I just wanted to quickly share these adorable pics with you guys. Ever since their brave dock diving adventures in Whistler, it seems as though Roxy and Cash can’t get enough of the water! The rising temperatures could certainly have something to do with this (it was 32 degrees again yesterday!) but I think they both have developed a serious taste for aquatic activities!

We made a quick trip to Kanaka Creek park yesterday to beat the heat. Those of you who regularly read my blog will recognize this as the park we had a too-close encounter with a bear last summer. This time we were prepared, sans kids, to quietly observe the wildlife from afar, but unfortunately the dogs were way too rambunctious this go round and probably scared away all the bears within a 50 km radius of the park.

That was okay, though, because we had tons of fun playing on the banks of the Fraser River! Cash even dunked his whole head under to retrieve a stick, a wonderous feat I never expected to see from my water-shy pup! Even at 9 years old, this guy’s still evolving and learning every day!

On another note, there’s something I’ve been putting off discussing in the blog, but I figure you all will have noticed something missing from my posts over the past few weeks. Yes, Chance’s foster-ship with us has ended and he is back living happily at SAINTS. This was an incredibly hard decision since, after over two years of living with us, we had come to think of him as our own. However, his declining health and unwillingness to be treated forced us to have a sit down with Carol to seriously discuss what the best option was for him.

His monthly seizures were starting to become a weekly event, and his eyes and ears were becoming more and more troublesome. We tried every possible form of remedy given to us by the vet (drops, salves, ointments) but Chance’s serious dislike for medical treatment was making it impossible for us to administer his meds. After sustaining what seemed like hundreds of bites trying to give him his eye/ear drops, it became clear to us that his condition was worsening because we simply couldn’t get the medication in his eye/ear.

Not wanting to jeopardize his health in any way, we consulted Carol, and she made the difficult decision that Chance was no longer a manageable dog and probably couldn’t be in foster care any longer. After a VERY tough conversation, Jer and I had to agree.

It has now been over a month since Chance returned to live with Carol at SAINTS, and we miss him terribly. The house is eerily silent without his high pitched yaps and regular boxing matches with Roxy. I know I should change the header of my blog since Chance technically isn’t one of our brood any longer, but I just can’t bring myself to do it yet.

If there’s any silver lining here, it’s that Chance is going to get the medical attention he needs at the hands of a trained nurse (Carol). Plus, he has finally been reunited with his favourite volunteer, Laura. One other benefit has been the change I’ve seen in Roxy and Cash. I’ve mentioned several times that my dogs and Chance never seemed to bond, but I never realized how much his brattiness had affected them until he left. It’s like they’re both puppies again, running around the house like crazy kids, chasing each other and completely unafraid to rough house and playfight.

Lastly, the absence of one foster means that we can open up our home to another foster, one that doesn’t have a safe, warm and comfortable home to go back to like Chance did. We’re going to begin fostering pitties in need that have been pulled from the shelters and placed into a network of temporary foster homes eager to give them a second chance. I have always been a lover of all bully breeds, and we are very excited to be welcoming one into our pack shortly, so stay tuned for an update!