We wanted to bring you an update on one of our special cases that we took into foster care – Lydia! Some of you may have read her story back in December, when the story emerged of a shy, terrified girl who was left tied outside an empty home after her family moved and abandoned her. Not only was Lydia completely depressed and shut down, she also tested positive for heartworm. She was pulled from animal control, where she was depressed and sulking, and immediately went into foster care with an experienced home.

In her new foster home, Lydia was slowly introduced to both the resident dogs and the other HFD dog in foster care there: Apollo, a 3 year old male pit bull terrier. Now, Apollo has had his own struggles finding a forever home – unfortunately, breed stigma is real. Not everyone “gets” the pit bull terrier. Not only that, Apollo is not a cute little puppy, he is full grown at 60 pounds and he is almost all black, which makes him look more intimidating. Statistics show it is harder for black cats and dogs to get adopted just by the sheer fact that it’s more difficult to get good photographs of them, and more colorful pets stand out more in a shelter situation.

Lydia need a lot of time to warm up in the beginning. Her foster mom proclaimed that in 10 years of fostering, she’d never seen a dog so shut down before. Her foster family worked to keep a chill environment while doing little things each day to booster Lydia’s confidence. She needed not only a quiet place to feel safe again, but to begin and recover from her heartworm treatment.

After about a month or so, her foster home noticed that Lydia seemed to be following Apollo around. The spark in her eyes came back and she would wag her tail at him more than the other dogs. They would go outside together, hang out on the couch together, until finally, just recently, they were snuggled up together sharing a bone. There are videos of them playing in the snow together, never far from each other.

Within the next week Lydia will be going back into the vet again for her second (and we hope final) set of heartworm injections, and we hope that she will be available for adoption fairly soon.

Apollo still waits and hopes for his forever home. He has had several promising meet and greets, but for whatever reasons, things have not worked out for him.

We are hoping this post sparks interest in them both. And maybe, just maybe, there is someone out there that could be looking for a duo. We’re not requiring they be adopted together, but we are throwing it out there because you never know. Apollo bolsters Lydia’s confidence, Lydia helps him act like a gentleman and the well behaved boy he is. If you or anyone you know might be looking for a ready made family, these two could be the ones for you. Several generous donors have privately offered sponsorship to help defray the costs of adopting two.

Apollo is already fully vetted – neutered, vaccinated, dewormed, and microchipped. He is around 3 years old and 60 pounds. Lydia is around 45 pounds, 2 years old, and a lab/cattle dog mix. She is vetted and microchipped and nearing the end of her heartworm treatment.

Please share this deserving duo far and wide. If you have any questions or would like more information about them, please send an email to heathersfosterdogsinfo@gmail.com and they would be happy to put you in touch with their foster mom. Thanks for reading!