Sometimes, You Just Need a Little "Faith"

Well, some of you predicted it from the start–we are keeping Captain the foster dog! But it’s a little more complicated than you think. And it all starts with a little Faith.

Faith Maloney was a founder at Best Friends Animal Society . I only met her twice–once in October 2021 and again in April 2022. While I hardly knew her at all, I was wowed with her from the start–she did the tour I was on and I instantly thought of her as my favorite aunt, like a lot of people seemed to do. I was wowed by Faith’s dedication to the animals, but especially the pups. I loved hearing her stories about the early days of Best Friends. As a newbie to the organization (hired the month before), I was drawn to Faith’s colorful stories about almost every spot we visited at the Sanctuary. She even taught me the importance of enrichment for all animals after I asked why “pig walking” was one of the most popular volunteer shifts!?

In June, our family decided to foster a dog. We had one “foster win” at home–our sweet pit mix, Indy–and were determined to foster in what we thought was “by the book”: foster the dog and get it ready for its permanent home. Enter Captain, a six-year-old pittie mix who was living in Mission Hills.

We did a dog match with our Indy, and they seemed to get along, so my 13-year-old son and I loaded the dogs into the car and headed home. It was going to be temporary–I was headed to the Best Friends National Conference in a couple of weeks, so I figured we’d love Captain for a bit and then send him back to Best Friends LA, where he would surely be adopted.

Well, here’s the thing: Captain wasn’t exactly what some people might call “adoptable.” He arrived at Best Friends in September 2021 (from what I can tell by the printout I have) and was adopted and returned at least three times because of his separation anxiety issues (his former neighbors weren’t his biggest fans due to his barking). He had a heart murmur and an enlarged heart, and he’d had two masses removed, one of which was cancerous. And he was a six-year-old, black pit mix (a breed overflowing in lots of shelters).

We kept Captain until I left for the conference in Raleigh in July, and I hoped that he’d be adopted when I got back. But he wasn’t. My husband suggested we take him back, which we did. Later that month, I got a message that someone wanted to foster Captain with the intention of adopting him. I hugged him, had a good cry, and took him back to Best Friends, knowing that we’d done our job. He was adopted!

Then, beautiful Faith passed away from ovarian cancer on August 4. From the Best Friends website:

Until her final days, Faith gave of herself whenever called upon and set no limits on her willingness to do whatever needed to be done. Her generosity of spirit and reliability that you could set your watch by made her the bedrock center of Best Friends Animal Sanctuary. There will never be another Faith and we will miss her terribly as a friend, a founder and the heart of the Sanctuary.?

August 10.? I was on a Zoom call with other employees, listening to stories about Faith. Someone was talking about how Faith believed that every dog deserved a chance…and like a shot from above, my phone buzzed. Captain was being returned because he didn’t get along with the family cat. Did we want to take him back?

Sad at the idea of his adoption not working out, I headed back to Best Friends to pick up Captain. I was greeted by joyful barking and jumping. We headed back home.

On the way home, I spent time thinking about this dog’s journey. In my heart, I wanted him in our family. But my head wanted to avoid the pain of thinking about his long-term health. At that moment, I thought of Faith. She wouldn’t have deserted him, and neither would I. I started calling him my “Faith Dog” and I decided that Faith and the universe would tell me what to do.

After a short adjustment, Captain was back in the swing of things with our family. Through his behavior, we learned a little bit about what his life was probably like before, most significantly when my husband was carrying a belt to put in his pants and Captain cowered, terrified. It was clear this pup had been abused. And his fear of walking into a room first combined with his separation anxiety made me think he’d been locked up for hours at a time. What a life this poor pup has had–and every family who took him ended up returning him. We started thinking about making Captain an official member of the family. Oh, Faith, I know this was your doing!

About a week later, I took Captain in for some blood work. The blood work was off, so I brought him in for a chest x-ray. While I was at Mission Hills, I was told that there was a potential adopter for Captain, pending results of the tests. Hooray! Faith and the universe were coming through!

Well, the test results came back, and they weren’t good. Captain’s heart had gotten larger and his condition was worsening. He was also diagnosed with cardiomyopathy. As soon as my husband and I heard that, we got serious about adopting. We had a family meeting to talk about it, and all of us decided that the only place for Captain was in our home. We wanted to be the ones to love him for the rest of his life--however long he'd have.

We don’t know what the future holds for his pup, but he will never be returned again, and only know love from now on. And I know in my heart who was behind this adventure. Thanks, Faith. And thanks to the crew at Best Friends LA for taking care of this sweet, gentle boy on his journey to his forever home.