Fostering Saves Lives

Mar 25, 2025

From Heartbreak to Hope: The Truth About Fostering Dogs

The Heart of Fostering: Giving Dogs a New Beginning

Fostering dogs isn’t just something I do—it’s a part of who I am. It’s my way of showing love, giving back, and making a difference, one paw at a time. While it might sound cliché, fostering has completely changed my life and changed me as a person all for the better. There are countless rewarding moments, no matter how many exhausting or frustrating ones there may be along the way. But there are also many misconceptions about what fostering really entails.

Meet Petunia: A Story of Resilience

Take Petunia, for example. She’s our most recent foster dog (who has already been adopted) who is a 6-year-old French Bulldog and a puppy mill survivor. Petunia has endured more hardship in her short life than many of us will ever experience. Her body has suffered from years of overbreeding and mistreatment, but her spirit is unbreakable. Watching her discover the joys of toys, feeling grass for the first time, playing with her foster brother Meatball, or simply relaxing on the couch in a safe, loving environment, it’s all incredibly rewarding.

Common Misconceptions About Fostering Dogs

People often ask how we can foster, and while their intentions are always good, I’m left wondering if they really understand the process. Some common things I hear are:

“I could never do that. It would be too hard to say goodbye.”
“How do you keep fostering and not get heartbroken when you have to say goodbye? Isn’t it so hard?”
“I could never foster because I'd want to keep them all.”

I get it. These questions come from a place of care, and people want to understand. Fostering can be confusing if you’ve never done it, but asking questions is how you learn.

The Heartbreak of Saying Goodbye

Yes, saying goodbye is tough. It never gets easier—and it’s not supposed to. But fostering isn’t about keeping every dog you meet, it’s about giving them a chance to heal, grow, and eventually thrive in their forever homes. It's about the joy of watching a dog like Petunia—who’s never known love or affection—learn how to trust and live in a safe space. That’s the part that matters. That’s the part that keeps us going.

To answer the question, “How do you handle the heartbreak?” I’m not going to lie, it’s hard. There are always tears, but I don’t think of it as a loss. I think of it as giving a dog a new beginning. When a dog finds their forever family, it’s a celebration with so many emotions. The tears quickly turn into the best feeling in the world, knowing that your foster dog was adopted by an amazing family and will have a wonderful life because you decided to foster. And the best part? We’ve been fortunate enough to dog-sit for our last two foster dogs after they were adopted. So, it's truly never a final goodbye.

Fostering is About the Dogs

When people say, “I could never do that because I’d want to keep them all,” I completely understand. It’s hard not to fall in love but that love is what makes you an amazing foster dog parent. I always remind myself that fostering isn’t about filling a void for me, it’s about being part of something bigger. It’s about the dogs. It’s about helping them become the happy, healthy, well-adjusted pets they were always meant to be. And trust me, depending on the dog you foster, you might not want to keep them all. (Yes, even the sweetest ones can have their quirks!)

Why Fostering Matters: A Journey of Love and Patience

Fostering is a journey of love, patience, and growth. And while it can be hard at times, it’s a journey worth taking. Petunia is just one example of what fostering can do—for both the dog and for us. Every dog we foster teaches us something new—about resilience, healing, and unconditional love.

The Real Reward of Fostering

So, the next time someone asks me how I deal with saying goodbye or if I ever think about adopting all my fosters, I’ll just smile. Because I know the real reward of fostering isn’t in the goodbyes—it’s in the new beginnings.

Consider Fostering: Make a Difference in a Dog’s Life

If you’ve ever thought about fostering but have been held back by the fear of saying goodbye, I encourage you to think about the impact you could make on a dog’s life. Yes, it’s hard to let go, but the joy of knowing you’ve made a difference far outweighs your temporary heartbreak.

If you’re curious about how you can help or want to learn more about fostering, please reach out to your local animal shelters and rescue groups. There are always dogs like Petunia who need a safe place to land, and maybe you could be the one to give them that chance. If you're in the Omaha, Lincoln, or Blair, Nebraska area, I personally recommend the following organizations:

Fostering: Giving Every Dog the Love They Deserve

At the end of the day, fostering isn’t about keeping every dog, it’s about giving every dog the love and care they deserve before they find their forever home. And that’s what truly matters.

Learn More About Fostering

To learn more about fostering, check out our latest video. Have more questions about fostering? Leave a comment or send us a DM, and we’ll create more content to help you become the best foster dog parent!

To support our mission, follow us on social media or visit CogsDogs.com.

With love & pawsitivity,

Susie Cogswell, Cogs Dogs Mom

Jan 28, 2025

From Breeding to Freedom: Petunia’s Journey to a New Life

After taking a year and a half break from fostering, we recently decided we were able to open our home to another dog in need again. Fostering is an incredible way to help save lives, but it’s also important to find the right fit—not just for the foster dog, but for our family, including our dog Meatball and our two cats.

When Bullies-N-Beyond ResQ in Omaha, Nebraska posted about a 6-year-old French Bulldog who had been used for breeding her entire life, my heart was immediately drawn to her. She reminded me of our first foster, Precious. However, fostering a dog with her background—coming from a puppy mill was new territory for us. She wasn’t potty trained, and we weren’t sure we were equipped to meet her unique needs.

Initially, we decided to pass. The rescue had other foster applicants with experience caring for dogs from similar situations, and we thought someone else might be a better fit.

But Petunia (yes, we named her) stayed heavy on my mind and heart. The next morning, I couldn’t shake the feeling that she was meant to come to us. I reached back out to the rescue, and it turned out the other fosters didn’t work out. After talking it over with my husband, Troy, we decided we were up for the challenge and ready to give her a safe space to decompress and heal.

Meet Petunia

Petunia came from a puppy mill in South Dakota, where she spent her entire six years of life being used solely for breeding. When we picked her up, she was terrified and unsure of what was happening. Her saggy nipples and long, curled nails were clear signs of her past, and she smelled—badly. At first, we thought she might even be pregnant, and hopefully she still isn’t. 😊

Despite her fear, she welcomed Troy’s comforting arms. To our surprise, she was immediately calm around him—something we didn’t expect, as many rescue dogs are initially leery of men.

On the drive home, though, we encountered a…unique issue. The rancid smell we thought was an accident in her towel? Nope. It was her gas and her poor hygiene from years of neglect.

When we got her home, we gave her a much-needed bath. She tolerated it well, though she was visibly nervous about the water spray. Afterward, she snuggled up in a towel in Troy’s arms while we cleaned her nails and paws, which were caked in dirt and feces. Finally clean and warm, Petunia was ready to rest.

Learning to Be a Dog

We set her up in a quiet space in our finished basement, where she could decompress. For the first few days, she mostly slept, only waking for meals and short potty breaks. She was exhausted—physically and emotionally—after years of living as a breeding dog.

Slowly but surely, we started building trust with her. Every interaction was positive, filled with praise and treats. We included Meatball in her potty breaks and mealtime routines, hoping his welcoming energy would help her feel safer.

Petunia had no concept of grass, toys, or even what it meant to be a dog. But after just 12 days, she has made incredible progress. She’s learning potty training, becoming comfortable with Meatball (she’s even started initiating play!), and guarding her food and kennel less. Most importantly, she’s starting to realize she’s safe and loved.

A Message About Puppy Mills

Petunia’s story is heartbreaking but sadly not uncommon. Puppy mills and backyard breeders exist because people continue to support them, often unknowingly. These operations prioritize profit over the well-being of the dogs, using them for breeding until they are no longer “useful,” at which point many are discarded or abandoned.

We urge everyone to avoid buying dogs from pet stores, backyard breeders, or online listings that lack transparency. Instead, consider adopting from a reputable rescue or shelter. Do your research and choose a dog that fits your lifestyle. Dogs are a lifelong commitment, not a passing trend or accessory.

Petunia’s Bright Future

Petunia is already blossoming into an amazing dog, and we know she’ll bring so much joy to her forever family. She’s available for adoption through Bullies-N-Beyond ResQ. If you’re interested, please fill out an application, and the rescue will be in touch.

Thank you for supporting rescue dogs like Petunia. Every foster, adopter, and advocate makes a difference. Together, we can help dogs like her leave behind their past and step into a life filled with love, freedom, and happiness.

To support our mission, follow us on social media (TikTok, YouTube, Facebook, IG) or visit CogsDogs.com.

With love & pawsitivity,

Susie Cogswell, Cogs Dogs Mom

Jan 08, 2025

Honoring Precious: The Foster Dog Who Changed My Life

Losing my soul dog, Bosley, on April 1, 2022, shattered my world. The grief was unbearable, like a weight pressing on my chest, making it hard to breathe. I struggled to get out of bed and felt consumed by emptiness, but also had so much love I didn’t know where to place.

In June 2022, my husband and I unexpectedly adopted Bonnie, a senior dog who became my saving grace. Bonnie didn’t take away my grief, but she gave me purpose and comfort when I needed it most. She reminded me that healing often comes in the form of giving love to others.

Still grieving, I decided to take a step I had been contemplating for years: fostering dogs.

Taking the Leap into Fostering

In October 2022, I submitted my foster application to the Nebraska Humane Society (NHS). My husband and I have always had a soft spot for bully breeds, but our goal was to help any dog that was a good fit for our home, regardless of breed.

One day, I came across a dog named Precious on NHS's list. On October 19, I emailed to see if she was still available for fostering. The answer was "yes," and we scheduled to pick her up the very next day.

Meeting Precious

Precious was a small, white Staffy mix, and nothing could have prepared me for seeing her in person. When the staff brought her out, my heart sank. She was so thin that her ribs were fully visible, her skin was yellow stained from urine, and she had chronic diarrhea.

She had been labeled an emergency medical foster, meaning she needed a safe, loving home to begin her healing journey before should would be available for adoption. On October 20, 2022, my husband and I brought her home – our very first foster dog.

Precious’s Journey with Us

Even as a seasoned dog mom, every new dog I bring home always feels like the first. I was meticulous with her care, ensuring she felt safe and comfortable. Despite her medical challenges, she adapted quickly to our home.

We introduced her slowly to Bonnie, who, while not playful, was incredibly welcoming. Precious also got along wonderfully with our cats. Her gentle spirit and resilience were immediately apparent.

She loved to sunbathe, nap, and snuggle with us. Because of her thin fur and fragile skin, some amazing NHS volunteers donated jackets to keep her warm and protected. She quickly became part of our family, and her sweetness stole our hearts.

Heartbreak and a Lasting Legacy

Precious’s main challenges were chronic diarrhea and her need to gain weight. Despite small victories, like gaining a pound after a week, her health took a turn for the worse. Her appetite disappeared, and her abdomen became swollen.

Additional tests revealed that her condition was worsening, and the heartbreaking decision was made to let her cross the rainbow bridge.

We had only 2.5 weeks with Precious, but in that short time, she showed us the true meaning of unconditional love. She trusted us despite her past, and she left an unforgettable mark on our hearts.

Why Fostering Matters

Precious’s story is why I’m so passionate about fostering. It’s my way of honoring her and all our fur babies we’ve loved and lost. Fostering allows us to give dogs in need a second chance, even if their time is brief.

If you’re considering fostering, I can’t encourage you enough to take the leap. Research your local shelters and rescues, ask questions, and open your heart. Not every organization is the same, so find one that aligns with your values.

I promise that you will change that dog’s life for the better, but they will also change yours.

A Message of Gratitude

Precious taught me about resilience, love, and the impact we can make when we open our hearts to those in need. She’s the reason fostering is so close to my heart, and her legacy continues to inspire me.

Thank you for taking the time to honor Precious’s story with me. To learn more about our time with Precious, we'd love for you to take some time to watch the video we made about her. If you’d like to read about our next foster, Layla, and her incredible journey, check it out here.

With love and pawsitivity,

Susie Cogswell, Cogs Dogs Mom

Aug 15, 2023

Being a Foster Dog Mom

Being a foster dog mom has been and continues to be one of my greatest accomplishments in life! It's amazing to see the dog's transformation and begin to come out of their shell when they trust you. It's one of the greatest feelings whenever they do a "first". The first time they give you a kiss, the first time they wag their tail, the first time they do anything. :)

Fostering is amazing but it can also be physically and emotionally exhausting. It's not always cuddles and kisses, sometimes it's hard work, sleepless nights, and doubting yourself. All of these things are ok and doesn't make you a bad foster parent.

Let me tell you about my second foster dog, Layla. She has a complicated backstory but a very happy ending, but there were lots of bumps along the way.

A good friend of mine started fostering Layla through a shelter in late 2022. She was not doing great in there and needed to be out ASAP. Layla was about two years old at the time and was found as a stray. Being labeled as a stray doesn't mean they are a street dog and didn't have a previous family. It's possible that's what it could mean but in my experience, 99% of the time it means that their previous "family" didn't come to claim them or they were dumped.

My friend fostered Layla for about three months. During that time, she learned that Layla didn't know how to be a dog. She also didn't have any training, including potty training. She also started to notice that Layla had something going on neurologically. It appeared to be focal seizures so the shelter put her on seizure meds.

Several weeks later, she was still presenting with head bobbing and facial twitches and the seizure meds appeared to be not working. The shelter deemed her unadoptable by the public and was scheduled to be euthanized. I'm not mad at the shelter for making this decision and neither should you. I'm mad at her previous "family" that abandoned her when she needed them the most. The responsibility lies on us as dog parents, not shelters and rescues to clean up our mess when it's no longer convenient for us to have a dog.

Luckily, my friend was able to legally adopt her since she had been fostering her for so long and she was seeing progress with Layla. She also wanted to get a second medical opinion. By doing this, she literally SAVED her life! During her time fostering Layla, one of her resident dogs became very uncomfortable around Layla (even though he loves other dogs). Sometimes, dogs don't always prefer every dog and that's ok. It became an unideal situation and Layla needed to find another home (foster or permanent).

Even though she was legally adopted by my friend, the end goal was to always find a rescue for Layla and find her a forever home. She also needed to get additional testing done for whatever was going on neurologically.

Thankfully, Harbor of Hope Dog Rescue agreed to take Layla into their rescue and I somehow "convinced" my husband to foster her. I had dog sat Layla a couple times prior to fostering her fulltime and she was timid, quiet, calm, and so very sweet. Boy oh boy, did I have no idea at the time how my life was going to change. LOL.

My husband and I officially started fostering Layla on February 5, 2023. When her previous foster mom dropped her off, everything changed. Layla decided to come out of her shell since she was more comfortable with us, and we quickly realized that she does bark and we had some work to do. This was the start of our journey together. The first week was RUFF! We have only had senior dogs and fostered only one other dog who was also an older dog. Layla was the youngest dog we had cared for. Even though I've been a dog mom for over five years, Layla taught me that I know NOTHING about dogs. LOL.

We started kennel training almost immediately since she couldn't be trusted left out by herself when we would leave. She was destructive (and would eat things she shouldn't) and she would constantly bark at our cats and our senior dog Bonnie (definitely not allowed). Kennel training was going ok for a few days and then we started to notice her anxiety was increasing. It eventually got really bad and she would pee immediately in the kennel and that escalated into shitting in it. One night at 2 am, I checked on her and she was freaking out. There was pee and poop everywhere in her kennel and on her. Starting that day, both my husband and I knew that kennel training was out the window (at least temporarily) and we needed help.

We worked with Harbor of Hope and they put us in contact with their trainer. This was a game changer! Taylor, with Camp K9 in Fremont, Nebraska, came over for her first training session with us and Layla. I was stressed to the max. Layla wasn't sleeping through the night, she wasn't potty trained, and she had several undesirable behaviors. These behaviors included chewing on things she shouldn't (wood work, blankets, anything on the floor, etc.), jumping up and nipping, barking almost constantly at Bonnie and the cats, chasing the cats (she wanted to play), demand barking, and not being able to be kennel trained.

With the help and guidance of Taylor, we all agreed that the best thing for Layla at that time was to let her decompress for the next three weeks and to stop kennel training. This also meant that we had to limit her anxiety triggers which mainly included me leaving our home. If she saw me leave (even if it was just to go outside for a few mins.), she would lose her shit. She would franticly run around in circles, jump up on the door, bark, etc. My husband couldn't calm her down. It was like he didn't even exist to her (every straight man's worst nightmare about women). ;)

For the next several weeks, one of us had to always be home with her. We stopped kennel training but continued to feed her meals and enrichment in the kennel. She was always good with eating in her kennel and was never afraid of the it. She had confinement anxiety and would freak out if I would close the door (outside of mealtime), even if I was sitting next to her.

During those weeks, we worked on other training. Potty training went pretty good but she still had pee accidents once every few days for several weeks. I started to keep track and wrote down every time I would take her out and if she peed or pooped. If she had an accident, I made note of it including any signs that I missed. It's never a dog's fault so don't punish them. It's frustrating as hell and makes a mess, but it takes time, patience, and consistency.

We also worked on sit, down, stay, wait, and learning to be calm around Bonnie. She was always running into Bonnie out of excitement and not aware of her surroundings, especially around meal times. Bonnie eats slower so having Layla eat in her kennel allowed Bonnie the freedom to eat at her own pace without having to worry about Layla.

Fast forward to about two months later of fostering Layla and she turned into a completely different dog. I'm also 100% a completely different dog mom and all for the better! Layla got officially potty trained (bell trained), learned sit, down, stay, wait, crawl, shake, and leave it. She learned to not bark (as much) at every sound, or at the cats (even if she was only trying to play).

We also worked on kennel training again and went very slow with the process. With the guidance of her trainer, we kept in contact throughout the entire time and made adjustments as needed. We did eventually get to the point where both my husband and I could leave the house while Layla was in the kennel for a couple hours. She didn't always like the kennel when we left but she stopped having severe anxiety and accidents in it.

Every tear, self-doubt, and sleepless night was 1000% worth it! Layla truly taught me how to be a better dog mom, better foster dog mom, have more patience, and to never give up even when I wanted to. I learned how important consistency is when it comes to training, writing things down helped a lot so I could see the progress, and rewarding positive behavior is also key.

We ended up fostering Layla for about four months and she ended up getting adopted by an amazing family. She has two dog siblings, four cat siblings, mom, dad, and three human siblings.

I am so grateful we get to stay in touch with her new family and still get the cutest updates.

FOSTERING SAVES LIVES!

With love & pawsitivity,

Susie Cogswell, Cogs Dogs Mom

Foster dog mom and dad sitting in grass with brown foster dog

Foster dog mom and dad sitting in grass with brown foster dog

Foster dog mom and dad sitting in grass with brown foster dog wearing 4th of July theme shirts and bandana

Brown foster dog looking up at foster dog mom