My Fosters

My heart had not been full since making the hardest decision and giving up my dog. Had I know I would be moving in with my boyfriend only a month into the future I would have been able to keep him. I still know it was the right decision and am okay, especially since I get to see him on Facebook all the time, his new dad is great and shares his journeys daily!

With my heart heavy, I came across a post, a rescue in the town over needed fosters. A foster you say, what is that? I had to dig into this, research and understand. The eyes that were staring at me from the post, were screaming “HELP”!

Before the night ended, I had been approved as a new foster home for doggos! Our first foster was set to be in the state in three weeks.

Doc is our resident rescue. He was chosen by my boyfriend and his family at the time. They went to the local rescue (a different one from where I get my fosters) they had dogs brought out to the in the “showroom” super fancy if you ask me. I remember as a kid going to the humane society and walking the long cement isle of metal cage after metal cage, and it being so loud you couldn’t think.

I guess the third dog that came out was Doc and he was perfect. Excited to see everyone but not too much and interested. That’s all it took!

There’s the sentence about how my boyfriend got his rescue, on to my story about the fosters!

When we got word our foster was here, I drove down to the rescue to pick up her up. We had already planned who it would be as we have children and dogs in the house so there are boundaries we needed to set. When I got there, The owner of the rescue explained the foster she got was different than the information that was given. She growled if anyone went near her cage. A man that was picking up his dog he just adopted was actually able to get her out of the cage but she was certainly more aggressive than hat was previously known. This all had happened just before I got there and it being our first dog I was hesitant, but only for a moment. This was the exact reason I chose to do this. To help broken dogs, to let them trust again and find a forever home. The owner gave me the choice right away and asked if I wanted a different dog, as she had many at the time. After my brief moment of caution I declined the offer and stuck to our plans. Sarah was to come home with me and we would make it work.

We are now on our 5th foster dog. This one is the only one that isn’t pitty mix, the rescue I foster for is a bully rescue. I agree with the owners sentiment. Pitbull’s get such a bad rap, and for no good reason. All of the dogs that have come into my house, broken, abused, neglected and ignored have shown they still have love to give.

What I adore about being a foster the most is matching the fosters with their new forever home. Since I usually take the dog before the owner of the rescue gets to know them, I am the one responsible for making sure the approved applicant is a good match. I haven’t had someone meet a foster and not take them home yet. This I think is due to the strict policy the rescue has in approving applicants. These dogs have horrendous backgrounds, have seen more than a domesticated animal should ever in a lifetime. I’m thankful I have not fallen victim to a family bringing a foster dog back because they did not follow the 3 3 3 rule. A dog that hasn’t had challenges in its life needs time to adapt, and you expect a dog that has been tied to a tree, teeth filed down and used as bait for fighting dogs, to love you, your dog, and all your friends…okay Karen! I shouldn’t be that harsh, the right thing to do is to bring the dog back to the rescue. Your not worthy of them!