April 22nd, 2010
Hammer at the park (click for full size image)
I first wrote about Hammer on this blog, the day after he arrived in our home. We didn’t know what to expect, but the whole family was excited. Hammer was a medical foster, so in addition to the regular cares/concerns of fostering, we wanted to make sure he made a full recovery to health while he was with us.
His neuter surgery and dental cleaning had to wait. He had thrombocytopenia, a low platelet count, and bleeding was a risk. He was on an antibiotic called Doxycycline for a few weeks. His bloodwork returned to normal, and he had his surgery and teeth cleaned. He had some pretty dramatic before and after dental photos!
As the weeks went by, Hammer learned how to mind his manners around food (no more counter-surfing!), finalize housetraining, deal with cats, kids, chickens, geese, and his fellow canine pals, Argos and Sophie. He learned how to go up and down stairs (this took a few days), ride in the car, and go for walks. He also attended several adoption meet-and-greets: at Petco and PetsMart and also had a fun day in the park after one of the meet-and-greets.
I started to weaken. Maybe we should just adopt him after all. I would join the ranks of other “foster failures” and that would be OK.
Then the call came. A family 2.5 hours away was very interested in meeting Hammer. They have two kids about my kids’ ages, and liked that he was mellow and good with kids. Uh oh. Could I do this?
After several phone and email conversations, I knew I could. It sounded like a perfect match. So we arranged a meeting. The meeting turned out to be a party! We invited some friends in addition to the rescue group rep and the family. We had a big dinner and celebrated with seven (7!) dogs. Three were adoption candidates, and four were our current pets.
One teeny problem. While all of the dogs were running around merrily, Hammer was skulking around, sticking to me like glue. Uh oh. In contrast, Sophie was the party hostess and Argos was cool as a cucumber, hanging out in the midst of the celebration. Did Hammer know what was up? Didn’t I do a good job socializing him?
The family was torn – who to adopt, and how many? There are good pros and cons to adopting one or two dogs at the same time. I was thrilled that they had done so much research on Greyhounds and they appreciate that Greys are indeed “different” dogs. They wanted to do the best thing, and not be overwhelmed.
They decided on Hammer.
I felt a little choked up. But really… I would have been so sad if he hadn’t been chosen, because I think that he is going to be a very cherished pet in a loving forever home. I think he will enjoy being Top Dog for a while, since Argos had clearly stated who was the boss a couple of times.
We said our goodbyes. Then we sent him on his way with a big bag o’ goodies and some DAP to help welcome and ease the transition into his new life.
Worry-wart that I am, I woke up early, wondering about Hammer. How did he do on the drive home? Did he sleep good on his brand new cushy bed? How was he doing? I talked with the dad on the phone and received a lovely email from the mom – he is doing awesome! He is a quiet, mellow dog; a little unsure, but personally greeted each of his new human family members on the first morning in his new home.
Go forth and enjoy your retirement, Hammer!
PS – I am so happy that this is an “open adoption” – they promise regular updates and photos, which is comforting and something we are all looking forward to. And… if, for whatever reason, it doesn’t work out, he has a home here.
Hammer, doing what Greyhounds do best -- at least in retirement. 
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Related Reading:
- Hammer Time – Our New Greyhound Foster Dog
- Update on Hammer the Foster Dog
- Lots of silly photos of Hammer
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Posted in K9 Fun, K9 Rescue, K9 Stories | 8 Comments »
8 Responses to “Hammer Finds His Forever Home”
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Janet Tobiassen Crosby DVM never planned to be a writer. She wanted to be a veterinarian from the moment she learned such a job existed - sometime during the first grade, when she accompanied her mom to the vet with a sick cat. Janet "adopted" all the neighborhood cats, and at age 11 she started training her first dog, a newly adopted rescue Collie. At age 12, she joined a dog obedience 4-H club and was active through high school as a member and as a junior leader.
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[...] Hammer finds his forever home – at VetMed Connect Handsome Hammer! [...]
I love happy endings. Congratulations to you for letting go, and to Hammer for finding a wonderful forever home! – Kim
What a greyt ending! I’m sure you will miss him as it is hard to say “Good Bye”!!! I can assure you he will never forget you! They don’t!! Sounds like he will have a wonderful forever home!! Just what he deserves!!!
xoxo Robin Joey Leo and foster “Ray Ray”
Sounds like a match. Congrats to everyone involved.
I’m a little teary-eyed, but in a good way! Happy homecoming (and retirement), Hammer! Thanks for sharing his story.
Thank you for your comments, everyone! The “foster support” on my blogs/FB/Twitter has been very helpful to me. I am doing good. I have emailed and spoken to Hammer’s new family a couple times each day (
) and he is doing GREAT! The are totally in love with him, and they promise updates that I will blog about in the future. I couldn’t be happier for The Ham Man!
Aww, great job! Happy retirement Hammer! xo
Great job. You are so brave. I am not sure I could do it.