As we all know, isolation can be a really lonely time – its literally in the title! To break up this isolation myself (Ben) and my housemate (Megan) have been lucky enough to foster Marshall (AKA Marsh, AKA Marshmallow AKA Marshy) from GAP for one week now. On top of being the best-est boy ever, he has been a real help in these very interesting isolation times. To help explain the fostering process from the ‘inside’ you will hear from us for the next few weeks about how Marshall is doing and how we are finding the fostering process.

Once we picked up Marshall we were instantly in love and weren’t sure how we were ever going to give him back. The pickup process was excellently managed by the world-famous Leah ‘from GAP’ in her COVID-19 protective hazmat suit. We were given food and a jacket for Marshall and we made our way home to introduce him to our backyard.

A little nervous at first, Marshall soon was exploring and sniffing everything he could see! He loved the flowers in the backyard and settled on his new bed fantastically well. We left Marshall outside for the first two days with no indoor time, just to make sure he was comfortable in his new environment before letting him explore the house.

Marsh’s first time inside was hilarious, he made a B-line for the mirror to see who the other dog in the house was, this was followed by 20 mins of again sniffing every surface, item, cushion and appliance he could find. After he sniffed around, he very quickly settled on his bed and had a nap in front of the TV. By the mid part of week one he had gotten used to the TV, loud music on the weekends and walking on floorboard had been mastered.

We have been taking Marshal for one to two walks a day for around 15 mins, and he loves them! He walks very politely on the lead and has met big dogs and small. Nothing seems to faze him. Well, one thing does, Marshall the big black Marshmallow does not like mowers, or whipper snippers, and will lead you across to the other side of the road to avoid the big bad gardening equipment.

Although this sounds like a lot of lovely stories, fostering is a lot of work, we have been making a conscious effort to make sure we say goodbye to Marsh in the morning and making sure he is experiencing time alone to get used to possibly being with an owner that works full time. We have been making sure he is eating at the same time every day, has play time every day and walks every day. Introducing him to other dogs and people is a long process, we have been letting him approach slowly and introduce himself to gauge reactions of each party, and although he has been doing so well and being a friendly greyhound to everyone he meets this is, in part, down to the work that Megan and I have put in socialising him.

Fostering so far has been a hoot! And Marshall is enjoying his time with us, but like I said, there is a lot of work behind his successes.

My number 1 tip for week one is – read the information provided to you by GAP, ask them as many questions as possible, and make sure to schedule a call mid-way through your first week with Rose from GAP, she is a wealth of knowledge and can and does help with all aspects of this experience, Thanks Rose!

Until next week!

Ben, Megan and Marshall

 

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