[Dailydrool] Fosters

[Drew McQuade]

Jan wrote: <<Because these fosters that had bonded with me so much would 
just jump into their new family's vehicle and not look back at me.? No 
thanks for taking care of me.? No see you later.? No goodbye.

We have had other fosters that were friendly but seem to realize that our 
home was merely a layover on their journey to a new home. They never seemed 
to quite make themselves at home.>>

I think fosters know when they've met their forever humans. Two proved it to 
me. When we fostered Betsy (who never did answer to the name the shelter 
gave her), I thought she was a wonderful hound. If we'd been able to afford 
a third hound then, I would have asked to keep her. But when I delivered 
Besty to the folks who became her forever family, she walked off with them 
without a look back at me. At that point, her humans weren't quite ready to 
adopt--until she spent one night in their home. The next morning, the 
husband didn't want to go to work; he wished he could stay home and play 
with her. Within days, Betsy (now Daisy) was adopted. She lives better than 
she would have lived here, being loved by her two humans and the child they 
later adopted.

Oliver came and stayed with us for three months. But I could tell he knew 
this wasn't his last stop. One day a couple came to visit and see if they 
might like to adopt him. Oliver made one of those snap decisions homeless 
hounds are so good at. As the couple left, Oliver stood behind the door and 
whined for them. Wasn't he supposed to go with them? Happily they came back 
the next day to fill out the paperwork and take him home.

Since we adopted a third hound, we no longer have space to foster, but I 
always found it helpful to keep in touch with the adoptive family. It shows 
me how loved the hound is. I've never doubted that either of these hounds 
found the best home. But that doesn't mean I don't still love them. When 
they left, I told the humans the hounds would always have a place here, if 
they needed it. I could never leave a foster out in the cold somewhere. But 
in the years since we fostered those two, they've never been out in the 
cold--they found their perfect families.

Fostering hurts your heart for a while, but it does so much for the hound. 
And it can even bring you new friends who've adopted your fosters. Would I 
do it again? In a minute. But not until I have another home with a fenced 
yard and a doggie door.
Pam, with Drew, food slave to the Dashing Bassets