Bio
Name: Calista aka Cali
Breed: Boston terrier mix
Age: 5-7 years
Quirks: desperate to put her mouth in your mouth
Human Job: karate instructor
Duration of Stay: 2 weeks
Reflection
Calista came to us as a recent mother whose puppies had already moved through the foster system, and now it was her turn. She was a sweet and needy pup and is the closest I’ve gotten to wanting to keep a foster dog. She was just so sweet and just my kind of cute (I’m a sucker for a chi mutt).
Ultimately, she needed more stability than we could give her. She hated to be left alone, was extremely stressed about crates, and was decidedly not a water dog. The biggest dealbreaker was that she didn’t like being at the marina. I think all the water around the docks was too scary for her. Maybe with more time she would have conquered her fears, but we just didn’t have the space to let her take things slow. She really needed an owner with a consistent schedule and quiet lifestyle. We were happy to see her get adopted by a retired single person with a fenced in yard and years of dog training experience. A perfect fit!
The Highs
I loved Cali. She was the very definition of a velcro dog– always eager to be close to, if not on top of, you. She was my little shadow and I really enjoyed her company. She was always making me laugh. She had a lot to say, constantly whining and grunting and snorting. It must have been the Boston terrier in her. Her ears were especially expressive. When she wasn’t trying to lick the inside of my mouth, she was snuggled up close to me snoozing peacefully. I wasn’t sure if she would be trainable since she was an adult and not super food motivated, but I was able to get her sit command 90% of the way.
The Lows
While we loved the attention, Cali did not have a sense of boundaries. She was constantly trying to put her tongue in your mouth and had a real way of sticking her heavy little chopstick foot into your neck. She would wake us up at 5am to go to the bathroom with her stinky fish breath in our faces.
Cali also was not a fan of crates. She came to us with a rap sheet of destroying crate bars to facilitate her escape. We had to use a huge, hard sided crate to work on improving puppy-crate relations. We got as far as feeding her meals in the crate, but further training will be left to her new family.
Puppy Gallery
