When you decide to foster a dog, it’s not a decision that is taken lightly. By committing to fostering, you are signing yourself up for possible behavior struggles, an abundance of emotions, and probably lots of pee pads… and it’s all more than worth it! With any behavior struggles that are encountered, it’s your job to help the puppy adjust to this new, BETTER, stable life. The countless emotions you will feel are ultimately all positive! From the joy of being a part of saving them, to the happiness as you watch them adapt and grow. Now for the pee pads, well, you’ll just want to have a lot of them.
Saving one life to help save even more
One of my favorite quotes is, “Fostering one dog will not change the world, but surely for that one dog, the world will change forever.” And honestly, if you’ve committed to fostering, you are not only saving one particular dog, you are saving LOTS! When you take one dog into your home, you are allowing more room within the shelter to take in and save even more dogs.
Beyond that, most rescue organizations don’t have a facility or the means to “hold” the animals that they save. The dogs that come their way are never-ending, and without fosters, their hands are tied and they are unable to help them.
Your dog as a mentor
Every dog that you foster will come from a different background and often times, inside manners and socialization skills are minimal. By having another dog in the home, one that is comfortable and happy, they can act as a mentor for the foster dog. This may be seen in very subtle ways, such as what to do when someone enters the room, how we handle people knocking at the door, or simply feeling comfortable moving between outside and inside, the list goes on.
However, what I didn’t expect to encounter when I began fostering, was the impact the foster dogs would have on my own dog. With each new dog we brought into our home, I saw my dog gaining patience that she definitely didn’t have before. Allowing puppies to jump on her or take her toy away, things that she wouldn’t have tolerated in the past became things she didn’t blink an eye over. The bottom line is, both dogs impact one another in positive ways.
Overload of feelings
I will be honest with you and say that the emotions that are tied to fostering can be intense. My own experiences have shown me that you feel sadness and anger for the situation the dog is coming from. Nine times out of ten, foster dogs come from less than ideal experiences. However, once you have them in your home, you’re filled with excitement accompanied by a small amount of stress and worry for the journey you’re starting. As you begin to care for and watch the foster grow, the worry will begin to fade and your heart can only feel an abundance of love. With that in mind, the absolute hardest part is the goodbye. Hence the phrase “foster fail,” it’s more than common to fall in love with the pup and not be able to let them go. If you can, however, you are sending them off to the start of their best life yet. Although it is beyond sad, it’s also an unexplainably joyous feeling to have been able to change their world and be a part of their happily ever after.
