I do hospice fostering, mostly, with a sprinkling of puppy whelping and a pinch of behavioral dogs. Sometimes it feels like having a house full of angry little velociraptors, but mostly it’s all full of love.
I picked up a dog at boarding to foster about a year ago. She screamed any time someone touched her. Being surrounded by strangers wasn’t helping, so home we went to our house of misfits and mischief. She bonded to me right away but remained capable of biting anyone else for quite some time. The screaming was her go-to for a while, and even later when she was at her happiest. She just loved to hear herself make noise. Despite this, I couldn’t help but fall in love with her quirky personality.
At a certain point, I stopped looking for the unicorn of a home I thought she needed and she sort of absorbed herself into my pack. Then one day, a random friend came looking for a companion of a certain age and energy. She fell in love with him and he with her. It was literally an undeniably magic moment. It reminded me that fostering can be hard, but our end goal is always letting go and getting them into homes so we can continue to help those without homes. It also reminded me that even the old ones, the difficult ones, and the long-term ones all have someone looking for them. Sometimes we just have to help them find each other.
Fostering is the coolest kind of matchmaking where you get to save a life and also bring someone a crazy amount of joy. So, get out there and help someone swipe right on the furry love of their life.