Saving one dog will not change the world,
but surely for that one dog,
the world will change forever.
~ Karen Davison
Do you love animals and want to help homeless pets, but aren’t ready to permanently add a pet to your family? Fostering might be right for you. You get all the wags and cuddles without the bills or permanent responsibility, plus you get to contribute to them finding their perfect forever family. This month we celebrate pet fosters and work to spread the word about this very important and immensely rewarding practice.
What is fostering?
When you volunteer to foster a pet, you bring them into your home to live temporarily until they find their forever family. They might be abandoned, stray, or feral, and your home may be their first experience living with a family. You provide them with routine and stability, helping them flourish into a healthy pet that’s ready for adoption. As a foster, you commit to the pet until they are adopted, which could be weeks or months depending on the situation. You can also offer to be a temporary, short-term foster who cares for pets when their permanent fosters are on vacation.
The rescue organization covers expenses like food, supplies and medical care for the pet. Your role as a foster is to provide a safe, loving environment for the pet to thrive in. You feed, exercise, and socialize them, helping them learn things like potty training and leash walking, which will make them more appealing to potential adopters. You take the pet to adoption events or meet with interested adopters, and eventually hand them off to their forever family.
Why is it important?
Fostering is a crucial part of the rescue system. Shelters are overcrowded, and many will euthanize perfectly healthy, adoptable pets because they just don’t have space. Foster care eases some of this stress on shelters, allowing more pets to be adopted while freeing space for additional pets to be rescued.
Shelters are also very stressful environments for animals, and it can be hard for potential adopters to see their true personality. Living in a home environment, they can be themselves. Fosters learn about the pet’s energy levels, whether they tolerate kids and other pets, and any special needs that can help match the pet with the perfect family.
As a new foster myself, I see the impact of fostering first-hand – so many frightened, hungry dogs and cats finally experiencing love and blossoming into confident, healthy pets for their new families. But it’s not easy. The fosters I know work tirelessly to help as many animals as possible. They drive to vet appointments, administer medications, wake every few hours to bottle feed motherless babies – the list goes on. And when their fosters are adopted, they take in more and the cycle begins again.
My husband and I resisted fostering for a very long time, afraid of the emotional impact of getting attached and having to let go. But the need is so great that we finally signed up. We ‘failed’ immediately, welcoming a fun and energetic three-legged heeler mix to our family. Now we choose to foster for the fosters, caring for their charges when they’re away. It’s a great way to still help without having too long to get attached.
Why become a foster?
If there was ever a time to try fostering a pet, it is now. Pet overpopulation is at an all-time high, with the number of animals entering shelters and rescues increasing for the fourth year in a row. There is an immense need for new foster families.
So why do people foster?
“I was looking for something to fill my cup during the pandemic and wasn’t sure if I could commit to adopting a dog full-time at that stage in my life,” says Sydney, who has been fostering dogs and cats for about four years.
“Fostering helped me get outdoors and really helped my mental health in a lot of positive ways through COVID.”
LaDonna, a foster for over a year, had always been interested in fostering, but like me, was afraid it would be too difficult emotionally to let the pets go. But when the need exploded and rescues were begging for help, she and her husband stepped up.
“It broke my heart and I knew we could help. We had space in our home and our hearts. I wanted to help save as many as I could!”
They usually have between one and five puppies in addition to their three resident dogs. In just one year, they have helped more than 33 dogs find their forever home.
Both women foster for Rescue Network, a Minnesota-based organization that works with reservations in South Dakota to rescue stray and unwanted dogs and cats, as well as reduce their populations. The network’s fosters span throughout eastern South Dakota, Minnesota, and northern Iowa.
“The hardest thing about fostering is seeing how so many people have let down these animals. There’s so much neglect and abuse,” says LaDonna. “There are days when it’s soul-crushing to see so much suffering that could have been prevented if people would be more responsible.”
Sydney adds that “Dogs and cats are such forgiving beings. Sometimes it’s hard in the beginning and the unexpected is scary, but it will ALWAYS be rewarding. It’s also the greatest feeling when your foster has met their ‘person.’”
Fostering offers great perks if you’re considering adopting a dog or cat. You can have a trial run with fosters to see if it’s really a fit for you. And who knows – you may find your perfect family member along the way! As Sydney says, “I also, selfishly, get to get my puppy fix without having a hoard of dogs!”
How to become a foster
Are you ready to open your heart and your home to an animal in need? Here are some ways to get connected:
- Contact your local rescue organizations. Most are very excited to have new foster families and will help you start the process. Many have applications on their websites.
- Attend adoption events and talk to the volunteers.
- Visit Greater Good Charities to sign up and find a shelter or rescue near you that is looking for fosters.
Some common questions you may be asked include your family makeup – do you have other pets in the home? Children? They will want to know if you have a fenced-in yard for dogs and may want to do a home visit to see how your home might suit the needs of a foster.
If you have other pets, it’s best if you have a separate space for the foster, but it’s not necessary. We have a very small bungalow and make it work just fine – there are options. The rescue will probably ask about any previous animal experience but don’t shy away if you don’t have any. You may still be able to help.
If you are considering becoming a foster, LaDonna says “…please jump in and give it a chance. I wish I had started sooner. Yes, it will hurt to send them off into the world, but there are always more to help! It is so rewarding.”
Already a foster? Show it off! Click the photo to visit the shop.
