Sadly I started this blog a little bit too late. I wanted to start it the day we went to pick up Harry, but things have been... busy to say the least.
 |
| Helping me study for finals. |
Let me introduce you to Harry:
Harry is a:
- 1 year old
- Newfoundland and (in our opinion) Flat-coated Retriever mix.
We picked him up on
November 18th and we immediately fell in love with him. He was wearing a cone as he had several operations on his eyes.
The Toronto Humane Society received Harry from Montreal. He had hair growing inside his eyes (according to the vet it could have been caused by an early-life injury) and in Montreal they did not have the means to take care of the problem, which would have meant euthanasia for him. Toronto decided to take him, do the operations and then they needed a foster parent for him for at least 2 weeks.
 |
| Oh, the lap dog... |
How did we get him:
I received the email and immediately agreed (without even checking with Sam), that we would be taking him and he sounded like a great dog to have. And I was so right: He didn't bite any furniture, he was perfectly house-trained, and didn't bark (most of the time). We got him with some eye medication that we had to apply 4 times a day. After 2 weeks he went back for another operation and we got him back for another 2 weeks, man was I thankful for those extra 2 weeks.
The daily life:
Taking Harry on walks can be a bit of a challenge. He is a very strong dog, and if he sees a squirrel, he HAS to chase it. Sam took the 8am walks, I did two during the day and at night we did one together. It was nice, it was just Sam, Harry the dog, and myself, no phones, no one disturbing us. During the day when we were studying, all he did was sleep. He'd occasionally come up to you and would want to be pet, but generally he let us do our thing until we had time to dedicate to him. All we have to do is sit on the floor and he comes and sits on your lap (I think deep inside he thinks he's a small lap dog).
 |
| There is that white (MJ) paw. |
The dog:
Harry's left front paw has some white on it hence we decided to start a tradition and find a last name for every dog/pet we'll take care of. We called him:
Harry Balzac Jackson (Sam chose the Balzac because it is in english pronounced as Ballsack and like Michael Jackson because he always wore a white glove).
He would bark for the first few minutes when we had to leave him alone, probably due to separation anxiety. But it was never a problem. Last night he was alone a bit longer because Sam came with me to my exam, and according to our neighbors he barked the whole time. I think it's because he knew the "end" with us was coming.
The end:
We dropped him off at the humane society today
(Dec. 16th), and he is now officially up for adoption.
Last night he (for the first time) acted out a bit. He destroyed our umbrella and took some tupperware and just put it in random places of the apartment. He must have felt that we were about to give him back.
He is now online at the Toronto humane society and waiting for a good home. I have no doubts he will find one very soon as he is a such a nice, gentle dog that is amazing with kids (from what we saw) and other dogs.
And now for some closure:
To Harry:
 |
| My baby, you will always be my baby. |
Good luck Harry, I hope you will have a nice life with whoever decides to pick you up, it was a real pleasure calling you "my" dog for a month. You were an amazing dog to foster and I am glad that you were our first foster-dog experience. We will definitely keep going thanks to you.
I need you to know that giving you back was really hard, and I know you were sad when I walked away, I could hear your bark and you just wouldn't stop. Believe me, it made me very sad too and I couldn't stop crying while walking a full hour to the Eaton center with Sam. He tried everything to cheer me up, but it's just not the same without you. But I need you to know that it was the right thing to do. We took care of you when you needed someone to take special care of you so that your eyes could heal properly. Now, if you're lucky you'll get a family with kids where someone will get to grow up with you and will get to call you their "best friends" like I got to do with my first dog. No matter who picks you up, I know the humane society will make sure they are a good fit to you.
If we're lucky, we'll meet again and even if not, I am so happy I just got to meet you. I love you, be a good boy !! I will never, never forget you.
Picture-time:
 |
Harry on his first day with us. He was so tired after the
subway ride... and all he did that day, was sleep. |
 |
Harry and Barbara on one of the first days...
Those two really hit it off too. |
 |
| Harry and Sam cuddling. |
 |
| Harry eating, he is such a beautiful dog... |
 |
| CUDDLE ATTACK ! |
 |
Oh boy, did he like getting his stomach
pet. This is also how I'd use his paws
to dance the YMCA. He loved it. |
 |
My to men on the bed. For once not competing for my
attention (I wish I was joking...). |
 |
| Dancing with the stars... |
 |
Mhmmmm so soft (that was probably
what was going through both our
heads...). |
 |
Lol, nice scary picture of the most gentle dog...
Giving an unknown, big dog a cream INTO the eye
can be quite intimidating as you don't know
how he might react, but Harry made it all so easy... |
 |
| Man and dog... Not all that different now, eh ? |
 |
| <3 |
 |
| Oh, you two... |
