Failed Foster – A Successful Failure

Sometimes failing stinks, but once in a while, it’s a beautiful thing. Huh?

I’m talking about the times when a foster family falls in Love. Big, gob-smacking love, when they know that the dog they’ve cared for has already found a loving home. When it doesn’t need to go anywhere else, because this beautiful creature is just where it should be. Forever.

In animal rescue, it happens to the best of us. And to some wonderfully deserving fur babies. This time, the lucky one was our lovely Pearl, a handful of mischief, who chews up her mom’s Invisalign, gnaws open a soda can on a people bed, chews on anything she can get a hold of, and steals hearts. Which is exactly what she did!

OK, we admit we knew this was coming. We knew they love huskies, and have a weak spot for the whites – including her now older brother. We knew they love puppies and are a fabulous home. And we suspected this would happen before she even crossed their doorstep, knowing this wonderful family.

So why do we place a dog with a foster family when we think they won’t give it up? We ALWAYS need foster families, and putting a dog in a foster home that will probably keep him or her is a way to bring in a dog in need when no other openings are available, which is what little darling Pearl was.

It’s also a way for the family to get to know the dog and be sure this is what they want. We call it “Foster to Adopt”. It gives unsure families, or beginners, or people who just don’t know if they are ready to make a permanent commitment a chance to experience dog care on an ongoing basis, and give a dog the break it may desperately deserve. And it allows us to expand our family and really help make sure the fit is right.

Some foster homes are more adept at being the stepping stone for a dogs on their journey to a forever home, and that’s a wonderful thing. But sometimes it becomes clear to the dog and fosters that it has found the home and is already part of the family. Like Pearl, who is our latest success story, because she’s not being adopted out, she’s already found her perfect family.

If you are interested, talk to us about Fostering. We understand you may flunk. We all have at one point or another, if we’re being honest. But it can be a great way to meet your forever friend. And if you don’t want to foster to keep a dog, that’s ok, too! In that case, you are helping another family find the joy of sharing their home with a dog in need, so you were babysitting for a friend you hadn’t met yet.

Saying goodbye to a foster dog can be a little sad, but seeing the joy of the new family, and hearing how happy they are, makes it all worthwhile. And there is always another dog in need, waiting to come in, hoping someone will have room for them to give them a chance at finding a future.