Arrival Date: 27 August 2021
Adoption Date: 11 September 2021
Dog fostering wasn’t something that I actively searched out, but rather something I stumbled upon through a NextDoor post. A local NextDoor group was asking for a promise of a financial donation to save two dogs that were scheduled to be euthanized by the county Animal Control that following Tuesday. The dogs were otherwise sweet, adoptable dogs, but both had medical conditions that Animal Control wouldn’t remedy. The pledges were to be donated to a local rescue to help them pay for the medical treatment if an adoption hold was placed by the rescue.
I pledged $50 and watched and waited over the next few days to see if the pups would get a rescue hold. Thankfully, both dogs received holds in time. However, I quickly learned over the next few weeks with each newly published euthanasia list that this is often not the case, especially when big dogs are on the list. There are too many dogs and not enough homes and rescues with the resources to step up and save them all. I had to stop following that local group because it was heartbreaking to know they can’t all be saved.
In the post they were asking for both donations and foster homes to take in the dogs and it became obvious that collecting donations had more success than finding a foster. This is understandable as not everyone has the lifestyle or shelter to house a dog. But I did. And this is where I realized I could help in a more hands-on way.
I found the Facebook page of the rescue that stepped up to adopt the dogs and after talking with my husband, I filled out the application to become a foster. Once I signed up with the rescue, I had a long conversation with one of their board members to better understand what was expected of a foster and the challenges that may come with it. The dogs that had been on the euthanasia list already had assigned foster homes, but there were other dogs in boarding needing a foster commitment. This is where my first foster Fritz was waiting.
My assumption of the difficulty or ease of a task or commitment is often wrongly calculated and not realized until I’m knee deep in figurative mud. Thankfully, when I was agreed to foster Fritz, an 11-year-old maltipoo who had been surrendered by a backyard breeder, the effort to care for a third dog (we already had two of our own) was easier than I expected. Two plus years later of fostering has taught me that this is not always the case and unfortunate surprises often happen.
Fritz had spent his life in cages being forced to breed without much love or affection from his owners. He was scared and standoffish when I picked him up but had zero aggression with anyone that came close. Fritz spent most of the time in a dog bed in our laundry room the first few days, but finally emerged from his hiding spot and joined us on the couch. He was a sweet dog who had an unfair life, until a rescue stepped up to offer him a second chance. He was a good dog.
He looked a little rough, but after a bath and groom (which was time and effort donated by a dog grooming school student), he got a new look and a new lease on life. I was told to expect to keep each foster for 3-6 months, which was an estimate dependent on any ailments that needed healing and how quick someone would put in an application for them, but Fritz was adopted fast. Once he was healed from his neutering and I got a good sense of his personality and quirks, I put him up for adoption. Within days of being available, a nice woman put in an application. After spending less than a month with me, Fritz had moved into the woman’s retirement home where he now spends his own retirement years surrounded by love and peace.
Hours after I said goodbye to Fritz, I picked up my second foster (and first foster fail). I was hooked.