Dear Porky and Buddy,
I was reading the Oswego County Humane Society newsletter and they talked about needing more foster homes for rescued animals.
I was thinking about volunteering to do that, but here is my dilemma.
I get REALLY attached to animals and while I would like to help, I don’t know how I, or anyone for that matter, could give a dog or cat up after caring for it for a while.
For one thing, how could I be sure that it was really going to a good home?
What if the dog or cat missed me and didn’t do well in its new
home?
I love adopting rescued animals for myself, but I am just really conflicted about how it will feel
to foster them for someone else.
Kelly
Dear Kelly,
Adopting a rescued pet and fostering a recused pet are not the same thing and it’s important to remember that.
When you adopt a rescued animal, you get the joy and satisfaction of giving a forever home to a homeless or abandoned pet.
No small thing.
But when you foster rescued pets, you get the joy and
satisfaction finding forever homes for lots of homeless or abandoned pets – a much bigger thing.
Here is some background.
In Oswego County there is no county wide animal shelter.
There is the City of Oswego Animal Shelter, which also contracts with a few surrounding towns for dog services.
And there is United Friends of Homeless Animals, a small shelter in Richland.
Both do a great job.
The local dog control officers in other towns in the county also do their best to find homes for stray dogs.
But for cats in the rest of the county and for surrendered dogs, there is no sheltering program except for the foster-based rescues, like the Oswego County Humane Society.
That’s why volunteer foster homes are so critical to saving homeless pets in Oswego County.
Your job as the foster parent is to provide food, shelter, exercise, socialization and love.
When you foster for OCHS, all vet care is covered by us.
Food, litter, supplies and equipment can be provided if you need them.
If you are concerned about their future home, remember we take care of the adoption process,
you can be involved with that if you want, but new homes for pets are carefully checked out.
It’s not easy to say good-bye but the point of providing that temporary home is so another animal can take its place and be saved, too.
If for any reason the pet is not a good fit in its new home – it can be returned, and you might have an opportunity to foster it again.
Most adopters are happy to stay in touch with you and send you photos and updates about their new love.
You can bask vicariously in their happiness.
And . . . if you really fall hard in love with one of your fosters, yes you can adopt that pet.
OCHS calls that a “foster fail,” but we think it is really an “adoption success.”
So, think about it.
Why just adopt (and save) one homeless pet when you can foster (and save) many?
About Oswego County Humane Society
We provide services to promote and strengthen the human-animal bond through fostering-to-adoption programs, spay/neuter clinics, and humane education.
The Oswego County Humane Society is designated under IRS code 501(c)3 as a charitable organization: 161586001 and registered with the New York State Charities Bureau: 06-70-81.
Our registration number with the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets is RR239.
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