National Foster a Pet Month

Posting this *barely in time to celebrate National Foster a Pet Month (June). I'm sharing a stat from Petco Love shows what it'll take to end preventable euthanasia in pets at shelters and rescues in America. Fostering greatly expands capacity to help more animals. While loving on our most recent foster puppies — The Wonder Twins — foster volunteers for our local shelter had 120 animals in their homes. We even ended up keeping Zan and Jayna an extra 5 days because the shelter was FULL. What's the shocking stat, how can you help, and how to I answer things people say to me about fostering? Keep reading to find out. Plus, cute pix and videos!

17 and Counting

Since 2019, we've fostered a total of 17 puppies, including the first one (we kept). Long story.

Keeping Mr. Stix, with whom I've been through SO much, means we can ONLY foster puppies because we're at the "legal limit" of 3 adult dogs.

It's silly because we live in a rural area, but those are the rules. Otherwise, we would also foster more injured or older dogs too.

BUT, a lot of people don't enjoy puppyhood the way we do, so it works out fine. And, our social, puppy tolerant dogs mostly enjoy the tiny visitors and are careful with them and teach them so many things dogs can only learn from other dogs. 

2% - That's the National Foster a Pet Stat I Want You to Consider

Petco Love says, "If just 2% of pet-owning households in the U.S. fostered a pet, we could eliminate preventable euthanasia."

It's a really great volunteer gig. We have SO much fun with our foster puppies. These last 2 — The Wonder Twins — were as close to perfect houseguests we've ever had. They stayed with us 19 days and were pure joy.

C'mon! Look how cute they are! Each of them got adopted within hours of going up for adoption. 

We named them The Wonder Twins (Zan and Jayna) from the animated super hero twins of my childhood. Their catch phrase was "Wonder Twins powers activate!" when they bumped their fists together. 

Our little tri-color Australian Shepherd twins each weighed about 4 pounds when they first came to us. 

Jayna got up to 9 pounds. She's the one a stub-tail. Zan got up to 8 pounds. He has a cute tail with a teeny white tip. So cute and such a wiggle-wagger. 

I always assumed Australian Shepherds with stub-tails were docked, but maybe she was born that way. There were 2 other puppies in the litter. I don't know if they had tails or not. I asked, and I didn't get any replies. 

The #1 Thing People Say About Fostering

"I could never give them up!"

Yes, you can. That's the job, and honestly, it gets easier the more you do it. 

And, as I say every time I post about our foster puppies going off for adoption, "Love is a renewable resource. The more you give the more you generate."

Plus, it's really good practice for facing and recovering from life's ups and downs.

Also !!! Many shelters now need help fostering "protective status" pets who have owners but need a place to stay (sometimes for weeks or months at a time) while the family's life situation gets straightened out. Sometimes, that means a court case. Sometimes, that means the owner is ill or injured. Maybe you'll find it easier to foster when you know a family is waiting!?! That's really Good Samaritan stuff right there!

Other Reasons to Foster?

You can only have a limited number of pets in your own lifetime, and fostering expands that greatly. I never would have gotten to experience a teeny baby pug if I wasn't a foster puppy mom. 

It's really fun. Yes, it makes things around the house a messier and louder and more complicated, but it's also really a hoot. 

And, our own 3 dogs enjoy it, which helps a ton!

Also, and trust me on this. It's actually easier to foster more than one puppy at a time because they have each other to play with (and bite ... puppies > VERY mouthy!) Hear me saying, "No, no bitey?"

This video is of 3 of the 7 dwarfs litter that needed fostering for about a week in March 2022.

What would motivate you to begin fostering? 

2% isn't a huge goal. I think, together, we can do it.