The Return of Peppermint Patty

Under Construction

After Peppermint Patty’s adoption back in February, Erin and I decided to take a little break from fostering. Hence, the absence of posts recently. It wasn’t that we were worn out from seven months with Patty. Although trust me, as adorable and sweet as she can be, she can also be quite the hellion. We just knew that a major home remodel starting in April would be stressful enough on Callie, Six Pack, and us – let alone a foster greyhound. We also knew that we would be limited to our primary bedroom and basement during the construction.  Therefore, we also found ourselves very limited on space. But then, the Return of Peppermint Patty!

For the most part, the construction project has gone pretty well. The Cliffs Notes version of what we’re having done is as follows:

• Demolish the kitchen and install a half bath and mudroom.
• Create new kitchen with an island where the dining room used to be.
• Remove the wall in the foyer.
• Replace the carpet in Erin’s office and the living room with hard wood flooring.
• Install French doors in the old kid’s room, which will now be the dining room.
• Reconfigure the basement 1/2 bathroom.
• Try to keep our sanity!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We had to move in with Erin’s mom for a couple of days so that the flooring contractors could stain the hardwood floors. A separate post is needed for that whole adventure. Fingers crossed we are still on track be finished with the project by the end of August.

With all that being said, I think you can understand why we were not planning to foster this summer. Of course, if you want to make God laugh, tell him about your plans. Well, about halfway through our renovation, we learned that Peppermint Patty was being returned to Prison Greyhounds. Unfortunately, it just wasn’t working out with her adopted family. I’ll get more into that in a moment. Patty had been such a unique foster experience the first time around so we quickly made the decision that it would be in her best interest to stay with us again. Her world had already been turned upside down and we figured that coming back to a familiar home (even with the construction) with familiar faces (even Six Pack’s toothless mug) would be better for her than anywhere else.

 

In some ways, it is like she never left! If anything, she’s adapted to the cramped living conditions better than expected. She was always trying to get as close to us as possible. So to no surprise, she loves being cooped with us in the upstairs bedroom. As you can expect, we’ve spent a lot of the summer by the pool. And fortunately for us, Peppermint loves being outside, laying in the shade (or mulch). We’ve even gotten to the point where, instead of crating her when we leave the house, she roams the bedroom with Six and Callie. We think this is helping with her separation anxiety.

Not Meant to Be

Erin and I have had our fair share of return fosters. These are the pups that had been adopted and unfortunately it wasn’t meant to be. Zinnia, Chubby, Ace (girl), Spice, and Dutchess are just a handful of the fosters that were returned to our home. Prison Greyhounds makes a point to emphasize to adopters that if things aren’t working out with an adopted greyhound or lurcher, the dog should be re-homed through our organization.  Six Pack is probably our most infamous greyhound return. He came back to the Jesswein house so many times that we decided to quit trying to stop fate and just adopt his goofy ass. Speaking of which, that goofball turned ten just this month.  He has now spent half of his life as a Jesswein!

Here’s the thing about Peppermint Patty, she is so damn affectionate that all it takes is a couple of minutes with her and you’ll fall in love with her. The first time we fostered her, she had spent a few days with a couple that was interested in adopting her. The trial adoption didn’t work out though because of Patty’s issues with the kitties. When I went to pick her up from the couple, they were a wreck. They had wanted it to work out with Patty so badly, but no amount of rationalizing can fix a situation that wasn’t meant to be.

Similarly, the family that most recently returned Patty was pretty upset. The issues that they were having with Peppermint were no surprise to Erin and me. She was still having accidents in the house due to the separation anxiety. On top of that, Patty bit one of the young kids when he tried to retrieve a corn dog she had stolen and was trying to eat. I think the final nail in the coffin was her relationship with the other dog. The other dog, a mix breed pup, had started to regress and was damaging furniture and acting out of character in response to Peppermint’s presence.

I would be lying if I said that she hasn’t displayed any of those behaviors while staying in our home. The truth is that her behaviors can be irritating if we’re in a certain type of mood. I end up being angrier at myself for yelling at her than at her for whatever trivial reason. At the end of the day, I’m grateful that Erin and I are in in a situation that as long as we have patience, we can hopefully improve some of her misconduct.  Accidents can be cleaned up, growling at Callie and Six can be disciplined, and other avenues for her to burn off her energy are available. Through no fault of their own, the timing of her first family’s current set of circumstances didn’t align with Peppermint Patty’s.  But we’re confident there is a family out there who’s will.