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I Would Be Too Sad
I get a lot of different responses from people when I tell them that I foster dogs. However, most of the responses usually include a reason why they could never do that.
"I would get too attached"
"I could never give them up"
"I would be too sad"
"It's too hard to hear their story"
"What happens if you fall in love with them"
"I would keep them all"
It's difficult for me to respond to these reactions because I DO get too attached, I DO feel like I can't let them go, I DO get sad, and I DO fall in love with them - but I don't let any of these things become excuses not to foster.
On it's surface, fostering may seem really difficult because you picture all these sad dogs coming into your home and you think of how you would feel loving them, getting attached to them, and then never seeing them again. I totally get how that can seem depressing and scary and like something you'd never want to put yourself through! However, none of that is representative of what fostering is actually like.
Not all shelter dogs are sad and abused; many come from homes where they were well taking care of but for some reason or another, their owners decided they couldn't have a dog anymore. These dogs are often well-trained and very well socialized. And as far being saddened by their stories - remember that if you choose to foster you get to be the thing that changes their story from sad to wonderful.
It's not about having to love them and let them go, its about GETTING to love them when nobody else would, and GETTING to find them the perfect home where they will never end up alone in a shelter again. And for the record - it's totally up to you if you still see them after they've been adopted! I keep in touch with anyone who has adopted a dog that I fostered and I even dog-sit for one of my adopters so I get to see my foster dog all the time! There is no better feeling than seeing a dog you fostered absolutely flourishing in his or her new home.
Fostering truly is a one of a king opportunity and it's also a ton of fun! You basically get to the be the "fun aunt/uncle" in these dogs' lives. Most rescues will pay for basic necessities for the dogs, such as food, crates, and vetting; all you have to do is spoil them with love and affection. After a few weeks or months, they go home with their fur-parents and you can do it all over again!
Having foster dogs is also a great opportunity to learn about what kind of dog would fit in best with your lifestyle before adopting one of your own. I'll be honest, you ARE going to fall in love with every dog you foster, but you will also get to learn all the little details of their personality and find out what things you love, and what things would make them a better fit for a different family. For example, my first foster dog Susy was super sweet, loving, and cuddly. She was also extremely high energy nothing made her happier than having another dog to play with when she went to the dog park or my parents' house. I was completely smitten with her, and there were plenty of times that I cried just thinking about not having her around all the time. However, in my heart I knew that the best home for her wasn't with me. It wouldn't have been fair to such a social, active dog to stay in a home where her parents would be working for 8 hours a day and she had no other dogs in the house to play with her.
Rescue is scary. It's emotional, it's a lot of work, and there are good and bad days, but I've never had a single regret and I don't think I'll ever stop fostering, rescuing, and advocating for these dogs. Please take some time to learn about the statistics on how many dogs are euthanized every single day in the United States alone, and learn about how buying from a breeder contributes to this tremendous issue. I know that it sounds really difficult, and it's easy to say "I'd be too sad," but if you can look past your own emotions and realize fostering can literally mean life or death to these animals, you just may give it a chance and fall in love with it, too.
