Fostering a pet is so vital because it basically is an extension of a shelter...it is one more life that can be spared, as long as we live in a society in which animals are euthanized for space at shelters. It also provides valuable insight into what that pet will be like in a home, since the way a dog or cat behaves in a shelter isn't always their "real self". Also, often a dog or cat will need individual attention to learn to trust people or recover from an injury. I could go on and on, but just trust me - fostering rocks!
We've done our share of fostering...our sweet Tanner was our first foster. He arrived with a broken spirit, zero self confidence, and afraid of anything related to humans. He wouldn't even eat for the first 48 hours he was here. It took many months, but he slowly learned to trust us and how to be a dog. Sadly, his life had just been about survival before he came to us. I remember thinking that I would just be happy if he ever wagged his tail. Just look at him now!
This photo wouldn't be possible without foster homes...Marvin also was rescued by a foster home with his mama and sisters. Maybe that is why these 2 are such buds- they both had rough starts in rural Appalachia. Marvin was actually licking Tanner's ear moments before this photo, but coonhound ears are pretty irresistible, so who can really blame him.
Often, foster homes must be found very quickly, as shelters only have a couple days sometimes before they are forced to euthanize for space. This is Matilda:
She was slated to be euthanized at our local county shelter because she had some skin issues that they determined meant she was unadoptable. But, the rescue group I work with here (Brother Wolf Animal Rescue), would take her in and treat her skin issues- if a foster home could be found, because their shelter was full. Well, I reached out to lots of folks and my mom stepped up and said she would take in Matilda temporarily! All of this occurred in one day- I drove to the county shelter myself and sprung this lucky girl! She was safe! She is thriving now, her skin allergies have been addressed and she is an awesome, happy gal...house trained, sweet, great with all animals and people. The photo above was taken the day she got out of the shelter and was visiting the vet. She only stayed with my mom a couple of weeks until a spot opened up at the rescue's shelter, so often just a temporary foster home can make all the difference; it sure did for Matilda.
Many people hesitate to foster because of the fear that it will be difficult to say goodbye. That is true, but it also allows the foster to continue to foster, and therefore continue to save lives. All foster families seem to eventually adopt that one special...or 2...animal, but there always seems to be another amazing home out there who can love your foster as much as you do. Here are some of our foster puppies from last year:
This is Sylva. She and her 2 sisters found themselves in a shelter in Virginia. We fostered all 3 of them for Coonhound Rescue. Puppies are really fun to foster! Sylva now lives in South Carolina.
Here is Sylva's sister, Wilma. She is now a Texas girl!
This is Vada, she came from a shelter in eastern North Carolina. She was one of my favorite foster pups! She became very ill on her first day here and scared me to death, but luckily pulled through, and I think that created more of a connection between us. We logged several hours snuggling on the couch as she recovered. She was quickly adopted to a family in the DC area.
Puppies are actually easier in many ways to foster...even in groups.
Buddy is a dog that currently lives at Brother Wolf's shelter.
He is a timid guy who needs time to learn to trust people and learn that being in a house is a safe, fun place to be. He came over to hang out with me while I was hanging around the house...he felt safe inside his crate, where he could go to when he began to feel nervous.
Like I said earlier, I could go on and on about the joys and necessities of fostering, but here are a couple other perspectives, a cool blog all about fostering dogs and a short article explaining more about fostering.
If you've ever considered volunteering with an animal rescue group or local shelter, I highly recommend looking into fostering! It's a wild and wonderful experience. Just ask Tanner...and Marvin...and Matilda...and all the thousands of cats and dogs crashing for a bit in a kind soul's home, just waiting for their forever home to come along.
