Meet Roscoe – the newest member of my family:
Probably looks a little familiar? I was going to say I foster failed, but how can you fail when you end up with this guy? As a foster, you try your best to be practical and tell yourself that the love you give them is just getting them ready for their forever family. That you’ll be able to let them go if the right family comes around. And sometimes you do of course, but I don’t know how you don’t open your heart to the possibility that the dog you take in could be family. (Maybe once you end up with more dogs than you can handle, ha)
Roscoe came to me a scared, shy guy, frightened to be touched and terrified of taking a walk or going outside. In the first few weeks he took comfort in my dog Hunter, often snuggling up to him before he would even let me touch him. It took him about three weeks to take his first walk, and even longer to let me pet him or to walk towards me. I’ll never forget the day he finally broke through his wall and reached out his paw, nudging me to pet him. His eyes looked so scared but so desperate for some sort of connection. If I stopped petting him, he would nudge even more furiously. I was hooked from that moment, although I tried to tell myself otherwise.
It took me a while to decide to adopt him mainly because, as silly as it may seem, I did feel like a failure for not being able to give him up. As a foster you want to help as many dogs as you can, so knowing that if I adopted Roscoe I couldn’t foster anymore, made it a tougher decision. And of course it’s hard to give up a dog, but you have to be able to accept that as a foster. The other two dogs I fostered were very hard to give up even after only having for a short time, but I knew they found great homes and would adjust. They were happy, easy dogs. And, I know Roscoe could adjust too, but I just didn’t feel like anyone would understand him like I did. Those first few months of carrying him as I walked Hunter around the block, waiting outside for 45 + minutes for him to go potty (thank God it was the summer), bonded Roscoe and I. From day one, he has been the sweetest dog, never biting me all those times I know he was scared to death as I picked him up. And, he is a great snuggler. His little body just melts into me when he lets me hold him. He is still fearful and doesn’t love being picked up, but I want to keep working with him to see his true personality come through. We’ve been through a lot, I can’t wait to get to the really fun part when he realizes how great it is to be a dog who is loved.
I’m excited to finally make it official and introduce him to all that CLE has to offer (slowly). It’ll be interesting having two opposite dog personalities in the family, but I like a challenge! So, welcome Roscoe Theodore to the Dogs in the CLE family! (just don’t try to pet him yet, ha)
Dogs in the CLE 
Congrats!!!!
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