Our Fostering Experience

Our fostering experience I'm sure will change with every dog. Yes, every dog. I must admit saying good-bye to Tango had me wondering if we were cut out for this. My husband was even surprised how hard it was to say good-bye and didn't realize how attached he had gotten. The rescue rep I've been in most contact with told me that the first one is the hardest and that she herself had a really hard time saying good-bye to her first foster, but that it does get easier. My husband and I do get attached and I don't think we'll be able to avoid attachment. So, I'm not sure if it'll get easier, but we've decided that knowing we are helping save a dog will be worth the emotional side-effects.

Prior to the unexpected emotional good-bye, was the 2 dog factor. Having an additional dog is a challenge. I'm not sure how those fostering that have a dog and children are able to do it. The first few days were the hardest and I kept asking myself, "What in the world have I signed up for?", but as Tango and Avie got more comfortable and I got to know Tango, it got easier and returned to normal. It's surprising how quick we adjusted and really enjoyed having Tango. I'm really impressed with how fast RMLR was able to get Tango adopted. He was only with us for 12 days.

I've had friends ask how we're able to do this and truthfully, I don't know. We've talked about it for a few years and just finally did it. I also don't think it's for everyone. Not that we're special, but there are a lot of things to consider before fostering. We don't have children yet, so maybe this is just good for us right now and being that I work from home also makes it easier. (At the end of this post I added information regarding a video we watched that may have been the final push to foster.)

We were thinking of taking a break, but when I got an email asking if we'd like to foster a female 9 month old yellow lab, we decided to jump right back in. So, we'll be getting our next foster dog on Friday and we're excited!

Avie is spending this time enjoying some quiet and relaxation. I think having a house guest wore her out! She's a pretty calm dog during the day, but has been even calmer than usually. I guess fostering is one way to wear her out.




If you have an interest in helping but fostering isn't for you, there are other ways you can help. RMLR usually has monthly events and need volunteers. You can also donate, sponsor a dog, or even just purchase something from their shop. If you a have dog, they also have dog friendly events to help raise money. This Sunday they are having a Dog Wash Fundraiser. Get your dog washed for $12 and Pet Station will donate the entire amount to RMLR. It's a win, win. For more info visit the Rocky Mountain Lab Rescue website.

[Side note: we watched a video about the number of pets that are euthanized everyday in shelters. If you're interested in watching it, you can search for it on YouTube under, "Pets Killed At Shelter Shocking Part 1". Please be warned that it is not easy to watch and PLEASE do not let your children watch it. It's not bloody or anything like that, but it does show pets about to be euthanized as well as shows the room the pets go to after being euthanized. That alone was hard to see. It's not easy to watch, but I'm glad we did. My husband after the video said, "How come people don't know this is happening?!" This is why I decided to share it because I really do believe people just don't know.]