with Your Best Friend Home is Where the Pet is

Story by Nidia Tores | Photos by Casey Rothgeb | Design by Krista Kok

From dogs and cats to parrots and bunnies, the variety of pets you can foster can be endless. If you are dedicated to fostering, you might find it an experience worth having.

The opportunity to foster pets might open your eyes to the world many animals lived in before being brought into the shelter or pound.

It’s up to you to decide how far you’ll go to help them live a better life. If you want to experience the satisfaction, consider giving pet-fostering a chance — you won’t regret it.

Before you get ahead of yourself, it might be helpful to know what exactly fostering entails.

How Fostering Works

Pet-fostering has become a necessity for abandoned pets to survive and find a loving home according to Mari Ann Pratt-Eierman, a foster pet-parent of three years.

Depending on the pet’s needs and circumstances, they can remain in the foster care system for any given amount of time.

According to Pratt-Eierman, foster pet-parents are responsible for making sure their pet is adapting to its new surroundings, giving them a positive environment, providing vet care and most importantly, loving them until they find their forever home.

“Your job is to basically open your home to these animals and provide them a safe, nurturing place so that they can heal whatever wounds, whether they’re mental or physical,” says Pratt-Eierman, “Then once they are considered what I call a ‘balanced dog’ they are ready for their permanent family.”

One thing you may not have known about pet-fostering is that the pet-parent plays a key role in determining which family is a perfect match for the pet. Foster pet-parents bond with their pets to find out how pets can fit in with their family.

Pratt-Eierman, who’s fostered over 30 pets in the last two years with the Seattle Purebred Dog Rescue and MustLuvBoxers Rescue, says she’s learned pets can be as much work as children.

“They’re like sponges; they want to be loved, they want a nap, they want toys, they want a bed

and if you have other dogs or family members, they just want to be part of that.”

Vice President and Social Media Coordinator at MustLuvBoxers Rescue in Arlington, Washington, Chris Zanassi says, “The main benefit is to give the dog a home which is a safe haven and a transitional stop for them on the way to finding the best home possible.”

There are times when foster pets are kept because of the deep bond they’ve developed with them. Zanassi says, “Being a ‘forever foster’ means you commit to keeping the dog in your home for the durations of his or her life.”

Fostering is not just volunteer work; pet-bonding and love are key ingredients to make a pet happy. This is something all foster pet-parents understand.

Brenda Dawson, foster pet-parent for MustLuvBoxers Rescue of seven years says, “[I] love the breed and wanted to help rescue them from horrible situations.”

She explains, “My goal is to give the dog a safe and loving place to live until they find their forever home. [I] try to provide them with stability, kindness and love.”

Both Pratt-Eierman and Dawson agree that pet fostering has a lot of great benefits and experiences.

“It’s the type of volunteering that you don’t have to go anywhere to do; you just do it in your own house,” says Pratt-Eierman. “When you see that dog go to their first home, their forever home and see the smiles, it’s pretty heartwarming.”

The Humane Societies for Tacoma and Pierce County also have fosters ranging from cats to dogs to other small critters. They took care of nearly 10,000 homeless pets who were left in the streets according to Victoria Gingrey, communi

cations manager at the Tacoma Humane Society.

Gingrey says, “Fostering or adopting a pet is a huge and rewarding commitment. While you can’t prepare for every scenario, be sure you are prepared to provide a pet the care they need.”

According to Gingrey, in 2019 the Tacoma Humane Society reached a 91.4% saving rate, which means that over 90% of their pets were successful in finding their forever homes.

The Tacoma Humane Society has also seen a continuous increase. “Since March, 779 dogs, cats and critters have been adopted and we’ve found many foster homes for pets as well,” Gingrey says.

“We’ve had a lot of interest in adopting and fostering over the last few months. We do believe it is a silver lining that so many pets have been adopted and fostered during this difficult time.”

How to Begin

Once you decide where you want to foster, places such as the Humane Societies for Tacoma and Pierce County and the MustLuvBoxers Rescue will ask you to fill out an application for your personal information.

Applications such as the one from MustLuvBoxers asks for specific information and references, as well as how many household members you have, the number of pets you have and if you live in an apartment or own a house.

When you complete the process and speak to an employee, you get to choose which pet you decide to bring home. This is your chance to care for a foster pet and become involved in finding their forever home — a place where a pet has the chance to be loved, cared for and included.

Pets who’ve experienced abandonment and abuse should have a chance at finding their forever homes. Their future starts with you.