Sweet Viva has been adopted!

After being in foster care for over a year we are thrilled for Viva as she has found her forever home.  Over the past year Viva has had many applications but, they just were not a good fit for her.  Because of Viva's dog reactivity she needed a home who understands dog reactivity and is either up for the challenge of continuing to work through it (using positive reinforcement) or managing Viva's environment so she isn't constantly stressed by unknown dogs.  And that's what Viva's new family is ready for.  They are fully aware of how reactive Viva can be as we have explained this in great detail and have shown them in person.  Even with this one not desirable behavior they think she's amazing - which she is!  No dog is perfect and her new family understands this and embraces it.

So, Viva will be living in a quiet neighborhood in Bellevue.  She will have a large fully fenced backyard with hardly any dogs in the neighborhood.  Viva's new mom and dad are not new to terriers. They have had Jack Russell and Rat Terriers for many years and have experience with challenging dog behaviors - all of there terriers have come from rescue.  Viva's new mom is recently retired and looking forward to spending time with Viva and continuing her training plan around reactivity.  Viva is going to have a 15 yr old Rat Terrier brother who is calm and easy going. They met on two occasions and all went well.

We are beyond happy for Viva as she has made a lot of progress in foster care and is ready to settle into her forever home.  We will certainly miss her but, this is why we foster.  We bring dogs into our care to help them learn/practice positive behaviors and provide them a safe, enriching environment until we can find them a well matched forever home.

I actually owe a lot to Viva. She has really pushed me to adjust the environment, my expectations and timelines.  While there were times that I was frustrated we just kept at it and I've learned how to slow down and take each moment as it comes.  It's because of Viva that I have found such a love for experiencing what is going on around me in nature. I will cheresh this video of an amazing road trip the two of us had back in the spring.

 It's also because of Viva that my picture taking skills have improved since we are out and about all the time. I thank her daily for the gift she has given.  Viva's legacy will continue on with Catty and D'light and future fosters.  Getting out and about (outside of our neighborhood) is enriching for all of us.

We will look forward to hearing about how Viva settles in and how she's doing and we appreciate that her new family can see her for the amazing girl that she is!

 Here are some of my favorite photos of Miss Viva

Happy life Miss Viva!  We are taking a bit of a break from fostering as I have a lot of stuff going on but, we will be back to fostering soon enough!