Sweet Ruby was held at Wake County Animal Control in protective custody because of a cruelty case. Despite her previous circumstances, she was full of kisses for Joanne!
Why foster? It’s something I have contemplated MANY times over the past 14+ years I’ve been fostering pets. MANY times. LOL There’s so many reasons not to, frankly. So many. But you know what? There are equally as many reasons TO.
I signed up to foster the day I adopted my best boy, Dax, from the Wake County Animal Center (WCAC). I had previously had two dogs and a cat that had all passed away, and I was lonely. Being newly living on my own, I knew I couldn’t afford two or more, so I thought why not foster to give my guy new friends? And new friends did he have! Through fostering, I found out what an AMAZING dog he was. He was the best foster brother to countless dogs, cats, kittens and a couple puppies (to all those out there who foster puppies, you have my admiration AND condolences LOL).
My first foster through WCAC was Sugar Boy (name changed to Jilebi when he was adopted). The foster coordinator sent me this picture to ask if I wanted to give him a shot. He was a long timer on the adoption floor and was showing kennel stress.
All my friends said things like “You KNOW that’s a pit bull, right?” “Are you seriously thinking of bringing home a pit bull?” He was my first. My gateway drug, if you will. Now I’m a proud bully mom and proponent. And I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Through fostering, I learned a lot about me as well. I learned that I wanted to get more and more knowledge about animal behavior so I could work with those who needed that extra help to find their own forevers. I also became friends with another foster AND got closer to the current foster coordinator at Wake County Animal Center, so that when that position came open, the two of them encouraged me to go for the job. And I got it. That was 13 years ago.
So not only did I want to increase my personal knowledge, now I needed to expand my knowledge to be able to help others foster as well. Enter in bottle feeders, special needs pets, surgery recoveries, behavior cases, etc. I learned that I loved the “hard” ones. The diamonds in the rough. The grumps. These have and will always have my heart, even as I (and my personal dog) age out of being able to handle some of the harder cases. I will always fight for the hard ones. The ones who open up after they leave the scary shelter. The ones who are so stressed, they can’t hack it and try to prove it in the only way they can in the situation they’re in: growling, teeth, slapping and hissing… This is when I also learned I didn’t truly have the patience for puppies and kittens, LOL.
Gargamel (left) was a FIV/FeLV positive cat who ended up being a foster fail. And Ringly (right) was the best ringworm foster EVER.
I find the hardest parts of fostering are knowing you can’t save them all (even though NONE of them asked to be put in the situation to NEED to be saved… humans did that. Every. Single. Time), and I am only one person, so I can’t always help the ones for which I have a certain skill set. And as I age, that reality comes closer and closer that my skill sets won’t be able to be utilized for that much longer. I’m not in my 20s anymore. The physical nature of some of the foster needs just isn’t in my cards anymore. Those hard ones have always led to my proudest and most favorite moments of fostering. The boy who was so shut down here, he just sat in a corner in the yard, refusing to move. Refusing to look at anyone. The one I had in foster for 2 years and 4 months to the day before he finally went home to HIS people. After sleeping with me as his “big spoon” for two years. He has his own people.
The hospice cat Oscar (above) who had the most wonderful personality. So much so, I begged to take her home and give her the best of whatever she had left. She lived another five months, snuggling and purring her way into my heart every day. The pups and “kittehs” that have come through my home on their way to their next step; bridge fostering until their rescue could take them into their program.
Koko was Joanne’s favorite dog, a foster fail who was literally allergic to the world and also survived pyometra. Sadly, she passed away at seven years old due to complications from Myesthenia Gravis. She was the resident tester dog and public shelter rep extraordinaire.
And frankly, I owe a lot of what I’ve been able to do to the crew I had at home. My own dogs were so accepting and gracious. They were willing to be patient with the new ones, canine or feline. Several “no other dogs” dogs lived successfully with my crew because they gave them the space and time to adjust. They helped me raise bottle baby kittens as well, cleaning them in the wee hours when it was time for a meal.
Joanne’s dog Dax doing what he did best…babysitting kittens.
When I first started fostering, nothing was supplied. And assistance was limited. To be fair, the program was only about 6 to 8 months old, and the coordinator at the time had a lot on her plate. I learned a LOT on the fly and on my own. Something I would pass on to new fosters is to never be afraid to ask questions. ESPECIALLY if you are new. You don’t know what you don’t know, folks. Everything is a learning experience. Mistakes will be made. Things will happen. Lessons will be learned. Hopefully to no one’s detriment. As the coordinator of a foster program, I would MUCH rather you err on the side of caution before something bad happens than to wait until something bad happens to report it.
Yes, I have to remind myself I was there at one time. Because I was. And even now, 14+ years later, I am STILL learning every day. There’s always more to learn and none of us is perfect. Something I try to live by, and pass on to my folks is this: We didn’t create the demons they are fighting (whether medical or behavioral). We just try to fight them. And the VAST majority of the time, WE WIN. For those who think they can’t foster because they’d want to keep them all: trust me, and I say this with so much love, you WON’T want to keep every one of them. LOL. There will always be the ones you will happily say goodbye to as they leave with their new family, you breathing a sigh of relief. ALL of them will weasel into your heart in one way, shape or form. But most will be just fine with someone else. You are a bridge to their tomorrow. And there will ALWAYS be more that need your help. Thank you for fostering <3
Jack was a “big dork” Joanne fostered though a rescue group who was one of her “diamonds in the rough” cases.
Joanne has fostered with and is currently the Foster Coordinator for Wake County Animal Center in North Carolina. She has also fostered with Freedom Ride Rescue, American Bulldog Rescue, Bully Paws (sadly, now defunct), Cause for Paws, SPCA of Wake County, Safe Haven for Cats, Second Chance Pet Adoptions, and 2 Paws Up. If you’re interested in fostering, contact these organizations directly.
All images in this story are provided by the foster.
This story is part of a larger project The Highs & Lows of Fostering Animals where fosters share their stories in their own words.
