What exactly does fostering mean? It means bringing a homeless animal into your home, caring for them, providing them with affection and socialization, until a permanent family comes along to adopt them.The benefits of fostering are numerous, and not only a wonderful thing for the animal and Paws, but can be beneficial to the one doing the fostering in so many ways!
1. Fostering saves lives:
Paws of Adams County relies solely on foster homes to determine how many animals they can take in. Fosters are crucial to Paws ability to rescue animals in neglected, unwanted circumstance. Without fosters we have no where for these animals to go.
2. You have a hand in helping make the dog more “adoptable”:
While fostering an animal, you are able to provide exercise and stimulation, grooming, vet care (at our cost), which in turn creates a calmer dog. In addition you can work with the animal on leash training, house training, or other basic command training.
3. You have the opportunity to change a dog’s future:
Paws looks for fosters for those animals who may have endured a difficult past such as abuse, cruelty, neglect, under socialization, etc. As a foster you have the chance and opportunity to gain an animals trust, show them human touch and love, perhaps for the first time. Provide an environment for them to feel safe, and watch them transform before your eyes.
4. Fostering can be great for your family:
If you have existing pets, introducing an animal can be a great experience for them as an additional companion, additional socialization, and an additional playmate! Children can benefit from fostering as a way to introduce responsibility, selflessness, a way to educate about animals, and is also a great way to “test” the idea of a permanent animal into the home in the future.
5. You become part of a wonderful “community”:
Fellow fosters from Paws will help guide you through the experience, give ideas, answer any questions, and may even become your friends! There is nothing quite like sharing experiences with those who do the same, and being part of a community of people who have like passions.
6. You will make someone’s family complete:
When the day comes, that your foster finds that perfect home, the rewarding feeling you will experience is something very special. You will feel a sense of pride, in knowing what you helped that animal accomplish in his time with you. You will feel overjoyed, that he has found his forever family, and his happy ending that all homeless animals so desire. And while certainly some goodbyes can be tough, knowing that a animal has found his happy ending, and that another precious life awaits to be afforded your gifts, is as a good of a feeling as there is!
So, change a life, save a life, and become a foster today!
All foster animals vetting, food, and other supplies are paid for by Paws.
Looking for a way to help an animal in need?
Do you love animals, but aren’t quite ready for the lifelong commitment of ownership?
Fostering might be the perfect answer for you.