4/16/26 INTRODUCTION ~ Yesterday, we welcomed Midge Maisel to freedom. 
4/25/26 UPDATE ~ From foster girl Midge Maisel: I remember the first day I got here. Everything felt too big, too loud, too unknown. I found a small corner in my kennel and made it mine… “my safe space.”
If I stayed very still, maybe nothing bad would happen. I didn’t want food. I didn’t want water. I didn’t want to move at all! Moving felt dangerous and scary.
Then SHE came. She spoke softly, but her hands reached in and gently pulled me out of my kennel. I didn’t understand. Why would I leave the only place that felt “safe?” My heart raced. My body froze. But she kept telling me there was something better out here… that I just had to be BRAVE.
BRAVE? I didn’t feel brave.
Everything scared me. The room. The sounds. Even the food. My body didn’t feel right either… my eye hurt and I didn’t feel well. They gave me medicine, but I didn’t understand that it was supposed to help. All I knew was that everything was overwhelming. I refused to eat or drink, so medicine was not helping at that point.
But something started to change once my foster mom got me home. It’s been one week now. Just one week and maybe… I am a little BRAVE.
I still like my safe space. I still go there when things feel too big. But now, sometimes, I peek out. Sometimes, I take a step. I’ve done some really big things. At least they feel big to me.
I’ve started eating. Not a lot, but some. My foster mom even feeds me by hand, and it makes it a little less scary. Sometimes, I take a few bites on my own. That feels important.
I learned where to go potty, close to my safe space. That helps me feel a little more in control. I’ve taken small steps around the room. Just a few… but they’re mine.
My foster mom takes me outside and it’s so scary out there. So open, so many smells, so many sounds. I don’t always want to go. But she stays with me and keeps telling me I can do it and I have to be BRAVE!
Then something really big happened. She took off my leash. I stood there, unsure. The world felt wide and quiet for a moment. I took a step and I peed outside.
It might not sound like much, BUT to me, it was everything!
My foster mom told me she’s proud of me. She says I’m getting BRAVE. I don’t always feel BRAVE, but maybe… I’m becoming it.
5/3/26 UPDATE ~ From foster girl Midge Maisel: I’m doing well in foster care and I’m still working on becoming BRAVE. Baby steps… that’s what my foster mom always says. I’m not totally sure what that means, but I think it has something to do with being brave a little at a time. And I am getting braver.
This week felt different. Bigger, somehow.
I started eating from a bowl all by myself. At first, I wasn’t so sure about it, but now I kind of like it. Especially when I sneak over to the resident’s dog bowl. Their food just seems… better. My foster mom noticed, of course. She told me I’m getting my own bowl soon. I’m not sure how I feel about that yet, but I trust her.
I followed her outside into the backyard, too. That was a big deal. There are so many smells out there, and the air feels different on my fur. I’ve even gone potty outside a few times. I still think the pads inside are safer, but my foster mom says outside is better. I’m trying to believe her.
Then today happened.
She took me out front. On a leash. It was so scary! Everything felt loud and open and unfamiliar. My paws stayed close to the sidewalk as we walked just a little way up, then turned around. My foster mom kept talking to me in that soft, encouraging voice, telling me I was brave. I didn’t feel brave.
Not until we got back to the front door.
The second it opened, I dashed inside as fast as I could. My safe place. My heart finally slowed down.
And then… something nice happened. My foster mom told me I did a good job. She said I was brave today.
Maybe she’s right. Maybe those baby steps are working.
