Last month we sold our house and the timing of the subject
removal coincided with the four month anniversary week of Annie passing away.
Annie and I had spent her whole life together in that home, so it was a very
emotional few days for me. Needless to say, there was lots of walking around
mournfully and listening to sad music while looking through Annie’s scrapbook. This
also timed with my puppy-sitting my friend’s dog, Eddie, the inspiration for
Moose in Never Knowing. After he went
home the house felt profoundly silent and I realize how much I missed having a
doggie companion.
We were in the middle of moving, so it wasn’t good time for
us to be looking as we can’t adopt yet (nor am I ready as I swiftly realized),
but I started checking out some rescue sites.
It continually shocks and saddens me the things humans do to innocent
animals (people as well, but for the purpose of this blog, we’re talking about
animals). And I had to stop reading the
sites with their sad stories as I was becoming very depressed. But I was also
touched by all the selfless people who are out there doing everything they can
to help all the unwanted, abused, and neglected animals. That’s not an easy
task.
I try to help when I can, donating to the SPCA and
other animal organizations, but I have to be careful to shield myself from seeing
anything too harsh, images or stories, as I can’t get the information out of my
head and become very upset. So I have a lot of respect for those who are out
there in the trenches, working at the shelters, investigating cruelty cases,
forming rescue groups, transporting animals, and fostering and rehabbing
animals, so they have a better chance of finding a forever home.
When I was in my “torture myself by looking at dogs online”
phase, I came across Pickles, an adorable puppy, and fell instantly in love
with her crazy ears and cute-as-can be face. In August she’d been abandoned by
her owners and was hit by a car. She was still recovering at a foster home,
with more surgery and rehab in her future. Her goofy little smile kind of reminds
me of Annie, but there’s also just something about her puppy optimism and
fun-loving nature, despite what she’s endured, that reminds me of why I love
animals so much. They’re so forgiving, so loving, so in the NOW.
There’s a great lesson in that.
I sent Pickles some presents (photos are on her blog) and I
think I got more pleasure looking at those photos than she did opening them.
Another aspect of Pickle’s story that touched me was that even though she’d
been abandoned by her original owners, who could’ve just taken her to a
shelter, showing the worst of humanity, many people have rallied to help her.
Shelter staff, Bully Buddies (a rescue group), her vet clinic, others have
donated towards her surgery and rehab, and she’s also got a fantastic foster
mom who started a blog for her (Pickles can really work a keyboard, let me tell
you).
That’s another thing that amazed me, the dedication of
foster moms. They invest enormous amounts of time, energy, and love into an
animal that they will one day see off to another home (though, many end up
staying at their foster homes).I know how challenging it was nursing Annie
after multiple surgeries, so I found it heart warming to know that there are
people out there willing to do that for a dog who wasn’t even their own. I also
wanted to know more about fostering, wondering if it’s something I would be
able to do in the future, and became e-pen pals with Simone, who’s Pickles’
foster mom. She kindly agreed to let me
interrogate, I mean interview, her for my blog.
You can read out interview below, and if you’d like to learn
more about Pickles (trust me, her blog is so freaking sweet it will make your
teeth hurt), or make a donation to her rehab (someone has some swimming in her
future), you can click on this link.
Chevy:
When did you start fostering? And what drew you to
that process?
Simone:
I started fostering
almost 10 years ago. I was sitting at the vet with my newly-adopted puppy,
Charlie, and spotted a poster saying that they were looking for foster homes
for rabbits. I’ve had pet rabbits my whole life but wasn’t in a position to add
another permanent one to my family. I figured it would be something fun and
rewarding to do. I sent an email and 2 days later Fluffy moved in. Since then
we had over 1000 animals come through our doors. Some just stayed a few days,
others for several years.
Chevy:
What do you find the most rewarding part of opening
up your home to a foster animal, and what is the most difficult? Personally,
I’d have a hard time letting go, I think.
Simone:
Most of our foster
animals were literally one step away from death due to no fault of their own.
They get a second chance simply by us giving them a safe, temporary place to
stay.
It is especially
rewarding when you foster an animal like Pickles who is in such rough shape and
then you see her take little baby steps every day until she is fully recovered.
Letting go is hard,
no question about that. The longer you have them with you, the more attached
you get. I often warn adopters that I’ll be crying like a baby but that I’ll be
just fine. It’s not the first time and it won’t be the last time.
The groups I foster
for, screen the homes very carefully and let me have a say too so I know
that they are going to a good home where they will be safe and much loved. That
makes letting go a lot easier. I often get updates from previous fosters and
some adopters have become very close friends.
Letting go means that
it opens up a spot for another one who is just one step away from death. If I
adopted, it means I couldn’t help as many animals.Each one of them is
so different and you can learn a lot about training, behavior, medical issues
etc.
Chevy:
What kind of animals have you fostered over the
years? Any fun experiences you want to share? Elephants in the living room?
Penguins in the pantry?
Simone:
We fostered rabbits,
pet rats, chinchillas, hamsters, pet mice, cats and dogs over the years. I even
had a tarantula here temporarily before she was picked up by her regular foster
home. Given that I have arachnophobia it was pretty nerve-wracking.
Animals in general
are a lot of fun but there are always fun experiences with fosters:
-
Did you
know rats give kisses like little dogs? Did you know you can teach them tricks?
I didn’t know until I started fostering them.
-
We raised
a few litters of bunnies. There’s nothing cuter than baby bunnies!
-
Rats are
illegal in Alberta but the rescue I’m involved with managed to get a few out
alive. One of them ended up going viral. One minute I got an email from the
shelter in Alberta, next thing I knew I had CTV, Global, Metro, CBC all call
and email. Google “Matilda the rat”
-
We were
fostering a pair of rabbits who had been starved. Needless to say food became a
very crucial thing in their lives. During meal times they were so excited that
they would literally hop into the fridge and start munching on the veggies.
-
We had a
foster cat named Piggy Fluffbutt who was just about the most mellow cat ever.
We would dress him up and he happily complied.
-
Amber our
previous foster dog managed to steal a toy right out of Charlie’s mouth. In the
almost 10 years that we had him, no dog ever dared to do that. The look on his
face was priceless.
-
Waking up
to Pickles’ giant mess after she de-fluffed her dog bed and a few toys was
pretty darn hilarious! Her zoomies and play bows are also out of this world and
make us laugh all the time.
Chevy:
Do you have any advice for someone considering
becoming a foster parent?
Simone:
Think about what kind
of animal you would like to foster – Small animals, dogs, cats, exotics? Is
there a certain breed of dog that you like?
The key is to find a
reputable rescue – Make sure they screen homes well, spay/neuter prior do
adoption, provide vet care, provide support to you the foster family, are willing
to pay for obedience classes or behaviorist etc. There are a lot of rescues out there for just
about any animal but unfortunately there are black sheep among rescues too so
make sure you do a bit of research beforehand.
Have an open
discussion with the rescue about your level of experience and the type of
animal you can handle. At the same time there might be issues that you cannot
handle. If you foster for a reputable rescue, they are more than willing to
find a good match for you and your family. I for example cannot foster intact
male dogs as my own dog doesn’t like them. I also cannot foster dogs who bark a
lot because I live in a condo. On the other hand I’m very comfortable doing
after surgery care, giving meds, don’t mind housebreaking or training.
Expect to be screened
by the rescue as if you were going to adopt from them. Good rescues care
immensely about their animals and want to make sure they are in good hands.
Fostering certainly
is a commitment. It is a bit of work and it can be time consuming so make sure
that you are up for it!
Other than that, just
dive into it. Make them part of your family. Have fun. Love them. Spoil them.
Teach them. Prepare them for their forever home.
It is ok to “fail”
fostering! We all had one or more we just couldn’t let go. The ultimate goal is
to find them a forever home and sometimes that just happens to be with you.
There are many other
ways to volunteer if you are not in a position to foster. Often help is needed
with transport, fundraising, representing the rescue at an event, website,
paperwork etc. – Just get in touch with your local rescues or shelters!
Chevy: Thanks for coming by, Simone! I look forward to
reading more of Pickle’s antics on her blog.
