Why I Decided To Foster: Confessions of a First-Time Foster Mom
I'll save everyone from the “it all started long ago” story and bring you all up to date quickly. I love dogs. Have always loved dogs. Will look right past the baby carriage and ogle at people's dogs walking down the street. While all my girlfriends are having babies and starting families, I am taking in dogs. As they say, “I've gone to the dogs.”
I stumbled onto Rogers' Rescues one night while perusing PetFinder. I was tired of doing “passive” work for shelter dogs like writing letters and helping with a spay/neuter program in my area. I really wanted to work with the dogs “hands-on.” Fostering seemed like the answer.
I was nervous. "Would I be able to handle three dogs in my house?" We had two already. "Would my own pets be OK?" So many questions. That is where Rogers came to the Rescue!
Rogers Rescues has a great training program where potential foster homes are introduced to the concepts, concerns, and processes of fostering slowly. You can ask as many questions as you need. I learned that you can foster at your own pace. My pace is slow. One dog at a time and only relatively calm natured dogs. You have control over the dogs you want to foster and when you want to foster.
With the help of some experienced foster Moms, I picked a sweet, somewhat shy black lab mix for my first. The whole week before I was in the “nesting” phase. Buying supplies and putting up some gates. Dusting off the crate that was in the basement and making sure my dogs where up to date on all shots. I was so excited and nervous, I could barely sleep the night before.
Finally the day had come. The day I would get my first foster. I drove to the pick-up point with such a heightened sense of purpose. I felt like shouting to all folks passing me by on the highway, “Hey, I'm saving a life today!”
The van pulled up and I almost cried. Everyone else waiting to pick up had seen this so many times before, but not me. A very weary driver got out after driving 14 hours, alone, with over 20 dogs from a rural Kentucky kill shelter. Every one of these dogs was getting a second chance. The dogs were eager to get out and many showered us with kisses (but boy did they stink!).
I named her Lulu and put her in my truck and headed home. I called my husband and said “Rescue mission is complete. We are headed home.”
Into the tub she went as soon as we got home and then she investigated the house. I was exhausted at this point. I sat down on the dog bed I had laid out for her and she laid next to me. We both took a short snooze.
Now came the fun part. Watching a dog's personality emerge as he/she de-stresses emotionally and physically from the shelter environment is so wonderful. As a foster Mom, you learn to understand the needs of each foster dog and I find myself promising things to my foster dogs. “I promise I'll find you a yard with a fence.” “I promise I'll find you a home with a doggie playmate.”
The, like a ton of bricks it hit me. I was so worried about whether Lulu would fit into my household; worried if she would get along with the other dogs; worried if she would sleep through the night in her crate that it never occurred to me. I have to give her up! "How on earth was I going to do that?"
Well, I have done easier things in my life. But if fostering dogs were that easy, then everyone would be doing it, right? Once I met Lulu's potential adopters, I felt much better. I saw the joy in their faces when they met Lulu and I heard that feeling of elation in their voices. The same feelings I had when I first picked Lulu up. They too wanted to shout, “Hey, I just saved a life today!” And so I let them. And I let Lulu go.
The foster system works. We provide a temporary place for a shelter dog to de-stress so they can be properly evaluated. We eliminate the guess-work for families who want to adopt from a shelter. We help decrease the amount of “returns” to shelters. We help adoptable pets whose “time is up” find adopting families.
Fostering has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. The experience comes chock full of emotions but the good foster days far outweigh the bad. My third foster dog just laid down at my feet as I wrote this. She's a very sweet, very calm girl who has captured my heart from the moment she arrived. “I promise I'll find you a home where they will let you sleep in the bed” I whisper to her as she drifts off to sleep. |
