Foster Puppy! Bodhi, Part I

Kitten with the new foster dog.
Jasper meets the new foster pup while Claire supervises in the background.

We got a new foster pup. And I mean puppy! Bodhi will be six months old in five more days. My husband had been away on vacation with our daughter, and he had a surprise waiting for him when he got home. Part of his welcoming committee was the puppy. It wasn’t totally unexpected as there had been talk that our fostering services might be needed soon.

Bodhi was purchased as a puppy from an Amish man. The lady who bought him took excellent care of him. He was up to date on shots and medical procedures. She also sent a detailed list of his daily schedule. This included scrambled eggs that she made for herself and her dogs. She also had another dog that was a year and a half old, so basically she had two puppies. The daily schedule included numerous meals and snacks, multiple play times, and snuggle times. Apparently, Bodhi was too rambunctious and his puppy behavior was intimidating and stressing the other dog. So, it was decided that Bodhi would be re-homed.

His original purchaser had him until about a week ago. Then Bodhi went on to his second home. There, I suspect his puppy antics were misinterpreted. His boisterous barking, growling, and playing were not a good fit for this home. It happens. That why rescues are here. So, Bodhi came to stay here with us for a bit.

Sheltie puppy
Bodhi watching me in the kitchen.

I had forgotten just how tiring young puppies can be. You have to watch them every minute. Bodhi really is well behaved for his age. He rarely chews on anything besides his toys. If he does pick up a random item, you tell him no once and he leaves it alone. He is reliably housetrained. The only accident we had was my fault. His signal to go out is to stand at the door and I missed it. I thought he was just playing but he was saying, “hey, I need to go outside”. That one was on me. And his crate training is excellent. He will rest quietly in his crate when it is nap time or if I have something to do and can’t watch him. He slept quietly in his crate for the entire night from his first night here.

Bodhi is really quite the joy and will make someone very happy. He is making us very happy right now. Puppies have such unfettered joy. He is happy to see us every time we come back in the house or even just return from another area of the house where he couldn’t go. Our dogs and cats are not as thrilled with him as we are. Bodhi loves cats. So much, that he follows them and runs after them to sniff and nibble them. Our cats are fairly good natured so they either ignore him or stay in a location that he can’t reach. There is an occasional hiss or smack, but Bodhi doesn’t take it personally.

Our dogs find him to be tiresome. Bodhi finds them to be wonderful. He follows them and tries to jump on them to play. Baxter and Shelby have told him off a few times with a curled lip or a loud Woof! Bodhi responses appropriately and looks for someone else to harass, um I mean play with! A few times I have found Bodhi chewing on Zekie’s foot or tail. Zekie looks at me and says, “Mom, I’m being good, but help! There’s a delinquent pestering me”.

I am having the best time with this puppy. But there is a permanent home in the works. Stay tuned!

Sheltie pup and me.
Bodhi and me!

4 thoughts on “Foster Puppy! Bodhi, Part I

  1. Bless you for all of the GOOD that you do! Bodhi is adorable!!! Levi is slightly over 2 years old now and is STILL quite the challenge. We have had him since he was 9 and a half weeks old (our previous Sheltie was 8 months old when we got him, BIG difference as you well know!) Puppies ARE exhausting! I am too old to ever do the “puppy thing” again. Thankfully Levi still uses his crate, we insisted on crate training for both of our Shelties and it’s definitely the way to go. When Dakota was 2 he refused to go in it any longer. I think Levi will ALWAYS have to be in the crate both in the evening and for a couple of hours during the day. He’s just exhausting!! I know Bodhi will find a wonderful home, can’t wait to hear more about the one I think is coming!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. It’s funny, people think shelties are easy because they’re small dogs. I say they’re big dogs in a small body which is why I love them! They are working dogs and always looking for that work! Levi sounds like he has lots of work drive. That’s all part of the fun though.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. EVERYTHING about Levi is big! His personality, size, bark……you get the idea! I don’t know if it’s “work drive” per se, or that he feels that everyTHING and everyBODY was put on this earth to acknowledge him and God help them if they don’t! lol!! He’s the polar opposite of how our reticent and more fearful Dakota was.

        Liked by 1 person

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