Brandy: our adorable, affectionate, Yorkie X foster dog

While in transit at Chicago's O'Hare airport, on our way to California, my fiancé agreed to let us doggie sit Brandy, a Yorkie X, for 2 weeks while her foster mom was on vacation. I picked her up the day after our California road trip and was surprised and sad to see how timid and emotionally fragile she was. She also has mild epilepsy and a nervous mouth twitch.

For the first few hours she chose to retreat to a bedroom away from the rest of us, but I just couldn't let her be alone. So I placed her on my stomach while I lay on the couch and held her close. After about an hour she very reluctantly and slowly rolled over for a belly rub. It felt so amazing knowing that there was a chance she might trust me!

On walks she preferred to walk behind us - almost like she was afraid that if she walked in front of us we might kick her. It was so heartbreaking but I was determined to show her that we would never hurt her.

Over the next few days she started to come out of her shell a little more - she'd jump excitedly when we got home from work and would want to be around us more. She grew more comfortable with walks and enjoyed going out for a little romp even though there was still a good amount of snow on the ground. After a week she gave me her first tail wag! It was such an amazing feeling and made me happier than you could imagine. She was a completely transformed dog, and   was a testament to how even the most damaged dogs can come around and learn to trust with just a little TLC.

Her original foster mom returned from her vacation but said that since she was doing so well we could continue to foster her, and we were more than happy to keep our little Brandy-boos. 

Her confidence continued to build and she turned into the most affectionate, cuddly, sweet dog you could ever imagine! I knew that as much as I loved her I needed to find her a forever home so that we could open our home up to more dogs in need. As it turned out I had a friend whose niece was looking to adopt and they were a great match for each other. She came to visit Brandy with her husband and Brandy was such a little angel. Brandy was off to Guelph for her spay and returned to me for one more week before going to her forever home.

I got an update from her new mom the other day and it sounds like my Brandy-boos is doing just fine and has adjusted well. I know she’ll get lots of love and now it’s time to find our next foster and go through this extremely rewarding emotional rollercoaster all over again!