Whenever I tell people I foster puppies, I inevitably hear, “Awww! But I could never foster, I’d want to keep them all.” And I always think, “No, you wouldn’t. Because puppies are A LOT of work.”
Don’t get me wrong – I LOVE puppies, and I love fostering, because I get to perpetually have adorable, playful puppies without all the responsibility of raising them to adulthood. But the flip side and reality of puppies is that in addition to being irresistible balls of cuteness, they also pee and poop A LOT; they can be noisy, and they like to chew…on everything. They are like managing human toddlers.
So, at the end of the foster period, usually between 3-5 weeks, I’m typically ready for my puppies to go to their perfect forever homes, which I’ve had a hand in selecting. That doesn’t mean I don’t love or miss the pups; I definitely do, but I also know that as they’re growing, they need more than I can provide, primarily space to run (I live in a townhouse).
When I talk to potential adopters, I look for them to provide something I can’t. I want my pups to go to forever homes that are as good, and preferably even better than my own. I’m never short of love for the puppies, but as I said, I live in a townhouse. So if I’m fostering labs or shepherd mixes, I know they will have better permanent living situations with families who have yards.
Likewise, if a puppy is super social and loves little kids, I look for adoptive families with young kids. I have two teenagers who spend half their time with me and half their time at their dad’s. Our home is relatively quiet, and as you’d probably guess, teenagers have other interests besides playing with puppies nonstop.
Conversely, I have fostered adult dogs in the past who did better in quiet homes or with empty nesters. Each dog/puppy has its own personality and needs, and those of us in rescue do our best to find an adoptive family that matches those needs for a forever fit.
The most rewarding part of fostering is knowing I’m helping open space in shelters for other dogs and hopefully giving the shelters more time to find those pups forever homes. Once a dog or puppies have reached rescue, they are safe; they are no longer in danger of being euthanized for space.
Additionally, all dogs that go to rescue are spayed/neutered, so they will not contribute future unwanted litters to already overcrowded shelters.
If you have ever considered fostering but worried you’d get too attached to your rescue pup, I’d encourage you to sign up with a rescue to do vacation or temporary fostering, which could be anywhere from a day or two to a week while the regular foster is unavailable.
Vacation/temp fostering allows you to dip your toe into the water without a long-term time or emotional commitment. You can gauge if longer term fostering might be for you or possibly stay on as a temporary foster, which is a huge help to rescues during the holidays and summer when people travel more.
Kreitzer’s Critter Corral Puppy Rescue and Faith, Hope & Love Animal Rescue NC are both currently dealing with expensive vet bills from multiple rescue puppies with parvo virus, which is highly contagious and has been rampant in the area this summer. We at Big Hearts Big Barks Foundation encourage you to foster, adopt, or donate with either of these rescues.
This summer, Carolina Big Hearts Big Barks Rescue transitioned to Big Hearts Big Barks Foundation with a mission to raise money for underfunded animal shelters, reputable rescues, and other dog-related nonprofits like Shelter to Soldier. The Foundation is also working to implement a community-based spay/neuter program.
Timina is the full time Personal Assistant/Mom to her rescue pitty Stella. She also has two human teenagers and works as a content strategist.
The views, thoughts and opinions expressed by our writers belong solely to them
and do not represent LKNConnect.com, its publisher or its staff.
