You may think that I am preaching to the choir when it comes to talking to animal lovers about fostering animals for rescue organizations and shelters. But the truth is that many people who love animals think they love them too much to foster and give them up. I get it; I have been a “foster failure” in the past.

     But let me start by saying that foster parents absolutely save lives. During puppy and kitten season shelters and rescues become overwhelmed with the number of young animals that the public want to give them. Without foster parents these young and vulnerable animals are turned away to accept whatever fate awaits them or are euthanized in large numbers. When foster parents step up to give these animals a safe haven and much needed human contact, they set them up to be healthy and well socialized animals. Foster homes free up a shelter’s resources and space so that other animals may be helped. And it’s not just puppies and kittens that need foster homes. A shelter can be a very scary place for some cats and dogs and foster families provide a safe, quiet environment for an animal to recover from stress, surgery, illness or injury, etc. Often in a home setting, these animals blossom and become much more adoptable.

     I hear from people all the time that yes, fostering is a great idea but it would be too hard to foster and give them up. So let me tell you about one of my many foster experiences. In September of 2012 I was at a farm in the country checking the blood sugar of client’s diabetic dog. It was right near my favorite farm stand and I was looking forward to stopping there on my way home. One thing I have learned about animals is that they rarely check your calendar before making their appearance. After I had checked Pinky’s blood sugar on the back porch, I noticed a nearby box and started hearing squeaky noises coming from it. I inquired and was told that someone had just “dropped” it off. This is an all too common problem for people living in the country and the people at this particular farm dealt with it continuously. They did their best with the cats and kittens that showed up but were clearly overwhelmed. I looked down at these dusty and hungry kittens and simultaneously thought “The last thing I need right now are 4 kittens/I cannot leave them there - I’m taking them home.” Another thing I’ve learned is that I may be the only chance some animals get for being rescued and I can’t count on anyone else to do it. (That is also why I have driven miles out of my way to turn around and go back after seeing an animal on a highway.) So instead of coming home with peaches, filberts, strawberries and honey in my shopping bag, I came home with The Farmstand Kittens – Peach, Filbert, Strawberry and Honey in a dirty cardboard box. Back at my house, I set them up and prepared meals and a bubble bath for each. At the time I had no idea that in 4 weeks time this raggedy bunch would grow up to be the worst furry heart thieves I would ever meet.

     With the help of Greenhill Humane Society here in Eugene the kittens were tested for FeLV (feline leukemia virus), vaccinated, treated for fleas and dewormed. This was a tremendous help to me! My new little family grew up as sweet and healthy as could be imagined. I would enter their room and they would race across the room to climb up my leg, purring furiously. Or they would pile up on my lap and nap for as long as my legs wouldn’t fall asleep. In the golden afternoons I would set up a puppy exercise pen in the garden and let them play and explore. Those hours became my most favorite hours of the day. I grew incredibly attached to them and them to me.

     I’d like to say that when the day came to take them in to be adopted I congratulated myself for raising beautiful kittens and packed them up to take back, albeit with a little sadness. I knew these kittens would quickly be adopted and provide their new adoptive families with a life time of love and joy. But no, instead of that experienced animal rescue person who had done this before, I became a blubbering, crying, snorting, hiccupping, emotional mess. It was not pretty. I would decide to pack them up immediately and take them in and then one second later “No! I’m keeping everyone of them!”  Finally with the help of supportive Facebook messages, emails, tweets, text messages and phone calls my sanity was restored and I was able to take them to the shelter. My friends and family had gotten me through those dark hours and reminded me why I fostered in the first place. I did feel much better afterwards but not until a few days later. And all 4 kittens were adopted within a day or two of returning to the shelter after being spayed or neutered.

     My point is – I will never let the sadness and missing them stop me from taking on another little one or litter that needs my help, It is not easy to say good bye but I would have felt much worse NOT fostering them and wondering what kind of life they would have had as stray cats at the mercy of a big unsafe world.  And you know what, when I get the next call that there are more kittens to foster, I’ll forget for a while the hard part and I will race, and I mean race, to get all my supplies ready to welcome a new little bunch of furry heart thieves.