The call was on the office answering machine first thing Saturday morning. “Mary” had found a lost dog wandering near her home. It was a young female, frightened and very pregnant. Planning to search for the owners later, Mary took the dog home. The puppies were born that night—not all of them breathing. Fortunately, Mary had experience with newborn pups, and she was able to revive the still ones. The next morning, she let the new mother outside to do her business. The young dog ran straight into the road and was struck by a passing car.
Every week, cats and dogs arrive at Miranda’s Rescue to await adoption. Some are strays, some have been neglected, some given up by their family for one reason or another. Most of them soon adjust to life at the shelter; a few even seem to like the hubbub of it and the excitement of being around so many other animals.
Others, though, cannot make the adjustment. These include the very young, the elderly, and those too timid to cope with the sometimes chaotic environment around them. What they need, short of immediate adoption, is a safe place to wait for a permanent home—a foster home.
By late Saturday morning plans were being made for the care of the puppies. Mary would drop them off by noon, and they would be picked up by one of Miranda’s volunteers, who would feed and care for them that night. Another volunteer, a nurse at St. Joseph’s, had a co-worker in mind who had experience raising very young pups. She put in a call to see if her friend could help. At about 11:30, the puppies arrived at the shelter. Just fed and sound asleep in their bed of towels in a plastic tote, they had no idea that their next few weeks were being mapped out for them as they snoozed.
There is no typical fostering experience. Fostering is different for every person, for every pet, and for every situation. Some animals require lots of attention. Others, especially older animals, easily fit into their foster family’s home and routine.For Penny, who would care for the six puppies arriving at Miranda’s Rescue that morning, a lot of work lay ahead. Newborn kittens and puppies have tiny bellies and need frequent and regular feedings to fuel their rapid growth. They may also need help passing waste and keeping clean, duties that their mother usually takes care of. The demands of hand-raising a litter have a wonderful payback, though: within a few weeks, the midnight feedings are traded in for a houseful of rambunctious and entertaining youngsters who will be fixed, vaccinated, and placed in good homes by the Rescue.
Before they could even walk, the puppies had an interesting life. They went to work at St. Joe’s with their new mother, delighting staff and patients. They also got visitors at home. By the time they were a month old, some of the pups already had good homes waiting. By the time they were two months old, they all did. They never even had to return to the shelter.
Many of our foster parents end up adopting the pets they care for, and while this is great for the pet, it usually means that we have lost a foster home. And this means that we are always looking for new ones.
For most of our animals, waiting for adoption in a foster home is the ideal situation. They are protected from the elements and the rigors of shelter life, while at the same time exposed to potential adopters via the internet and adoption events. They are less likely to pick up bad habits and more likely to make a successful transition to a permanent home than animals who spend a lot of time in a shelter. And love, the goal of every shelter animal, is something they can find not someday but today.
The pups have all moved on to their permanent homes now. A couple of them were adopted by Penny’s colleagues, and she’ll get to watch them grow up. But even the ones she never sees again will always be family and have a place in her memories. The relationships forged in fostering may be temporary, but they are very real.
If you can provide a loving temporary home for a shelter animal, please contact Miranda’s Rescue at 725-4449. In addition to regular foster parents, we would be happy to hear from people who are interested in being “on call” to provide a short-term haven in emergency situations.