January 25 2012
Muttville Senior Dog Rescue fosters adoption
When Nancy Wong (Wong Ch’ien) lost her father, a renowned musician in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore, she reacted as many people do after the death of a loved one: She felt sad and lost and stopped taking proper care of herself.
Then one day the San Francisco resident looked in her closet and noticed some clothes she hadn’t worn in a long time. With a jolt, she realized that the last time she’d worn those clothes – as a volunteer dog walker – was the last time she felt happy. That was the motivation she needed to become a foster “parent” for Muttville Senior Dog Rescue. And that was how she met a Pomeranian named Herman.
I’d never owned a dog before and was a bit afraid of taking the leap. I thought fostering might be a good way to get acquainted with a dog, which is how I met Herman. He was with me just six months before being adopted by a family. I was glad that a 12-year-old dog with no teeth had found a forever home, but I was also surprised at how much I missed the little guy. Just seven months after his adoption, Muttville told me that Herman had died.
Herman was a toothless powerhouse of energy and my constant companion. At Thanksgiving, I sneaked him into a cafe in the Mission for a delicious meal, smiling at the furry little secret that was nestled in my bag. On Christmas Day, we entered Grace Cathedral and stood by the indoor labyrinth, a powerful symbol of peace and healing. …
Read more of her tribute to Herman in SFGate.
[Nancy wrote another lovely tribute to Herman for our blog.]
