If you’re following me on Instagram or Twitter, you’ve probably noticed a new face that recently popped up there. Meet Monte the Beagle! He’s a 10 month old beagle that we are fostering since last weekend.
Whenever I think about fond childhood memories, there’s always dogs in there. They were part of my happy memories. I remember them all, every physical traits and unique characters. Some of them were pure-bred, some were mutts and strays that I found on the street. Some died of accidents, illness, and old age.
I stopped having dogs since Sidra was a baby because I was moving quite a lot then. But there is always this dog-shaped hole in my heart. Last year we finally moved to our own house and hopefully would stay for a long time, so I start thinking of having a dog again. Sidra has also been asking for a dog. He loves animal as most child does.
My husband never had dogs in his life, he grew up with cats. He said that he didn’t know anything about dogs, and was slightly afraid of them. It is actually quite common in Indonesia, dogs are rarely seen walking in public places and lots of them are kept behind fence so they tend to bark at people. For people who are not familiar with dogs, this creates the mindset that dogs are aggressive creatures. But after more than 10 years living in Japan and meeting dogs in daily basis -most of them are well socialized-, my husband becomes more relaxed toward dogs. Not to mention hearing my endless tales of the dogs from my childhood.
The three of us talked about having pets, and everyone is preparing themselves for the responsibilities of taking care of a dog. I proposed the idea of fostering first, so we can have the experience of taking care of a dog and see if it is really suitable for us. I wrote to ARK (animal Refugee Kansai), a non-profit, private organization for rescuing animals, to volunteer as a foster family. And here comes Monte the beagle! Can you believe that he was abandoned in a parking lot?!
Monte was quickly getting friendly with us, only cried once when he saw his caretaker left. He already knew to pee on the pee sheet or outside, but we still had several ‘accidents’ these past couple of days, maybe because he’s still adapting to the new house. At night, we put the crate in the bedroom and he slept there quite peacefully, woke up around 5.30 am and asked to be let out. He got super excited when Sidra’s friends come and they were as equally excited so the house was a bit of a chaos after school. Monte is still pulling on the leash when I take him for daily walks and barking when he is left alone, so we have to work on those.
Of course there are sacrifices, tatami floor and dogs are not quite a good match and we have prepared ourselves to it. There are wiping floors several times a day, especially after an ‘accident’, taking care of the waste he leaves during the walk, the dog smell on the furniture, and so on.
Our life schedule is changing, we have to wake up earlier for the morning walk and I can’t leave the house until Monte learns to be alone. I’m happy to say that everyone doesn’t mind the little damages that have started occurring around the house and adjusting to the new life schedule.
Surprisingly Monte and my husband quickly took a liking to each other. My husband said that he didn’t know that having a dog is quite a happy experience. He browsed the internet everyday reading about dogs now. Sidra has already thought of Monte as part of the family and he gets all misty-eyed when I reminded him that Monte is a foster dog and we have to be prepared when he leaves. I don’t know yet if we will finally adopt him or not, it still remains a big decision that we have to think well in the future.
If you’re thinking of having a pet, please consider adopting. If you’re in Japan, you can see these beautiful dogs and cats in Osaka and Tokyo from ARK.
A swimsuit that really covers your cheeks?! Not having to tug on your suit all day? Now that is sexy?!
What a lovely thing to do! We foster kittens here in our apartment in Sydney, Australia. We go away on holidays a few times a year so having a full-time pet is not for us, but we love fostering the kittens until they are big enough to be adopted out.
Oh, he is so sweet! Dogs are wonderful faithful companions, and quickly become an important part of the family. My dog is constantly by my side when I’m at home, or when we are walking together. Sometimes, our walk together is the highlight of my whole day!
What a sweetie! He is too, too cute! Love! Fostering is such a great experience, although I cried my eyes out when I had to give back the beagle mix that I had last year (but he was too timid for city living, so I knew his country home would be good for him). My two dogs are both adopted, one from a friend and one from a shelter, and while they’re lots of work, they bring me an unimaginable amount of happiness.
OH! I will cry too when it’s time for Monte to leave!
Monte is darling! So glad you’ve decided to foster and see if the dog fit is right for your family. I hope he either works out for you, or if he goes to someone else’s home, you do find a dog that fits your family.
And I agree! Rescue is best! Our dogs were both acquired from friends/neighbors, but we would never consider purchasing one when there are so many in bad situations who need to be loved and cared for.
What a very cute dog Monte is! Hope he could stay with your family for a long time ^^
At home I’m sort of fostering a dog, a mix Golden Retriever and Siberian Husky. He belongs to my neighbor, but they’re abandoning him. Leaving him outside the house in their private parking lot, and never touch him or showing some love. Eventually, he’s very smart and could be a guard dog, to my surprise.
Good luck with Monte! 😉
That is so sad! He’s lucky to have you found him
Aw, BABY. I have a beagle too, who my family got when she was about 16 weeks old. Beagles are soooo sweet and so friendly, and Lucy, my own beagle, is the cutest, most spoiled rotten creature ever. By the way, if you hang a bell on your door and ring it every time you take him out, he’ll learn to ring it himself every time he needs to go outside. That’s how my family trained Lucy and it’s worked very well. Isn’t it funny how beagles sniff *everything*?
That is a good idea! I will try that too, thank you!
My kids have a dog and they love her. She is a bichon jack Russell. My kids are responsible for looking after her. It has taught them responsibility and compassion. When we are out of the house we put her in the laundry behind a baby gate. I was not a dog person either but can’t imagine her not being part of our family now.
How cute!! It’s great that you can foster to see if Monte’s a fit before adopting. Does he do the typical beagle thing? They can howl in so many different ways.
I had been expecting the beagle howls too! But he’s only howling when he’s left alone or when he hears something outside and is quite easy to calm
I think what you are doing is great! To have the experience of the unconditional love of a pet is priceless. I have a cat, Vincent, that I found in my backyard one day. He is a great friend and is now 15 years old.
I love reading your blog…reminds me of my days in Japan!
He is so cute!One of the best decisions my parents made was to let me keep an abandoned dog we found and took care of!I really love him and I grew up with a great appreciation about animals and dogs in particular!I personally believe that animals play a huge part in the upbringing of children!
I agree! Sidra has been ignoring his game station since Monte came along 😀
What a cute dog! I hope fostering is a really great experience for you. I too grew up with dogs but haven’t been able to adopt one of my own yet due to moving around and being generally unsettled, but we’re starting to really seriously talk about it. They are really fantastic animals!
Monty is so handsome! My fiance and I adopted a beagle a few years ago. Her name is Heidi and she was one of the best decisions we’ve ever made. Beagles (and all dogs) are just wonderful. I hope you decide to adopt him and make him a permanent part of your family. I don’t think you’ll regret it.
I hope we will make the right decision too! I’m getting more attached to him now 😛