April 27, 2015

One Year of Potcake Love

Boca has never once doubted that she was home.

One year ago today, I was anxiously checking my email for updates on Boca's flight from The Bahamas, made up of several legs with a layover in Florida. Her name was then Lydia, she had lived at The Humane Society of Grand Bahamas for about a year after being rescued from the streets, and she was supposed to be a foster dog. I didn't know what to expect...Ruby had made a few dog friends but was highly reactive to dogs in general and I was nervous about the initial meeting. I didn't know what Lydia would be unsure or afraid of, how she would do with my ancient little cat or what she would think of my hyperactive terrier.

I needn't have worried. The hardest thing about fostering Lydia was accepting my "failure" as a foster home - and that wasn't even hard. Pamela at Something Wagging This Way Comes reminds me that the goal of fostering is to find the dog its forever home, and in that case we succeeded wildly. Even though I didn't officially adopt her until May 18th, as far as Boca was concerned she went home from the airport on that evening at the end of last April. One year later and I can't imagine life without my goofy, gentle potcake. One day before her first Gotcha Day I wanted to reflect on some of my favorite things about Boca Face:


 

I love her snuggliness. She is the absolute best at squeezing herself in to the smallest space to be close to me, whether that's behind my knees or curled up next to my head on the pillow. She isn't pushy or wiggly, she just settles in with an uncannily soothing presence - my aunt says she is like a cup of chamomile tea. I decided to adopt her at a difficult time in my life, and I will never forget what a comfort Boca was, her affection and assurance a touchstone during uncertain days and nights.

 



I love her patience with Ruby. My nutty Border Jack can be relentlessly energetic, and Boca allows Ruby to tease her, jump on her, lounge on her and chew on her with limited scolding. They play so nicely together, which was one of my biggest concerns with having two again since my previous two always had a tense relationship. I adore watching the two of them interact and finding them in the cutest napping arrangements together, sharing the dog bed in the sun. Their perfectly coordinating colors and markings are just a small part of what makes them The Ginger Sisters.




Most of all, I love her Bocaness. Her ability to sleep in the weirdest positions, her funny underbite, her frog-legged sprawl, her sweet Eskimo kisses, they way she bumps the back of my legs when she wants to go for walk, how cooperative she has been with me and various vets through ear problems and eye problems, her lovely unhurried strolling pace on walks and how she wags her tail constantly outside, our shared belief that weekends are for sleeping in, putting up with wearing bubble wrap and other silly blogger stunts, what she has taught me about potcakes and other street dogs, her crazy "hubba hubba" growl-bark she makes to get Ruby to play, they way she opens her kennel door on her own, her folded in-between ears that are so expressive, how she gets so excited at meal time, the way she inspires people to smile everywhere she goes, and the ease and determination with which she made herself undeniably at home with us from the start.



36 comments:

  1. I can't believe it's already been a year! This post gave me chills because she's just so sweet and I know how much you love her. Boca is so precious.

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    1. The time has really flown. I have learned so much about her in that time and look forward to many many more together.

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  2. What a sweetheart!! Great story!

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  3. Sounds like a match made in heaven. You know, one of those things that were meant to be. She sounds precious. Love.

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    1. It really was. I don't think many dogs would be so tolerant of Ruby's shenanigans - they are long lost sisters!

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  4. Boca is the one who sits in a slouching position on the couch right? She is such a love :)

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  5. I can't figure out why my eyes are leaking!

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  6. The two of you are so sweet together! Happy anniversary :) I don't think you failed at fostering at all. It just so happened that the person destined to adopt Boca from you , was you. It's meant to be :)
    -Purrs from your friends at www.PlayfulKitty.net

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    1. I was so sad the day her listing went up on Petfinder - if I hadn't decided before I know I couldn't have gone through with anyone else meeting her!

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  7. She is one lucky kid! Happy Gotcha
    Lily & Edward

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  8. Happy Gotcha Day to Boca!! I love her adoption story and I'm so glad she found you! <3

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    1. Me too, Lauren - it's hard to imagine how Ruby and I managed without her!

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  9. Happy Gotcha Day Sweet Boca! So happy you all found each other! :) It's been a joy reading about Boca and seeing her photos over the past year. Can't wait for more to come!
    -Jessica from Beagles & Bargains

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  10. She's so lucky to have found such a great home - I really couldn't imagine not seeing the Ginger sisters together, they just seem like such a natural fit. I probably would have been a nervous wreck before fostering "Lydia" as well because you hear a lot of biased claims about female dogs living together and what happens when you get another dog with a reactive one... I'm guilty of buying into a lot of those assumptions but then I think about Ruby & Boca and I know that they're proof that dogs don't deserve to have assumptions made because sometimes things just work out amazingly when we don't over analyze all of the what could go wrong scenarios.. Anyways I'm so glad your foster failure turned into such a great part of your life, and I'm glad she ended up in a perfect forever home.

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    1. I had applied to be a foster home for the American Eskimo rescue (I figured they were a safe bet because I really didn't want a small fluffy white dog) but the dogs coming in kept getting adopted right away (which was great!) - then Ruby's rescue was trying to sponsor as many potcakes as they could to come over from the Bahamas shelter and I volunteered. It was a funny timing thing - with a dash of destiny :)

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  11. You and Ruby really made out on the day Boca arrived. I can't imagine your family without her. And it sounds like you can't either.

    Here's to a tremendously successful failure. :)

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    1. We sure did, Pamela. I love my little family.

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  12. You are so lucky to have her, and she you!

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  13. What a lovely post! It sounds like you three were made for each other! My kitty and I are celebrating our 6-year anniversary of life together on Friday! This is a good time of year to fall in love ;)

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    1. It's funny, I adopted my previous two dogs and my cat in February (all different years) so I started thinking February was officially my "adopt a pet" month, but then Ruby came home in August and Boca in April/May so the Gotchas are sprinkled throughout the year now. I look forward to seeing what you post on Barley's special day!

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  14. Happy Gotcha Day, Boca! Boca was meant to be a part of your family and one of The Ginger Sisters. Your post was absolutely beautiful.

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  15. Happy Gotcha Day, sweet Boca! You do look like quite a snuggler, and that's my favorite kind of dog! Hope you have many more happy years with your little family!

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  16. I remember it like it was yesterday. I love her too, her personality comes through so well on this site. Ruby's too. The Ginger Sisters are among my favorite dogs I've never met!

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    1. That's so sweet! They are such characters. It's funny how different Boca is from my initial impressions of her, and how their differences complement each other so well.

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  17. Congrats!!! The BEST kind of foster failure is a loving home. We love following your adventures! What a lucky family you are <3

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  18. Wow, I can't believe it's been a year already! Clearly she was meant to be with you and Ruby. You have a perfect little family on your hands, and they're adorable in pictures to boot! :)

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  19. Happy Gotcha Day! I can't believe a year has already gone by!

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  20. What a beautiful post to celebrate Boca's Gotcha Day! It's amazing how blessings come into our lives in different ways and it sounds like Boca has definitely been a blessing for you. :)

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  21. I so believe that dogs pick who they are going to be with, we actually think that we find them, but that is the furthest thing from the truth. I'm so glad she found you... and I hope she has the best Gotcha Day ever!

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  22. Happy Gotcha Day, Boca! I can't believe it has already been a year.

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  23. This is so sweet. It brought tears to my eyes. Boca couldn't be in a better home.

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