Burkle, Burkasaurus, Burkey, Burke

Several weeks ago we decided (well, Kristin decided and then convinced me) to foster a dog. We decided to foster through Midwest Animal Rescue (MARS) and filled out the application. After a home visit we were approved!

Burke arrived on June 27. We had asked for a small- to medium-sized dog, and they told us he was 25 pounds ad 6 months old. When we picked him up, however, we found out that he was actually 35 pounds (a little bigger than I had initially wanted) and 5 months old. The first couple of days were a little crazy, and I think we both, at times, wondered what we had gotten ourselves into. But he quickly shoved himself into our hearts.

Burke and Ellie seemed to get along great from the very beginning. Ellie has been a great big sister, sharing her toys from the very beginning. Sharing the humans was hard for her at first, but she has adjusted well.

In the two and a half weeks that he's been with us, Burke has learned his name, how to sit, and become house trained. He's super sweet and loves kids. He also ignores the cats, which is nice.

Since he arrived I have said that Burke is the perfect dog...for someone who wants him. Our house and yard are just too small for such a big guy, or we may have ended up keeping him! And it looks like he may have found a new home! The family already has a border collie mix and is looking for another one. They have been approved, and now we'll just go to the meet and greet on Saturday to introduce them! If all goes well there, we'll be heading home alone. While I will be sad to see him go, I know he'll be happy with a family with another dog and a big yard to play in...and we'll be getting another foster dog on Sunday. Whoever he or she is has some big paws to fill :)

Stats:

Name: Burke

Breed: Border Collie Mix

Weight on Arrival: 35 pounds

Age on Arrival: 5 months

UPDATE: 7/17/10 - Burke went to his new family today! His new mom, Lindsay, was at the MARS office to meet him and brought along his new big sister, Olive, a border collie. While they didn't seem to love each other, they didn't fight (basically just ignored each other), so that's good. Lindsay seemed very nice and Olive was very well trained. I think Burke is going to like being a part of their family!