Foster Parents Save Animals’ Lives

Have you longed to raise puppies or kittens but haven’t because you know there are healthy dogs and cats still being put to death each year? What if you could help animals and enjoy raising a litter at the same time?

Each year, kittens and puppies are born with no one to take care of them. Most humane organizations cannot take care of underage puppies and kittens because they do not have the personnel to provide the special attention these little ones need. They need people who are willing to raise the puppies and kittens until they are 8 to 10 weeks old when they can be returned to the shelter to be spayed or neutered and placed in permanent homes. At Pets In Need, our ability to take in these abandoned animals is directly dependent on the number of reliable foster volunteers we have waiting to take these babies home to raise. The more foster volunteers we have, the more lives we can save.

Our foster volunteers are a rugged group of very caring people who do everything from bottle feeding orphaned babies around the clock, to socializing little ones to ensure that they look forward to human and animal interaction. We also depend on these special volunteers to observe the animals in their care and to alert our Medical Director to any medical situations that arise. At Pets In Need, we provide the food, supplies and medical care for all of our foster animals. The foster volunteers provide care, safety and love.

As fun and rewarding as fostering is, there are sometimes heartaches. Foster volunteers must also face the hard fact that they cannot save every animal. When that happens, they are consoled with the knowledge that, without their help, their puppies or kittens would not have had a chance at all. Thousands of puppies and kittens get a new chance at life each year with the help of foster volunteers.

Not too long ago, I personally took on a little pup who was born with a cleft palate. He was unable to suckle like his sister, but he refused to give up. My daughter named him Picasso, and I started feeding him every two hours around the clock. Choking and sneezing accompanied nearly every meal due to the malformation. A friend even provided special baby bottles for him. When he was eight weeks old, he had surgery to correct the cleft palate. His recovery was painful, but he continued to fight and is now eating soft food and doing quite well.

Watching Picasso fight to live was an incredible experience for me. Without knowing what life has in store for him, Picasso showed me over and over again that he wants to live.

Very few foster experiences are as complicated as Picasso’s, but they are all about giving puppies or kittens a new chance at life. As you watch these animals embrace life, your kindness and love will be repaid.

If you have the time and can allocate some space in your home for puppies or kittens, call Pets In Need or any humane organization and volunteer to help. It will be a labor of love that will leave you with great memories to cherish long after your foster animals have been placed into permanent loving homes.

 
Founded in 1965, Pets In Need receives no federal, state or local government support.

Published in the San Mateo County Times, September 6, 2002