Foster Spotlight: Kristi and Joe Petrie!

This month we feature fosters Kristi and Joe Petrie, who are also the people behind MHGSPR’s website and social media. Find out more about Kristi and Joe!

What kinds of things do you like to do for fun?

Kristi and Joe jetskiing at Lake Powell.

I like to run, go to the gym, read, hike, snowshoe, write, and take classes on pretty much anything. Joe loves music and going to shows, gardening, building stuff and cooking. Together, we do stuff like go to breweries and festivals, camping, traveling, hiking, etc. We are kind of board game nerds and at night you can usually find us watching crime shows and playing board games like Ticket to Ride or Dominion or Splendor.

How many dogs of your own do you have? Tell us about them and their personalities.

Dre, the Weimaraner and Hazel the GSP love to snuggle.

We have two dogs and both were foster fails! Dre is a 4-year-old Weimaraner who we adopted when he was 1.5-years-old. We don’t know much about his history, just that he came to us with three legs and losing his eyesight from progressive retinal atrophy. When I think of his personality, I think of those Sour Patch Kids commercials… “Sour at first… then sweet.” Being blind makes him nervous around new people, and he has a pretty fierce bark, but it doesn’t take too long for him to warm up, and when he does warm up, he can’t get close enough to people… wants to be laying ON them. He’s pretty inspiring to be around every day – despite his challenges, he still chases squirrels (and is pretty darn fast!) and can keep up with most dogs. He’s a happy fellow.

This pose is called a 3-legged spoon.

Then, there is Hazel! She’s a 5-year-old German Shorthaired Pointer that we were fostering in 2013. She came to us from Kansas where the state made her owner give up some of his dogs because he had too many. She was an outdoor pup her whole life, so we had to housetrain her but she caught on quick. Hazel and Dre bonded almost immediately, and we knew we couldn’t give her up. They play all day long, and even though Dre is fiercer and she’s smaller, she can put him in his place (and does!) She’s sort of become Dre’s seeing eye dog. Like most GSPs, she’s fast, squirrel crazy, energetic and a total goofball. She is a terrible listener but makes us laugh every day.

When, why and how did you first get involved with MHGSPR?

Atticus, our first foster pup through MHGSPR

After we lost our first dog, Lucy, to liver cancer, we started getting into fostering because we didn’t think we were ready for the unavoidable heartbreak of owning (and eventually losing) our own dog again. We fostered for a couple of different local rescues but we wanted to see what the GSP breed was all about, so we found MHGSPR online and applied to foster. We didn’t hear from them for a few months, and then, around Christmas 2011 (I think) we got a call because they needed a foster for Atticus, an 8-year-old GSP.

How many dogs have you fostered?

We have fostered three dogs – Atticus, Hazel and Otis – for MHGSPR, but 9 total if you include fosters for other rescues. We fostered Asia (a sweet black lab mix) and Hank (an awesome malamute) for MaxFund. Then, for Life is Better Rescue, we fostered two 6-week-old Blue Heeler puppies, Justice and Jonas, and a Yorkie named Hobbes. Lastly, we fostered Dre for Mile High Weimaraner Rescue and foster failed. We’ve loved every foster we’ve had, whether we had them for a week, a few months, or even a couple of years.

Hazel near the top of Mt. Bierstadt.

Why do you continue to foster and devote so much time to MHGSPR?

When we first got to know Judy, we couldn’t believe her passion and commitment for MHGSPR and the GSP breed in general. She had so much energy and did SO MUCH for the rescue, that we felt like we wanted to help Judy do what she was doing. She takes care of all these pups, spends her days coordinating rescues and transports, going to various vet visits, finding foster and adoptive families, and basically supporting everyone around here that we felt like we wanted to help support her. So I signed up to help manage the website and social media, and Joe agreed we could foster more dogs. Then, we met Gail and Jan, and other folks who are involved, and we just love this group of people. They are so kind, and fun and energetic and committed to any and all GSPs that show up on our doorstep. It’s really fun and meaningful to be a part of something that feels so important – saving dogs. Personally, I love being the person behind our social media because I get to virtually meet so many wonderful people (like Sheila and Catherine just to name a couple!) and see photos and hear stories of how our adopted pups and their families are getting along. These conversations can make my whole day!

What’s a funny or most memorable moment from fostering?

This is a photo of foster Hank when he wasn’t getting in trouble.

We could tell a story for just about every dog we’ve fostered, but I think the most memorable stories happened with Hank the Malamute. Hank came to us from MaxFund as a stray. He was 11-years-old and a little battle-worn from his days on the streets. He was heartworm positive, had frostbite scars on his ears, and bb pellets throughout his body that his beautiful coat had healed over. He was blind in one eye (cataracts we think) and was hard of hearing. For ALL of that, he still had the sweetest demeanor and heart there ever was and was super mellow. As long as he was with a person, he would nap all day. He just loved being with people. So much, in fact, that he chewed through the screen in a second story window and jumped out while we were at work. He fell two stories, landing on a hard surface but didn’t break a single bone and wanted to come looking for us. He also “remodeled” our laundry room floor by ripping up the laminate floors, and daily would challenge whatever barrier we fashioned to keep him in the back of the house while we were at work. No joke, we tried baby gates, and even got the kind that screw into the wall, which he immediately ripped down. Another time, he chewed up the blinds and got tangled in them. When Joe came home, Hank was stuck with his back legs not touching the floor. Joe had to cut him out of the blinds with scissors. Eventually, he chewed up all the blinds in the house, so we ended up having to cut all the blinds so they only covered the top half of the windows.

Fosters Hank and Jonas

We fostered Hank for two years, and were prepared to keep him for the long haul because he was so dang sweet and such a wise old soul (when he wasn’t getting into trouble), but then his perfect family came along! A couple in Wyoming in their 80s who had just lost their own 14-year-old Lab wanted a senior dog… and they loved Hank immediately! They had their own home in a small town and would be with Hank all day. They take walks every day around town and we knew that Hank that would be in heaven with his people all day every day. It was incredibly hard to say goodbye, but knowing how he got to live out his last few years made it the right decision. We still talk about Hank and love him dearly.

Why German Shorthaired Pointers?

We’ve gotten to know a handful of different breeds, and we’ve found GSPs (and Weimaraners too) to be some of the silliest dogs there are. They are just so goofy and they love to be close and cuddle, but also love to play and be crazy. They are just beautiful, smart, fun, loving dogs.

When one of your fosters gets adopted, how does it affect you and how do you say goodbye?

We find that we get a little “blue.” We’ll be sort of down for a few days, but we know that they go to wonderful homes and loving families and there’s nothing better than that. Because MHGSPR stays in touch with adoptive families, we also get updates on the pups and their families which is awesome.

What’s the best part of being part of the Mile High GSP Rescue foster team?

Hazel, Dre, Kristi and Otis

The MHGSPR team is super fun, kind and dedicated to rescuing pups! It’s really inspiring to hear the stories and catch up with people who just love dogs. And if there’s an issue with a pup, chances are someone else has been through it before and can help and offer advice on what to do.

If you could tell someone who was deciding whether or not to foster one thing about it, what would you tell them?

If even a small part of you has thought about doing it, try it! As I mentioned above, each pup comes with their own personalities so sometimes, there can be challenges, but it’s one of the most rewarding things we’ve ever done. Knowing that we helped a rescue dog on his journey to find his forever home is one of the most worthwhile things there is and it makes it all worth it. When you see a forever family and their rescue dog down the road, and you see how big a part of their lives that dog has become, you know you didn’t just help change that dog’s life, but you gave that family a new member to love every single day! Love breeds more love and that’s what you help do when you foster.

Joe snoozing with Dre and Hazel