So I've done something a little crazy and I'm fostering a 3 month old puppy called Kenai. He's been adopted by a Spanish-Swedish family in Gothenburg, but covid restrictions around Europe led to their flights being cancelled and so they are only able to come and collect him in December. When I was asked if I could foster him for a few weeks, to prepare him for his forever family and do his basic obedience training in Spanish and Swedish, I agreed to help out with the need. And so a little golden puppy came into our home about ten days ago. (The cats are not especially impressed, but they're tolerating him and watching him with interest.)
During his first week with me, he began learning some basic commands (come here, sit, lie down) and I had fun putting together a little video for his adoptive family. You can see it on YouTube by clicking here.
Today we actually had a visit from his adoptive mum, who is here in Spain to sort out some paperwork. Sadly, though, she can't take him back to Sweden yet, as she's flying with an airline that doesn't carry animals. So they'll have to wait until Christmas time until they can finally collect him and take him home. I'll be looking after him and training him for as long as possible, but if it's possible for me to fly to Scotland for Christmas (which I'm hoping to do), I'll have to give him back to the adoption agency for the last ten days before the family comes for him.
It turns out that this family has never owned a pet of any kind before, and so they're extremely thankful that Kenai is with someone who understands dogs and who can teach him all he needs to know at such a crucial stage in his development. Their 9 year old daughter is an only child and has been begging for a dog for around three years, so this is something longed for and new for all of them. Knowing this makes it even more of a privilege for me to be able to give him a good start and prepare him to go to live with his bilingual forever family in Sweden.
