So I'm fostering another dog... Any other fosters out here?

ebayaddict0127

We have two rescue dogs and two rescue cats. The beagle rescue we got our girl from asked us in November if we could foster a guy on death row. I couldn't say no. We had him until last week and he found his forever family. I told the rescue we wanted to wait until after our trip to Europe (March) before we fostered again. Well.. another dog was on death row and we took him.

He's 10 years old and hyper as heck. I swear my dogs looked at me like "Mom are you serious with this? Again???" Things were calming down with the last foster having left and here we are with another.

Any other foster parents out there to swap stories?

CountDown321

I couldn't do it for several reasons, but mostly because I couldn't stop myself from being a dog hoarder.

Thanks for looking after some sweet pooches!

bloodhoundlady

I have dogs but have never fostered. I have rescued horses from the kill auctions though. My problem is giving them up, you really invest in lots of emotions with these animals. God bless you for doing the job you do. I don't think people are aware the wonderful service you do so thank you.

ktsmom430

I couldn't foster either. Too hard to give them up. We did take in a resue dog in November 2012 though. She was 9 then, 10 now. A little Maltese, Bella, only 5# who was abused. There is a special place in hell for a person that would abuse an animal

gunshyangel78

I'm a (dog) foster mom. I'm involved with great Pyrenees rescue. You know the great big white polar bear dogs? Yup they are pyrs. 100lbs plus of doggy love! Hubby and I have fostered 20 +/- over our 5 years in foster. I've foster failed 3 times. I'm a sucker for the ones with emotional, separation anxiety issues.

cmriverside

ugh. I used to volunteer at a shelter and I was also on the Foster list. There is always another animal on Death Row. I had to give it up because it just got to me after a few years of that, and it is exceedingly difficult to not want to keep some of them who you know won't get another home.

You're doing a difficult job. I'm not emotionally able to handle any more of that.

I understand wanting to help - I still want to help - but I feel I did my part for a long enough time.

brad2021hk

We fostered German Shepherds. We already had one we adopted from the rescue group. The first foster dog, my wife loved, and I really liked him too. We both cried when he got adopted. Then he got returned, and we ended up keeping him. We've had them both for about 4 years now.

After that, we fostered 5 other dogs. It was easier to give those up since we already had two of our own. One was almost a keeper. Three is definitely too many long term dogs for our house. Now that we have a baby in the house, we don't have the energy and don't want to deal with the potential risk of unknown dogs.

DamianaKitten

I don't foster dog, although I do have one rescue dog. I take in abandoned baby kittens, bottle feed them, tend to them, and then find them homes. This last litter has been rough, though, because I lost 3/4 babies, and the fourth tried to claw out my eye yesterday. She's cute, and we're keeping her.

I really wish people would just spay and neuter their pets. I know that doesn't solve the issue with feral animals, but there are so many animals that are in shelters because someone "doesn't believe" in altering their pets. Or someone who though that "just one litter, so she knows what it's like to be a mother!" was a good reason, or "so my kids can see the miracle of life!" was a good reason to put even more animals into the world. It just makes me angry.

lisalsd1

I found some kittens once...only a few days old. My friend and I fostered...we tried to give them to a rescue, but they were all full. SO, we ended up with 3 kittens. I had to feed them with a syringe, and massage them to use the bathroom. They were that young! Amazingly, all 3 survived (including the one kitten that had fallen into a bucket of motor oil when found!). I was able to rehome all 3 by placing ads on the local newspaper's website. I vetted all of the new owners. I corresponded with everyone for a week or so, met them in person...totally cool people. I don't want to go through that again (oh, I had a 9 month old baby at home AND 4 cats of my own at the time).

I volunteer at a cat shelter twice a month now. NO MORE STRAYS at my house. EVER!

sundog10

I foster for a rescue group that pulls from Eastern Wa. Their shelters are so overcrowded and we hold adoption events near Seattle. I love fostering; I cry everytime my fosters find their forever home; Fostering is so rewarding and while, yes it is so hard to see them leave, it leaves a place in your home for another foster that might not have found their way otherwise. and of course, my third foster was when i caved in and couldn't let him leave. He was the one that had trust issues but now his little personality changed so much; he is a happy happy dog doing fun dog things

ebayaddict0127

I couldn't do it for several reasons, but mostly because I couldn't stop myself from being a dog hoarder.

Thanks for looking after some sweet pooches!

I thought I couldn't give up our last foster, but he is absolutely THRIVING in his new home. I cried the day he left, but I'm so happy to see him in his forever home.

ebayaddict0127

I couldn't foster either. Too hard to give them up. We did take in a resue dog in November 2012 though. She was 9 then, 10 now. A little Maltese, Bella, only 5# who was abused. There is a special place in hell for a person that would abuse an animal

Anyone who abuses an animal is not a human being.

rijana12

I used to foster kittens for a local shelter in my city. Basically, I would take care of them until they were old enough to get spayed/neutered and then were put up for adoption. It was hard because I would get so attached. My last batch of kittens all had parvo and ended up passing away. It was very hard for me, so I stopped fostering for a little while, but do want to get back into it. I have saved a few strays I found as well. One particular "mitten" kitten that I saved is now happily living with my downstairs neighbors. I personally have 2 cats and a dog. My cats were both rescues that I found. I'm glad to see so many other people willing to help save these animals!

CindyRip

I foster, I am currently on hold because I have 5 dogs, but will return when my numbers get down again. If you are looking for stories, here is my Callie's story from my blog.

Inspiration in an Unlikely Package.

A friend suggested I blog this as an inspirational motivation and lesson for others. I hope you find inspiration in it as I have. -- I have been introducing my dogs as I post their pics to a select few friends and this is Callie's story.

. -- The dog in the middle is my Callie. She is a dog I fostered in the beginning. When she came to me she was so thin you could see her hips working when she moved. Holding her was like holding a skeleton. The person who had her originally had a pair of shelties and apparently they were both hit by a car one day when they got out of the house. The vet originally thought Callie had died but it was her mate instead. She kept running away from that home and then another one and they accrued $500.00 in fines for a loose dog running. The family then put her out on a farm for a year and just let her run with a pack of dogs, when I first got her it was clear she had to fight for her food, hence why she was so thin I'm sure cause the other dogs were bigger than her. She had little to no person contact while out on that farm. When the family was forced to turn her over to the Humane Society the vet had to cut off all her hair, she has scars all over her body, it is kind of sad. They called me to rehab her back to an adoptable point knowing it could be long term. When I went to get her at the vets office they had let her out into a small exercise yard with an enclosed high fence, and the vet and her assistant could not catch her for over 30 min. They had a ton of people waiting in the office. The vet finally came to the door of her office (the exercise pen has a door that opens to her office) and I was standing behind at least 5 other people and their animals. She apologized for calling me saying she did not think I was going to be able to take her because they could not catch her. During that little speech Callie came in the door to the office, stopped at the door by the vet, looked at me through all those people and walked to me, curled up between my feet and stayed there. The vet was shocked, and decided to let me try to work with her. When I got home my Lexie and Kira took over and immediately and welcomed her here. She has never tried to run away from here even though she has had many chances. She has, I am sure she suffers from a form PTSD from her experiences, she used to go into a trance and when she snapped out of them she would start fighting my other dogs, she had an intense fear of cars and any noise they make, she was afraid of storms, but we have overcome all that. It was never my desire to keep her but one day we had a huge thunderstorm and she was so afraid she trembled. My Lexie and Kira moved on either side of her and maneuvered her to a corner away from the windows then all 3 of them laid down and calmly waited out the storm. It was then that I knew I could not send her to another home that might not be able to understand what she needed to help her be her best. So she became dog number 3 here. Through it all she is always happy, she makes me feel her greatest joy is seeing me at any moment of the day. She has lasting physical difficulties and pain from her experience but it never stops her. She has been an inspiration to me when I feel that I just can't go on, she reminds me that with the help of friends we can scale mountains, in what seems like a hopeless situation miricles can happen, and a positive attitude can save your life. So I guess in the end she was meant to come here to stay because we were her forever home.

airangel59

I used to.

Fostered ex racing Greyhounds off the track for one of the local Greyhound groups here in Tucson, Az. Had 22 foster girls come thru my doors (this is in addition to my own rescued dogs, Airedales & Greyhound).

Ended up adopting my last foster after she was returned to the group, and then having 3 dogs total, Brook was my last foster. Down to 2 dogs now but not doing any fostering.

Some were easier to let go of, knowing then I could foster another while that pup went to it's forever home. Some were harder and yes, I shed a few tears:sad: as they got adopted, some families did keep in touch which is always nice.

heronh

My boyfriend and I are regular foster family for huskies. I know its painful and hard to turn down a death row dog. But we want to make the fostering experience as pleasant as can be for all parties involved and taking in a dog when its not at the.best of circumstance might cause resentment and added stress. I know we can't save all of them but we save what we can manage and we can live with that. People are always surprised when they see a show quality pure bred husky that needs rescue. Huskies are gorgeous dog and most of them are not for the novice dog owners. I always tell people owning a husky is a lifestyle change, but I love huskies and I enjoy fostering. Being able to meet different personalities really hones ones training skills. Fostering shy skittish ones teaches you patience and to celebrate the small victories no matter how small it might be, its still progress. I.e being able to look at me, taking a treat from my hand or not cowering when there are sudden hand movement.
My huskies and the fosters also learn from each other. My favorite moment is when the fosters and my dogs accepted each other and starts "talking" to me all at once. Huskies don't really bark but they love to be vocal in a yodel/howl.
People ask me how can I "give them up" I'd tell them because the joy you get when you place a dog is awesome. The family is thrilled and my fosters are happy. And trust me dogs get over the transition faster than humans. Lol
I still get updates from some of the new families and I love hearing from them and learning how they are behaving in their new environment. It shows me how resilient and adaptable they are.
I wish I could tell all my fosters how proud I am of them and how all of them have a place in my heart forever.

So for all those who are thinking about fostering, try it. Go in knowing that the foster is not your dog but also how happy you'd make some other family ! Also understand that you can't save every dog and choose the foster that you can handle that will fit into your lifestyle. Spread the joy of dog companionship!!!

craftywitch_63

We have two rescue dogs and two rescue cats. The beagle rescue we got our girl from asked us in November if we could foster a guy on death row. I couldn't say no. We had him until last week and he found his forever family. I told the rescue we wanted to wait until after our trip to Europe (March) before we fostered again. Well.. another dog was on death row and we took him.

He's 10 years old and hyper as heck. I swear my dogs looked at me like "Mom are you serious with this? Again???" Things were calming down with the last foster having left and here we are with another.

Any other foster parents out there to swap stories?

I have sooooo much respect for you! Foster parents of any species are the best!! :flowerforyou:

I've fostered dogs and cats in the past, but right now I have my limit. I have 5 dogs and 4 cats, all rescues. The last rescue is my pit mix puppy, Thor. I adopted him from the animal shelter. If I had any more I think I'd have a nasty visit from animal control. Luckily I live in a rural area, so the dogs have a large, fenced yard. (The cats stay indoors!) I've worked with animal sanctuaries and rescue organizations in helping place animals.

Good luck with the hyper beagle! I know you'll find him a good forever home.

craftywitch_63

I foster, I am currently on hold because I have 5 dogs, but will return when my numbers get down again. If you are looking for stories, here is my Callie's story from my blog.

Inspiration in an Unlikely Package.

A friend suggested I blog this as an inspirational motivation and lesson for others. I hope you find inspiration in it as I have. -- I have been introducing my dogs as I post their pics to a select few friends and this is Callie's story.

. -- The dog in the middle is my Callie. She is a dog I fostered in the beginning. When she came to me she was so thin you could see her hips working when she moved. Holding her was like holding a skeleton. The person who had her originally had a pair of shelties and apparently they were both hit by a car one day when they got out of the house. The vet originally thought Callie had died but it was her mate instead. She kept running away from that home and then another one and they accrued $500.00 in fines for a loose dog running. The family then put her out on a farm for a year and just let her run with a pack of dogs, when I first got her it was clear she had to fight for her food, hence why she was so thin I'm sure cause the other dogs were bigger than her. She had little to no person contact while out on that farm. When the family was forced to turn her over to the Humane Society the vet had to cut off all her hair, she has scars all over her body, it is kind of sad. They called me to rehab her back to an adoptable point knowing it could be long term. When I went to get her at the vets office they had let her out into a small exercise yard with an enclosed high fence, and the vet and her assistant could not catch her for over 30 min. They had a ton of people waiting in the office. The vet finally came to the door of her office (the exercise pen has a door that opens to her office) and I was standing behind at least 5 other people and their animals. She apologized for calling me saying she did not think I was going to be able to take her because they could not catch her. During that little speech Callie came in the door to the office, stopped at the door by the vet, looked at me through all those people and walked to me, curled up between my feet and stayed there. The vet was shocked, and decided to let me try to work with her. When I got home my Lexie and Kira took over and immediately and welcomed her here. She has never tried to run away from here even though she has had many chances. She has, I am sure she suffers from a form PTSD from her experiences, she used to go into a trance and when she snapped out of them she would start fighting my other dogs, she had an intense fear of cars and any noise they make, she was afraid of storms, but we have overcome all that. It was never my desire to keep her but one day we had a huge thunderstorm and she was so afraid she trembled. My Lexie and Kira moved on either side of her and maneuvered her to a corner away from the windows then all 3 of them laid down and calmly waited out the storm. It was then that I knew I could not send her to another home that might not be able to understand what she needed to help her be her best. So she became dog number 3 here. Through it all she is always happy, she makes me feel her greatest joy is seeing me at any moment of the day. She has lasting physical difficulties and pain from her experience but it never stops her. She has been an inspiration to me when I feel that I just can't go on, she reminds me that with the help of friends we can scale mountains, in what seems like a hopeless situation miricles can happen, and a positive attitude can save your life. So I guess in the end she was meant to come here to stay because we were her forever home.

I don't cry easily but there are tears in my eyes from your beautiful story. This is an amazing story. Thank you for sharing it.