As I write this, there is a dog on my feet. His name is Murphy and he came to us last week from the Aiken County Animal Shelter as a foster. My husband Brian and I have been foster parents to shelter animals since 2017 and Murphy is our tenth.
Some people have asked me how I am able to just “give them up” once the fostering period is over. They have the idea that somehow fostering is a sad business, but I can tell you from my experience that the opposite is true.
Each one of our temporary residents has given so much more to us than they took. Want to reduce your daily screen time? Foster some kittens! They provide hours of entertainment. Need more exercise? Foster a dog! You’ll enjoy walking so much more. Simply want company to watch tv? Foster a lap warmer – cat or dog! They don’t even care what the program is. Just by getting the animals out of the shelter, you are helping to reduce their anxiety, increase their socialization and you’re giving them a better shot at finding a stable adoptive home.
Can you foster if you already have pets? You can! We had a 14-year-old rescue, who we adopted as a puppy from another foster family, and she was great with other animals. Sadly, she passed a couple of months ago and fostering has been a great way to honor her memory and bring a little sunshine back into our quiet house.
Most of the fosters we have hosted have been spoken for. We knew going into it that we were going to have them for a short time before leaving on their transport to meet their adoptive family. Some of our fosters have needed extra attention, like bottle feeding, medication, or have been recovering from surgery, so they wouldn’t be adoptable until they got a little older or healthier. Most of these guys just need a soft place to land while permanent arrangements are made. There is only so much the shelter staff can do.
Can you be a foster and then change your mind? Of course you can! Actually, I should tell you that we’ve decided not to foster Murphy anymore. It wasn’t an easy decision. We’ve been thinking it over since we got him. He’s loving and sweet, a good listener, house broken, and crate trained. He loves to ride shotgun. Sometimes he sleeps upside down with his legs straight up in the air, but most of the time he follows me in search of tasty treats. Why, you might ask, would we no longer want to foster this amazing dog??? To be honest, the reason is purely selfish. We just couldn’t give him up and that’s really the best part of being a foster parent. Sometimes you get to keep them.
Their lives are in our hands.
by Erica Sanders, Foster Mom