Salish & Jordan Matter

Today, my daughter Salish will begin fostering an adorable dog.

The only problem is we had no idea

that Salish would fall in love with him so quickly.

He's perfect.

The family who said they were gonna take this dog is now not taking the dog.

So the dog no longer has a home.

And now I have to make an impossible decision.

I don't know what I'm gonna do if I can't keep Moo.

I don't know what to do.

To learn how this story ends, we need to go back to when it started.

Lauren is on her way to the shelter to pick up the dog,

and I've set up a blind baking challenge with Salish.

She thinks we are just baking cookies,

but they're actually treats for the new dog.

She's gonna wear noise-cancelling headphones

so she can't hear anything.

I'm gonna wear a blindfold so I can't see anything.

And we have to complete this recipe.

Jordan's at the house distracting Salish while I go pick up the dog.

And then I'm going back to surprise her.

What's the surprise?

You have to complete the mystery challenge to find out.

The first thing we'll have to do to make these yummy dog treats is make the dough.

-Are you ready? -Yes!

Find the oats and make oat flour.

I'm gonna crush the bananas. No, don't touch anything!

We're supposed to work together.

-Is this where the bowl is? Oh! -Dad, stop! Stop!

Okay, that was my bad.

I thought you put a bowl there. What am I mashing?

Salish!

-Salish can't hear me, can she? - Nope.

Oh, this is so fun.

Salish is gonna be so surprised when we get this dog.

The thing about fostering dogs which is super cool

is you take a dog that needs a home and you let 'em live with you

until they find a real home for the rest of their lives.

-That's what we're gonna do today. -What?

Nothing. I wasn't talking.

Okay.

This dog was found as a stray after living on the street for months.

His fur was really matted,

and he had a bunch of wounds on his legs and shoulder.

And he's really, really underweight.

They shaved him down, took off his mats,

cleaned up his wounds, and he had two surgeries.

So I'm hoping he's feeling better now.

I hope this dog is healthy

and is able to have a great week with Salish.

But right now, I'm a little concerned with my own health, cooking with Salish.

All right, Dad, try this. Open your mouth.

Is it good?

-Is that pumpkin? -Yeah, I don't know.

-What's the point of this? -We're making a surprise mystery treat.

These look disgusting.

They look disgusting, but they're gonna be really good.

Ari, this is the most disgusting thing I've ever eaten.

- Looks nasty. -Want to try it?

Salish, Ari said he wants to try it.

No, no, I'm good, I'm good.

-Don't make me fire you. - Ooh. Ooh. Uh…

Use your hand to mix this in.

Oh! Oh!

Did we have to use hands for this, Salish?

Salish?

Say has been wanting a big dog forever.

It's really hard for the huskies to get adopted

because they're large dogs and they have a lot of energy.

But come on, I just met him, and he already wants to cuddle.

-Hudson, let's go get a dog. -No.

-I guess we're getting a dog. -No, no…

After a week, they will have a family who can adopt him.

And that's the perfect amount of time

to see whether Salish is up for caring for a big dog.

Boomer is staying at my parents' house,

so this will be the perfect opportunity

to shower this dog with our full attention.

This is taking way too long.

If Lauren gets back and these treats aren't baked,

then that will ruin the entire plan to surprise Salish.

We need to switch so I can see again, and we can get these treats in the oven.

-Take my blindfold. -Okay.

Oh, wow! That's bright.

-You're welcome. -Put your blindfold on.

We gotta keep going.

-Did I make it? -That was really good.

You didn't even leave any shell.

We're here at Sherman Oaks Veterinary Group.

They've been such a nice hospital to work with, so let's go!

Lauren is about to meet the dog

we're surprising Salish with for the next week.

Hi!

Oh my gosh, he's so sweet.

Oh my gosh. Hi.

Oh my goodness.

Oh, he's such a sweet boy.

Know what would be so good in a cookie? Carrots.

Oh, give me a carrot.

No, no, no…

Did it go in the bowl?

Yeah. That's good. Just… That's fine.

We picked up the dog, and I really hope that Jordan hasn't spoiled the surprise.

Salish and Hudson, and Jordan too, are all gonna fall in love with him.

I just checked my messages. Lauren's on her way. We gotta hurry up.

Okay, Salish. I think we're pretty much ready to bake these.

-Gonna put them in the oven. -Do you need help?

They're in.

We just got up to the house. I'll bring the dog in to surprise Salish.

-Okay, we made these yummy cookies. - They look disgusting.

-Why don't we taste it? -I'm not trying this.

I think that'll explain what the surprise is.

Three, two, one.

See?

Did these taste like something that a human would like?

I surely hope not.

These are actually dog treats.

-Why do we need dog treats? -This is homemade treats for a dog.

-Can you show me what the surprise is? -I think it's pretty obvious by now.

Take this treat and go outside, because Mom is waiting with a new dog.

-She wants you to meet him. -Wait, really?

She's excited to meet you.

-He's a foster dog. -Oh, yeah, for sure.

That means we're just gonna keep him for a little while,

and then he's going to an actual home.

Hi!

I know I wasn't super clear with Salish,

but the plan was to foster the dog for one week

until his new family could finalize the paperwork.

Did you like it?

I think he liked it.

But I just got a very surprising call from the shelter.

The family who said they were gonna take this dog is now not taking the dog.

So the dog no longer has a home.

I don't think we're ready for a second dog, a big one.

-What a good boy. - Argh!

She's having so much fun with this dog.

Seems to love to… to be with people.

If we got a second dog, Salish would have to be the one in charge of that dog.

We just don't have time to do it.

And I don't know if she's ready to take care of a 50-pound dog.

Can you go upstairs?

This is a massive twist.

We thought we would only foster him for a week,

but now we have to decide if we're keeping him forever.

This is actually so difficult, because on one hand,

you can see how much this dog trusts Salish completely.

- Stay. - It's different with a big dog!

But I'm just not sure she's ready for such a big commitment.

Sit.

Good boy!

To test Salish and her commitment to this dog,

Lauren and Salish are going to the pet store,

and Salish will be responsible for picking out everything the dog needs

while he stays with us for a week.

Lauren also can't help Salish.

Let's see if Salish can find everything she needs to take care of this dog.

The things Salish needs to get is a crate, bed, leash, harness,

dog tag, toys, a bowl, and a gate.

Let's see if she can figure it out.

Mom, this one's good, right? Wanna tell me?

No? Okay.

I think we should get extra-large.

-What do you want? He keeps leaning on me. -Aww.

Mom, please can he be Moo? I just really wanna call him Moo.

- Okay. -He's called Moo. Come here, Moo!

I just got a call from Lauren. Salish is fully in love with this dog.

Has named him Moo?

Moo is a name she's been waiting for years to give to her next dog,

and I think she thinks this is that dog.

I'm actually at a crossroads here.

I thought we were making a really adorable video about fostering a dog for a week.

Suddenly, we have to make this decision about whether to keep him.

I know what Salish is gonna say, but I don't know what I'm gonna wanna do.

Say goodnight! Do you like this one? He's sitting on it.

Kind of need some help. Where is the cart?

- Salish! -I feel like this is a good size. Right?

I found this, which is so cute, and we're gonna engrave. M-O-O. Moo.

What's this? Oh, he likes it!

Look at how many cute things we got. Ready?

We have to order the harness online. But I got everything here we could get?

-Yes. -Okay, let's go check out.

I learned how to wink. Ready?

Okay, that was good.

-Thanks. - Yeah.

Come on, Moo.

I love dogs, but I think what a lot of people don't realize

is how much responsibility they are, especially a big one.

As the week went by, Salish and Moo got even closer,

and she took him everywhere.

He's perfect, so we need to keep him.

She is having an amazing time with Moo right now,

but it's summer,

and when school starts,

I'm not sure she'll actually have time to take care of Moo.

I'd love for us to keep Moo, but he just may be too much for us.

He's got a lot of energy and he's very big.

Salish doesn't know yet that the family that was going to adopt Moo dropped out,

so Moo could be ours forever.

Moo, come here.

Sit. Sit.