you shouldn’t miss.

Stay tuned here also because we’re going to talking to Mary one-on-one in a little while about her hopes and her goals in relation to both Aaron Foster and her blog. That’s an interview you won’t want to miss.

In the meantime, once you’re done browsing Mary’s site, come back and spend some time exploring the Pet Lover’s Blog Hop. Visit as many of the blogs as you’d like. Don’t forget to stop by their comment section and tell them you found them through the Pet Lover’s Blog Hop.

Tagged as: dog health, dog rescue, Dogs, foster dogs, foster pets, pet rescue