Lessons Learned About Myself while Fostering and Volunteering at 100%
I should be well-aware of this aspect of my personality by now, but I always forget just how “bad” it can be until I’m in the thick of it: I am not the kind of person who can only give a little. I can give all or nothing, but the space in-between is a genuine challenge for me, especially if there’s something else that I want to give my all to.
I did not intend to stop posting altogether on Temptalia so quickly, but I ran out of content right as I was bottles-deep in caring for Party’s 14 babies (more on them in a minute!). I told myself, “I said I was going to step back, and I haven’t taken a legitimate vacation probably ever, so I will take one.” The problem is that now that I’ve done that… I don’t want to come back 🙁
I don’t know what I want to do WITH the space either. I feel like I’ve spent more time grappling with my struggle to resume and get back into the swing of things and walking away. I’ve decided that what I’d like to do is go back to basics: write again about something that currently interests me and also sitting down and playing with makeup – just for fun, not necessarily to share, in hopes that I can find that love for makeup again, even if only on a personal level. It was a huge part of my life for such a long time that I don’t think it’s been fully extinguished, but I think I need it to be purely “for fun” to rediscover the love for it.
So, let me share with you what I’ve been doing and the babies I’ve been working with over the last several weeks! Maybe their cute faces will enchant you as much as they have for me. 🙂 They are what I’ve been pouring all my energy into, and while I haven’t been able to save them all, I have been able to help with many and seen four head to their forever homes!
Mittens
Once the Liqueurs were adopted, I was on the lookout for new fosters. While there weren’t any gaggles of orphaned puppies that needed me, there was a one-week old puppy in Casa Grande, AZ (about two hours away from Phoenix) that had been found with a significant leg and shoulder injury. I said yes to taking her in, at least for a little while, until a larger group of babies needed me. I, being totally devoted, ended up being the transporter, too.
Mittens front leg was disgusting–oozing, smelly, and we had no idea how it would resolve–and she had a massive abscess on her back/shoulder, too. That abscess popped on me while she was in my care, which was a new level of gross that I hadn’t yet experienced, LOL. Once the vet cleaned up her wound, it started to heal quickly and superbly. Mittens was also diagnosed with puppy strangles, so between her wounds and that, she was on antibiotics and steroids, which did resolve all of her issues within two weeks.
Mittens is one of the best puppies we’ve ever had; she is playful and goofy, but sweet and snuggly. She has been pretty much PERFECT the entire time, and she is still currently our Perfect Girl. I had her for a little over a week before a crisis struck…….. enter the Movie Raccoons.
Movie Raccoons
Another plea was received by the rescue for three two-week old bottle babies, also in Casa Grande, AZ, and we thought we might be able to bring in some friends for Mittens–singletons are hard because they aren’t able to learn from their littermates and can miss out on crucial communication and play skills! Unfortunately, upon transporting and bringing the Movie Raccoons in for intake (which is when they are assessed, named, and photographed), the puppies we thought were “healthy-ish” were more like “at the threshold of death’s door.” One of the three, Rascal, went directly to the emergency room and spend two days and two nights on full support. The other two were sent home with me, but this meant that Mittens had to be evicted, effectively immediately.
Thankfully, my friend Lizzy, who I met through fostering (she fostered two of my Steaklets and three of my Yogis in the past), was ready to take Mittens on a moment’s notice. It was her first true bottle baby, and Lizzy did great helping to raise Mittens for the next two weeks while the Raccoons became well. I took Mittens back and integrated her with the Movie Raccoons, and they all did amazing together. Mittens and Rascal were quick BFFs and total sister-friend rivals. They played together, tried to one up each other, and then would cuddle and snuggle together.
Rocket and Meeko started improving in my care once they had a few meals. We feel like the Movie Raccoons’ systems were overwhelmed by lack of nutrition, hydration, being covered in fleas, and just generally being abandoned with no mama around as they tested negative for a variety of possible illnesses.
In the last week, the Raccoons were all swiftly adopted into amazing homes. Mittens was officially adopted by Lizzy, her part-time foster, and her family on Thursday. 💖
Party & Her 14 Guests
Around the end of October, Party gave birth to 14 (!!) puppies. She is a 40-45 pound mama, so 14 was unexpected and an incredible amount for her to have delivered. 14 would have been a lot for a larger-breed dog! The concern with such a large litter is that a lot of the puppies tend to have a low birth weight, which means they have a significantly higher chance of not making it in those first few days. I volunteered to come in once or twice a day to help supplement some of the smaller babies with bottle feeding, which would help ensure the littler ones gained weight and take some pressure off of Party, who likely would struggle to keep up with the demands of 14 hungry mouths!
Party developed mastitis when the pups were a week and a half old and was producing almost no milk at all–almost overnight!–so I went from doing daily feeds to three feedings and for all 14 puppies each day. When I had the Liqueurs, I had to bottle feed all 11 for almost a week since their mama quit on me so early, so they prepared me for Party’s babes! It took about two hours to weigh and feed all 14 each time, so you can imagine that it ended up being quite the commitment. 😅 Party’s milk never really came back, so I did this for a full week!
Once they made it to three weeks, they were weaned onto gruel, which was a very messy process, but they are now almost 5.5 weeks old and doing amazing. I love this litter with my whole heart and then some!
Horse Coats
When you think about coincidences or being in the right place at the right time… this was one of those moments. I was in the process of unloading the Movie Raccoons from my car to bring them back to the rescue for their adoption date when a car pulled up, opened their window, and asked if I worked at the rescue. I told them I was just a volunteer but what was it they needed? and they revealed a plastic bin full of nine newborn puppies that were so filthy they were stained yellow. They said they found them abandoned in an alley that morning.
We coordinated quickly and were able to get them into the rescue that morning, and as I was relinquishing my fosters, I knew I’d be taking those nine orphans home with me. Shout out to the best and most supportive hubby who disinfected the puppy room, set up the puppy incubator (infrared heat) and oxygenator (to help struggling neonates), and merely replied with, “Faster than usual,” when I told him what was about to happen.
The Horse Coats were in really rough shape; one was already trying to cross over the rainbow bridge while we were assessing them at the rescue. I eventually just took everyone home to get them into the incubator and getting oxygen, and when I took photos of each puppy at home, I knew that we should expect losses. They looked like they might have been born premature, and their bodies had already started to shut down, so everyone was very behind. It is exceptionally challenging to save a premature puppy even in the best circumstances, let alone when it’s had a traumatic start.
After four passed, I took the remaining ones to the ER, and two more passed on that ten-minute drive alone. There were two that the vet felt might make it, so I took those two back and started tube feeding them. Unfortunately, one of those two passed a few hours later after being back home. We lost eight of the nine 24 hours after getting them in our care. The last one, Bay, was our sole survivor and was one of the pups that I had always thought had a better chance than the others to make it. We were rooting for her so much, but her body failed her in the wee hours of Friday morning. She had seemed stable-ish, but she wasn’t gaining weight and we suspected a congenital element preventing her from absorbing nutrition (possibly a liver shunt).
It is hard to lose a puppy, and it is even harder to watch it happen, let alone one after another in such a short time. You learn to take comfort in the fact that they were given a chance to survive, and they may not have been here for long, but they were cared for and loved for what time they had left. They are no longer suffering and can be at peace. I hope the Horse Coats are running free over rainbow bridge 🌈
I’m hoping to have my next fosters in a few days, possibly Party’s pups, but I am really hoping for some healthy-ish pups this go-round. Of course, if there are medically fragile babies that need me, I will always move mountains for them. 💖
I love this time of your life for you. If it lasts forever I’m happy for you too. You’ve given us so much, Christine. Enjoy your life in the most fulfilling way you can ❤️
I love the themes each litter have!! How do you think of them?
Your foster pups hit the foster parent lottery. They’re so lucky to have you.
Thank you so much!
I named Mittens, but the rest are chosen by the founder! People can submit theme ideas into a jar, though 🙂 I am still waiting for a Bridgerton theme, haha!
Christine,
Thank you for all you do for your fosters! Know that many of us are following their journey and sending you and them strength, resilience, love, and comfort. Although I’ve loved your makeup updates for years, your foster updates have stolen my heart. I can’t thank you enough for taking such good care of these angels on Earth. You are truly a Guardian Angel and have my utmost respect and love !!!! XO
I am so appreciative of the support of the hard turn into fostering, and I’m thankful to have many of you following that journey, too! 🙂
Christine,
I read your blog every day but very rarely comment. I am in tears reading this post. Just for some perspective, this is my story:
I lost my beloved dog two years ago. She was 14 and my heart dog. I will never have another dog like her, nor have a connection with another dog like I had with her. I fell into a deep depression when she died. For months. It was horrible and I hope I never experience something that hurtful ever again. It was torture. I couldn’t wrap my head around the fact that I reacted that way about a dog. It took several months to recover. Basically just getting up, going to work, going through the motions of life. Every day hoping I could return to “normal”. I mention this because as I was in this deep depression, I also realized that my love, passion and obsession with makeup was something I could care less about. I realized that makeup was just a “thing” (really a material thing) and looking around my dressing room it hit me that I have all the makeup that one person (or two/three) could amass in a lifetime. It was just something that I felt was there, but I had no interest in anymore. I still use makeup every day but that “obsession” is gone. I completely understand you saying you don’t want to come back to doing the blog as it was. (With the swatches, reviews, data compilation, etc.) You have found what your true purpose is now and I’m actually happy for you that you have realized it and have admitted it to yourself (and your readers). The last few weeks here on the blog, I could tell you were withdrawn (or “done”). And that’s ok! What you are doing with volunteering at a shelter is a million times more important than me reading a review about the latest eye shadow palette.
I wish you luck going forward – whatever that looks like for you.
Thank you, Carol! When Mellan passed, I felt a lot of what you felt, too. In some ways, I was just amazed and mad at how easily the whole world moved on without him, even though he was my whole world. I’m happy to hear that you sound like you’re on the other side of grieving, and I hope you can take comfort and more joy in all the memories you and your heart dog shared over the years. 🙂
I loved reading this Christine. If you wanted to keep posting about your foster journeys I would be more than happy to read whatever you post. I love animals and makeup so if you combined both I would love to read it all. 🙂
I want to start writing about some of it and see how that goes for sure!
While it’s been bittersweet to see you step back from the makeup content on Temptalia, it’s been a delight to have all this puppy content and seeing you find joy again! I do hope that you’ll be able to find a way to re-connect with your love of makeup – your looks and color stories are endlessly inspiring – but I’m here for the ride regardless of what the content is!
Thank you so much, Cynthia! I hope I can reconnect, too. It was such a huge part of my life for so long that I would hate for it to be gone entirely!
Not having been here when you were first starting to rescue and foster, I did not know of your change in direction as regards the blog. Knowing that now makes many things more clear to me. I had been aware that your interest in the blog was waning and that your heart clearly was not in it. You don’t post any actual photos of palettes being used, you miss daily features and you don’t respond to comments anymore, except when a specific question is asked. Clearly you had detached and while I knew that you were spending a lot of time with your rescues, I assumed that you would find a balance and that the blog would continue. I am very sorry to hear that you have essentially abandoned it but your happiness is important and while I am disappointed, I will try and understand. To the friends that I have made here on the blog, I hope to keep in touch via your Facebook if you are present there or potentially Instagram. I haven’t posted there in awhile. I do not go there often anymore but occasionally will check in so will keep in contact with you that way. The blog has been a source of great information that is much needed and while there are a lot of makeup blogs, Temptalia has always been the gold standard, which is why photos from the blog show up everywhere on social media, websites, etcetera. The site has been a great source of information for me as I was buying some older makeup to help me get back into the makeup world. I am not aware of another makeup blog that is quite like Temptalia but if anyone does, please let me know. Thank you to all who have supported me with information and recommendations and specifically to Nancy, Rachel, Genevieve, Helene, Kjh, Cara, Mariella, Seraphine and many others that I am drawing a blank on now. I hope you all remain healthy and happy. I am thankful for all of you as living alone in the woods of Montana has been lonely at times and I have true feelings of friendship with each of you. I find myself looking forward to what you post and how your respond to the questions. I feel like I know you as we have shared our love of makeup but more than that, I know your likes, your past times, your family relationships and so much more about you. Likewise, I have shared a lot about my personal life and struggles and you have all been so supportive. When comments don’t get reviewed and posted in a somewhat timely manner, that interaction is lost. I have also noted the response to posts on the blog has significantly decreased over the time that I was gone. There are really just a few that read and post on a regular basis and I have already mentioned them!! Perhaps the blog will continue in some capacity and if so, then I will return but as of now, personally, I don’t get much from it besides the relationships with those who post regularly.
I am sincerely happy that you have found something to be passionate about, Christine. Your contribution to the beauty and makeup community has been greater than you likely recognize but if it is not fulfilling to you then it is time to just put it aside. A lingering death will not serve anyone.
Thank you for sharing, Deborah! I am happy to connect any regular readers with other regular readers via email. You can drop me a line at christine[at]temptalia.com and give me permission to pass along your email address to specific folks!
I appreciate that Christine. I have actually posted my email address here on the blog and have communicated with Genevieve that way. Thank you again for the years of service and the excellence with which you did it. I know the animals you are caring for are lucky to have you. I truly admire the work that you are doing. I had been following a cat on the Best of Friends Website. She was a beautiful cat that was born with paralysis of her back legs. She was given to Best of Friends when she was barely old enough to survive and lived her entire life there at the shelter. She was always up for adoption but no one adopted her. She was incontinent of urine and stool and they could not keep a diaper on her. I am sure that is why she wasn’t adopted. I planned many times to leave and get her. My family kept telling me I was a fool and that she was happy there at the shelter as she had never known anything else. I allowed them to convince me that it would be too traumatic for her in, her later years. She had twice been taken out of the shelter by friends of the shelter just for the chance to be out. One lady talked about staying in a motel near the shelter and that she had taken a big dog out one night and the dog had sat next to the bed crying because he couldn’t get up onto the bed himself. She had lifted him onto the bed. The next night she took “Dilly” to the motel with her and she talked about this little cat with no use of its back end and how she had put her in a cat bed next to her bed and she immediately heard this little cat pulling herself up onto the bed to sleep next to her. That broke my heart and how she took her back to the shelter, I will never know. Dilly died shortly thereafter. Frankly, I am crying as I write this. I so admire the work you are doing but doubt my ability to do it. It is one of my greatest regrets that I didn’t go and get her.
Take care Christine and if you decide to continue to post about your rescue here I will check in.
I’m so sorry about Dilly, Deborah! 🙁 It is incredible that you followed her and wanted to take her on despite her health problems – it shows how big your heart is!
Poor Bay. Thank you fir showing her love and care in her short life.
Always!
Christine, you’re such a kind soul! I volunteer at an animal shelter as well, and the work can be tough and emotionally exhausting. Please remember to take time to rest and care for yourself too.
It absolutely can be! This past week was definitely the most challenging endeavor for me. Hanging out with Party’s pups was a balm to those wounds. Winnie helped, too! I was like “come here you big, strong, healthy dog, you!!”
Will be here to read whatever you post whenever you’re ready! Bless you and your husband for your care for these sweet dogs.
Thank you so much, Laurie!
I love this, what a wonderful thing you are doing 💜
Thank you, Cassie!
Rescuing and fostering are one of the most challenging endeavors one can undertake. Usually rewarding, yet sometimes heartbreaking, always an immersion of oneself and a very loving, noble thing to do for the abandoned or those in a situation where the owner is unable to take care of the Mama and/or litter. What you are providing for all these puppies and sometimes their Mamas is truly an unselfish, beautiful thing! It’s more than I could ever see myself doing on a regular basis. That said, I have rescued several kittens over the years, only catch is, I tend to be a legit “foster fail” and they wind up becoming my furrever kitties, LOL!
Sometimes it’s just meant to be 🙂 So far, no fails here yet, but you never know. I was never so happy nor have I wished for a foster fail so much as for Mittens and Lizzy, though 😉 Normally I try to encourage people not to fail, haha!
Just lovely. And getting to be a part of this on IG is so inspiring. You are as I’ve said before the puppy whisperer….your love does amazing things. Thank you.
Aww, thank you, Anne!!
Beautiful post Christine! Thank goodness for people like you and your husband in the world
Thanks a lot, Cassandra!
I know what you mean about not wanting to come back. I gave myself a two week break after going hard for five years – that was 2 years ago. I know I can pick up where I left off but I’m not sure I want to. Still have all my equipment, I have kept my office space and stock, but I have been putting off returning.
I feel like that’s how you know it’s just… not the path you want to take. If you are fortunate enough to have another path you can take, that would be better. I know not everyone has the privilege of choosing!
Christine, I will be sad to see you and temptaliia depart. Your blog has been so much fun and enlightenment for me. I think you need to reread and update this post, however. The passion you have for rescue is quite apparent and I think you may have found your new calling. I take care of stray kitties in my neighborhood and have found homes for some of the kittens, so I know just a little of what you are dealing with. It is a very difficult job but you have already learned the most difficult lesson: you cannot save them all, but the ones you can will make it all worthwhile.
Whether you decide this is your calling or not, I wish you all the success in the world. You are a lovely, dedicated,fun and intelligent woman. I thank you for sharing not only your love of makeup, but a big part of your life as well.
If you discover that rescue IS your calling, you may want to consider writing about it too. You have a wonderful gift with words and I thoroughly enjoyed reading this post. It could also be a simultaneous way to raise money for the rescue you volunteer for. I’m sure they could put your photography skills to use as well. No matter what you decide, I am fairly sure you will rediscover your personal love of makeup. My best to you, your husband and fur babies. Have a wonderful Christmas 🎄 🎅
How kind of you to take care of the strays and try to get them homes! Rescue is hard, draining work but also can be so rewarding. Thank you for helping!
Happy Holidays, Cathy!! 🙂
I foster kittens (and volunteer) for a shelter. I’ve never taken on bottle babies as that is SO much work and would dread losing any. Bless you for taking on the hard work!,
It can be a lot of work! The losses are hard but definitely hard to avoid if you work with the newborns!
Thank you for fostering!!
Oh my gosh, what a whirlwind for you two! Kudos to you Christine for helping these poor little souls. There is no better feeling than giving yourself to something that you are passionate about.
Anyone who can find something in life that drives them and fulfills them is so lucky! Life without passion is aimless 🙁
Again, simply, bless you . . . and hubby!
Thank you, Leigh!
You are an angel for doing this. It’s so appreciated. But losing your makeup blog would be so difficult for your loyal readers. I hope you can find a way to continue these two activities. Write more about the rescues.
We will definitely have to see how it goes! The site itself will be up for now, though 🙂
OMG What an experience. I am so sorry for your losses. That is a miserable time. I too foster but I foster cats and kittens and have lost my share. Thanks for all you do and please do not give up! We will miss you.
They are always hard to lose, but it’s the trying that matters – we give them a chance when so many others cannot or would not! Thank you for being there for them.
Hi, l think that you have found your calling. Helping out all those pupps in need is si rewarding. I would like sat that you are si gid at what you do. So many times l recommended Temptalia to friends,relatives, colleagues and lclients l work at Sephora in Canada and ever since l found you l look forward to your posts. I am so glad you have found another rewarding challenge. Those pups need people like you and your husband. I do miss your reviews but l am happy for you.
Thank you so much for understanding, Marla! <3
I’m so happy for all the puppies that have done well and found forever homes.
I’m very sorry for the loss of that last litter. But bless you all for trying, and for making sure they didn’t die alone and unknown.
You worked almost nonstop on this blog for so many years. Burnout is real. Sometimes time away from something is exactly what it takes to fall in love with it again. Enjoy yourself! ❤️
Thank you, Rachel!
Yes, definitely true – the burnout part was a huge factor, too, in how I got here! I’m hoping that the time away coupled with the lack of pressure will help me rediscover joy in makeup. <3
This is an amazing write up of your fostering efforts. I really, genuinely hope that you continue to find joy and pride in that work.
Thank you, Kate!! 🙂
Thank you for sharing! I hope you are enjoying your break, and while I love reading your reviews, I want you to love what you do! Happy to see whatever that is.
Thank you for the support 🙂
It seems you are really happy fostering.
Losing a whole litter must feel devastating, but at the state the poor puppies were, there might have been all kinds of problems with their health even if they had lived. At least they got to pass in a lovely home, with someone who truly cared for them.
I must say I miss the photos, and the reviews, I absolutely understand that you aren’t able to keep doing the blog as it was. I feel a bit selfish, but I think one can be selfish missing something that was an important part of every day it doesn’t mean I don’t with you all the very best, fostering puppies.
I hope some day you might come back with a little review for, say a lipstick or something, and that doing that will feel like a fun thing and not a burden.
I understand that, Helene! I appreciate you being able to miss Temptalia for what it is was but still wish me luck with my new passion 🙂
Rescuing and fostering animals is a labor of selfless love. I’m so impressed at your ability to manage chaos and sadness, even when there is a lot of love mixed in. What you created with Temptalia (which other blogs wish they could be) is a reflection of your amazing empathy and kindness. Plus, of course, your 110% effort. Thank you for bringing the goodness.
Thank you so much, Ginger!
You have worked so hard over the years on beauty content! I look forward to seeing puppies and wish you the best. I’m glad you are doing what you love. Everyone should do what they love as one’s work takes up so much time in life. God Bless You and good luck going forward!
Thank you, Renee!!
Christine-what you are doing is wonderful!!! You (I think) found your true calling!!! Make-up is just a “thing”. It can’t give you love but you can love what you can do with it. I certainly understand where you are coming from. My beloved cat, Sophie died on Thanksgiving of last year. She was 18 1/2 year old. I couldn’t really do anything. for about 4 months. Holidays were horrible. Make-up was the last thing I thought about. Still using the basics but not like I use to. I came to realize that make-up wasn’t that important to me and helping was. If you just want to post about the puppies/rescues that would be great!!! Keep up the good work you are doing!!
I’m so sorry for the loss of your Sophie, Kathy! They are so hard to lose 🙁 18.5 years old is incredible, though, and you must have so many amazing memories of her. I hope those memories bring you more joy than pain now!
I’ve been thinking long and hard about what to post here and everything I think of seems inadequate in light of what you are doing with the most vulnerable little creatures (and their mothers some of the time). I’ve been coming to Temptalia for a really long time and always was in awe of your commitment, honesty, professional approach and your skill as a writer. That you are bringing your whole heart and soul to rescuing abandoned animals is a real gift to those little critters (and I guess it’s a gift to yourself as well). I think many of us have sense for a while that your enthusiasm for the blog has been waning as your commitment to rescuing grew (hardly surprising, given the sheer amount of time and energy that your fostering is taking). The selfish part of me (it’s a pretty big part of me) wants the blog the way it was in its heyday but I also understand that you need to follow your passion. I hope, though, that this place stays around because I’ve made some good “friends” (and even found an “Antipodean sister”) here.
Thank you for the support, Mariella! I can totally understand readers wanting everything to continue, but it is so amazing to have your support in spite of that!
No plans to take the site offline any time soon, and I’ll still keep up with the QOTDs at the moment. One thing I’d like to figure out is a way to make it so regulars don’t have to wait for comment approval while still weeding out the non-regulars.
Congrats on finding things that fufill you! I am still struggling with meaning after the pandemic pulled the curtain away to reveal what our society actually is and who runs it…..that’s a big horror to recover from – made worse by seeing apathy from those most subjected to it.
My relationship with makeup has changed as well, the “investors” being so active in it really tanked the parts that were special and creative. As far as your blog goes…I still enjoy coming here. I miss seeing new posts – but also probably generally miss seeing new and interesting things. There’s only so many times I want to (or can bring myself to) look at yet another pink-based eyeshadow palette or crummy-ingredient startup brand from comissioned sales people (“influencers”), nepo babies, pop and movie stars.
If you’re open to suggestions…. the Swatch Gallery/Foundation Matrix are pure, unadulterated gold. With the death of blogs it”s *really* hard to find out which lipstick/eyeshadow/blush is just a repeat from years before. And I’ve noticed more and more brands having what looks like the EXACT same shade in different packaging released within weeks or months of each other. I’m always grateful to come here and compare shades. Even if you abandon doing in-depth reviews (at the speed of releases – who wouldn’t??), please consider continuing to swatch new (and old) things and give an impression of quality or noteworthy things for us. You’ve got YEARS of experience and adherence to integrity and I trust your first impressions over all other people in the social-media-makeup space.
I’ve been here since the beginning, I think, and very much enjoyed the ride.
Good luck and good wishes for your future ventures!
Very true! I think the pandemic accelerated the cycle within the community, generally, but it also made a lot of folks reassess the things important in their lives.
It is kind of funny that when I was like, “umm, I do not have any reviews written and scheduled,” there weren’t THAT many new releases I would have covered. I really want to fall back in love with makeup, so here’s hoping that happens and swatching becomes a thing again 🙂
I knew that I was just… fully out of beauty when I had Natasha Denona’s Xenon palette to review/swatch and could not muster the energy to do so!
I admire everything that you are doing for these pups. You are their Angel. I have been following you for years, and enjoyed all of your posts. I wish you the best always, and will look forward to reading about your fostering. I know very well how it feels to lose a beloved pet. I lost my beloved cats, one in 2021, and 1 in 2022, Now I have one cat left, and his health is failing miserably. He had a stroke back in March, took him to the hospital, almost had to put him down, but he did survive, but now with a heart condition, and lost half his body weight. However, he is still himself if this makes sense, and not ready yet, for the inevitable. I am not myself. And, I get depressed too. But, I have my husband, son and friends, and you just deal with these things I guess. The cat we lost last year, had to be put down. He died in my arms. So very very hard. The cat we have left, we just keep giving him lots of love. He is such a loving cat, and loves people! Most cats hide when you have company. . How we will miss him when the time comes…..again…..
So sorry to hear about the losses you’ve had to go through in the last few years! I absolutely know what you mean – as long as his quality of life remains good, you can support the health conditions and just shower him with love and attention. They become members of the family, so they can never be replaced, only missed, once they are gone. I am thankful you have family to be there for you!
Thank you so much for sharing your journey with the foster puppies with us and for doing such a valuable job for those puppies and their mothers, who otherwise would be abandoned.
Your dedication in giving them the best possible start in life is invaluable and the love and care you and Shaun show them is just inspiring. I am so glad that you have found this other passion in your life and we, here in this wonderful community that you have created, applaud your efforts.
Thank you, Genevieve!!
Thank you so very much for this. There is nothing more important that saving the lives of these innocent creatures and giving them a chance to live and be loved unconditionally — in my book, they are the only ones deserving of unconditional love. I have been in a somewhat similar situation as a shelter volunteer and caring for community cats, in addition to my own indoor kitties; I’m also a very active animal rights advocate. More than once, I sat in my car after leaving the shelter and cried for these perfect souls. But I remind myself that no matter how stressed I am, it is nothing compared to the suffering some of these animals have endured, and I dig deep and continue on. My motto is Save Them All! It has also made me less focused on extraneous things, like makeup, although I do still use makeup as a break in the action, and a little bit of “me” time. If you were to relegate Temptalia to once a week or once a month, I would still check in, but there is no pressure to keep it up if it’s only adding to your load.
Thank you for tending to all these innocent babies. Bless you and yours for your kindness and empathy!
Christine, if you want to turn this blog into a foster blog, or start a newsletter about fostering, I’d absolutely still read! I’ve been reading you for 15+ years and you deserve to do whatever fulfills you in this life.
I really look forward to reading whatever you are willing to share! Really enjoyed this and all the pictures and videos you share.
Thank you, Kira!