Amy and Steve Nelson have reached a milestone in their fostering career! They have their 100th foster dog, Bashful, with no signs of stopping. Bashful came to BDAR from the Cheyenne Animal Shelter out of their recent hoarding case. He’s settling in at the Nelson’s and is available for adoption!
Dog cookies from Moose Wag Supply to celebrate the Nelson’s 100th foster dog!
The Nelson’s with Bashful
As one of BDAR’s veteran foster homes, the Nelson’s have seen it all. Their foster experience spans all possibilities from size, age, temperament, length-of-stay and so on. However, early on in their fostering journey, they discovered a niche. They gravitate toward fostering the “more difficult” pups – often the ones that are scared of people and need a little more patience.
On top of that, and in addition to their own pack of lovable dogs, they often foster 2 dogs at a time - even when that dog (or both) is not great with other dogs. Their expertise is unmatched and BDAR is lucky to have them! In honor of their 100th foster, we asked them about their favorite memories, lessons learned, what keeps them coming back for more? It’s certainly not the chewed shoes! ;-)
Do you remember your first foster? Can you tell us about them?
Our first official foster with BDAR was Bryn. We had a foster from another rescue first and then a temporary foster for the Brockels, but Bryn was our first BDAR foster. She was a beautiful brindle Boxer/Pittie from Metro in Casper. She tested well with other dogs at the shelter but when arriving at our home she was not a fan of our dogs. Our dogs were very patient, and we did slow integration into our home for Bryn. She did eventually decide the other dogs were not so bad. She was the start of my obsession with Metro dogs. She was so sweet and loved to play. The thing I remember the most about her was that on the way home after picking her up, about 20-30 miles from our house she had explosive diarrhea. All the stress of the day caught up with her and she had diarrhea all over our vehicle. Oh, the smell was terrible, and we did the best clean-up we could on the side of the interstate. She did get adopted but it was not the right fit for her and she ended up coming back to us close to a year later. She did end up finding her perfect person that was okay with her quirks with other dogs.
Bryn
What made you start fostering?
We started fostering because I couldn't adopt any more dogs. Steve said so and the city regulations said so, too. My Chocolate Lab, Naz, is what drove us to start fostering. He really taught us everything we know about shy dogs. He was scared of so much and took a lot of patience to make him feel secure. Seeing his transformation into the best dog was all the motivation I needed to start fostering. We knew there were so many dogs out there that just needed a chance to be a dog which led us to fostering.
Bruno
Was there “one that got away” in the sense of a foster fail you wanted to keep (not actually escaping!)?
The unanimous response to this question from the whole family is Bruno. He was a young Shepherd/Husky from Metro. Bruno had more energy than he knew what to do with. He loved other dogs but he was not sure about people. We were still very new when Bruno met his first adopter. Steve said something just didn't feel right but Bruno was adopted. In the end, it was not the right home for him and Bruno came back to us with new behavioral issues. The biggest issue was his intense fear of people. We worked with Bruno for several weeks until we felt he was ready to be listed on the website again. We had many discussions about keeping him but knew that would limit our fostering options in the future. We weren't ready to stop fostering. It took lots of applications before we found “the one” that felt like the right home.
Personally, I (Amy) wanted to keep Doyle. He was a terrified Doberman mix. My daughter fell in love with Bryn and Bingo. Steve really liked Smalls.
What are some lessons you learned along the way?
We have learned so much in the past 7 or so years. We have dealt with so much. We had a foster with Megaesophagus. We had one that compulsively chewed on herself. We really found our niche with scared dogs. We have had countless dogs that were terrified of people or life in general. No matter the foster, what we have found is that each one needed their own time to learn to be a dog. When a new foster comes in the expectations are not high for behaviors. We don't have a lot of rules that they are expected to follow at first. We just let them adjust and start showing their personality. We learned the hard lesson that not every dog will have a positive ending. We have had a couple of fosters that just could not overcome their issues. Each foster has been special in their own way.
Favorite foster?
We decided we could not pick one. Some of our favorites were Bruno, Bingo, Dexter, Merritt, Doyle, Zane, Gypsy, George, Rocky, and Gibbs. Each of them either stayed a long time due to issues they needed to overcome or just sparked immediate connections. We do keep a photo album of each foster.
Candy
Most destructive foster?
We had a really hard time coming up with this one. We really cannot remember one that was especially destructive. All the photo evidence of destruction came from our own dogs. Nova (our dog) is a master at destroying dog beds when she is mad. I know many really likeed shoes. I'm sure at some point they all had something that did not belong to them. Muffin liked to take stuffed animals off the headboard of beds and hide the stuffed animals around the house. The only thing we can remember that sticks out is Candy ate a wire kennel. She chewed through the wires, so we had to make some modifications to the kennel.
Is there a breed of dog that you haven’t fostered yet that you really want to try?
We have fostered so many different breeds over the years. We stick to large dogs because not as many people foster them. Little dogs just aren't a good fit for our home. Our dogs think little dogs are cats so it would not end well. We really haven't fostered a Hound before, but a few might have been Hound mixes. We absolutely prefer Pitbulls or Pit mixes if I had to say we had a type. Looking back on our foster dog album we have done so many different breeds!
What do you like most about fostering for BDAR?
We like that we can take chances on dogs that may be otherwise overlooked. We are allowed to give any foster the time they need to be ready for adoption. If we have a concern or think a dog needs something extra, our concerns are heard. We don't get worked up about a lot so if something is concerning it is taken seriously. I like that our type of dog is known and the effort is made to bring those dogs into the program. We were given a chance and it was okay that we were not local to Cheyenne. We are definitely given a lot of freedom and trust to do what is best for our fosters.
Smalls
How many times have you foster failed?
3 foster fails. Gunnar because we knew his chances of a successful placement were slim due to his behaviors. We felt we could give him the best opportunity for a good life. Nova, I guess, is considered a foster fail. I was looking for a grey Pittie when Nova was brought in. Unless she did not fit in our home we knew we were going to adopt her. Alaska was our last foster fail. She was initially adopted by our daughter but she could no longer care for her. We were already attached to her and she felt at home with us so we kept her.
What keeps you coming back for another foster dog?
Seeing dogs get their own homes, even the hardest to place dogs, keeps us coming back. Knowing we helped a dog that may never have had a chance at their own family get adopted is the best feeling. The updates we get from past fosters are the best. We love seeing our former fosters flourish with their adopters!
