We Tried – It Didn’t Work Out as Planned – But Did We Fail?

I don’t know if I will ever know the answer to this question. I don’t know if we failed. I am clear that things didn’t work out, but I don’t know that it was really a failure.

We decided to foster a dog, Jambo, that was deemed adoptable. Amber was her given name, and she was determined to be adoptable by a rescue agency, but listed otherwise by the country pound that was keeping her. In collaboration with said rescue agency, we invited a volunteer and soon to be renamed Jambo to meet us, Loren, Leo, and Sky, on a dog walk. Things seemed to go really well so we all got excited about being able to help get Jambo a new diagnosis. (and maybe a better name!)

Jambo needed to be established as adoptable, good with other animals, learn basic commands, and be spayed. We did all of this.

We were proud of ourselves. Honestly, I was proud of myself because Loren is the Dog Whisperer and this was a really new process and experience for me. We did everything everyone said to do. Yet, things didn’t really go the way we planned.

The first sign was when Sky just didn’t want to engage. Leo didn’t either, but he is weird. At one point, I was in my office and I heard Loren say my name VERY loud and seconds later, I was in the backyard with a long stick and Loren had the water hose separating the two dogs. The dogs were playing and Jambo got overly possessive about a toy and didn’t seem to know how to de-escalate. The water hose separated the two. Jambo acted as if nothing had happened and Sky remained unsettled days. Weird.

To be sure we were doing this right, we had a dog behaviorist come to the house and give us some tips. Loren and I both were overwhelmed by what seemed to be a full-time job of corrections, power plays, and micro responses we were missing. Leo and Sky seemed to miss nothing. Weird.

We tried our best. We even got a kennel for Jambo to sleep in so that the other dogs could find some sense of peace. There really was nothing wrong with Jambo. Certainly nothing wrong if you imagine how long she had been at the pound. She needed to learn how to play. Sky and Leo really helped her learn social skills. She was spayed and nursed back to her feisty self. She needed a loving and very attentive home. We couldn’t provide that for her though we had all of the ingredients. Weird.

We, I guess one would say, returned Jambo and she was placed with another family. She was deemed adoptable and played well with their other dog and even a small child! Success we thought! YEAH! Jambo will find a loving and very attentive home. YEAH! Until we saw she was up for another foster home shortly after leaving us. Weird.

Everything looked great in the days, maybe weeks, Jambo was at the other home. I am not sure what happened there and she was eventually placed in another shelter to await proper adoption. She went from months in the pound after being picked up on the street to two homes and now back to a shelter. Weird.

I am not sure we failed. It was good for both Loren and I to work on a project together. Jambo was deemed healthy, safe, and adoptable. We were also clear she couldn’t live with our family. Leo and Sky were back to normal pretty much the second the kennel was removed from the living room along with the foster dog. It seemed like a dream or a concept we had thought about but wasn’t long enough to seem real. Weird.

I learned to trust Leo and Sky in a way I hadn’t imagined I would. I also learned to trust my instincts and listen. We saved a dog from a terminal fate. We also grew closer as a family without adding a new member on either a temporary or permanent basis.

We tried – it didn’t work out as planned – but did we fail?