FoSTERiNg lovE

by Karen Shaw Becker

For people that love cats and dogs but can’t adopt one—or one more—a heartwarming solution is to foster pets without homes that need a place to temporarily lay their heads and be loved until a forever home comes along. Fosters are needed when a shelter is filled to capacity or has too many large or old dogs, or orphaned puppies and kitties, for example, or when a rescue operation needs to quickly place shelter dogs that would otherwise be euthanized. As important and rewarding as the task of fostering is, it also comes with responsibilities and pitfalls worth considering in advance.

check out the possibilities. In addition to Googling local animal shelters and rescue operations, online groups like PetFinder.com and PoorPawsRescue. com provide links to fostering options locally and nationwide. Visit local shelters to observe both how they treat their animals and how they interact with the fostering volunteers. Staff members can help with finding compatible pets and offer support when a foster situation doesn’t work for whatever reason. Also find out if the organization is involved every step of the way, including providing onsite veterinary care, or whether it relies heavily on the dedication and resources of foster parents.

think about short-term fostering. To give it a try, volunteer for a

short-term commitment—a few days or weeks. Vacation time is one big reason rescue organizations look for people willing to provide short-term fostering because they need volunteers to fill in while their “regulars” are away.

be fair to other pets at home. Don’t get caught up in the needs of a new kitten or puppy so much that the needs of other pets go unnoticed. Forever pets may even help out with newcomers. “In my home, puppies work well, as my dogs mother

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don’t stress about cost. Food, litter, toys and even veterinary care is often offered to foster pet parents. In other cases, rescue centers may be struggling for support or getting slammed with natural disasters that create an influx of homeless pets, and foster parents may be asked to help with such items as crates and carriers, food and water bowls, collars, leashes and treats. “Homeowners who purchase items for their fosters can write them off as tax-deductible donations to the rescue organization, which is a great way to put your donation dollars to work,” says Karen Winkler, a volunteer with the Bucks County SPCA and the Animal Care & Control Team of Philadelphia.

don’t stress about placement. Possibly the most-asked question about fostering a puppy or kitty is, “What if they never find a home for her?” Never fear; shelters and rescue groups are constantly putting out feelers. Foster parents can get in on the action by posting sweet, winsome or funny photos of the animal on social media and extolling its virtues to others when out in public with it. Thompson found new owners for her foster dogs by walking them around town wearing bright yellow “Adopt Me” vests.

it’s okay to fall in love with a foster pet. Many people hesitate to

foster pets because they’re afraid they’ll fall in love with a small ball of fur or a big pair of liquid eyes just begging to be adored. But that’s one of the risks of loving a creature with an open heart. “There is an amazing rush and deep sense of relief when you hear from the person who adopted your foster and you know the people found their true love in your foster,” says Winkler. “They know I helped save them. You can see it in their eyes.”

it’s even fine to adopt a foster. It does happen sometimes; foster parents discover that the dog or cat that came into their home supposedly for a while happened to fit in perfectly, and no one can imagine living without it. While that’s been called a “foster failure”, it’s anything but. Any time an animal with no home finds one filled with love and caring, even if it’s their so-called temporary foster placement, it’s a success. Pet parents know when the animal they love is forever.

Veterinarian Karen Shaw Becker has spent her career empowering animal guardians to make knowledgeable decisions to extend the life and well-being of their animals. For more information, visit DrKarenBecker.com.

by Sheila Julson

Love and positive connections can be the best safeguards against adversity. For some humans, their relationships with animals often serve as refuge from the tumultuous conditions of our world. The HumanAnimal Bond Research Institute has researched and assembled scientific evidence that demonstrates how pets improve an array of physical and mental health conditions, along with supporting child health and development and healthy aging.

Meagan Good, founder and counselor of Take Heart Counseling & Equine Assisted Therapy, which empowers individuals and families to heal through therapeutic work with horses and professional counselors, has myriad stories of how loving bonds between animals and humans have transformed lives.

“So often, our trauma and hurt is based on things that went bad in a relationship with a person,” Good explains. “We need to heal from those relationships, and animals become a safe relationship to practice healing. They don’t have a desire to manipulate, be deceitful or controlling.”

Although animals might not talk the same language as humans, they speak volumes through body language, thus helping we humans quiet ourselves down and become aware of what’s going on inside of us so we can communicate effectively. “If I completely ignore the body language from a horse, they will feel unheard, just as if you would ignore something a partner or a family member said,” Good advises. “You have to pay attention to what’s going on around them and the environment.”

Animals, and horses in particular, are sensitive and intuitive, making them ideal therapy animals. Their instincts can teach us to build awareness of ourselves by becoming more in tune with non-verbal cues and communications. There are many ways humans forge loving relationships with animals, including equine therapy and horseback riding. The latter helps build partnerships, in that humans learn to make requests from horses and read their language. Good cites an example of a client that had suffered a lifetime of abuse and neglect. The person began working with a horse at Take Heart, and after being distressed that the horse wasn’t coming over to her, she eventually relaxed and became present. Once she relaxed, the horse, Charley, immediately responded and went over to her. “She became emotional and said it was the first time she had felt chosen. For someone that had never experienced that before, it builds the framework for what a real, authentic relationship looks like,” Good notes.

Animals can sense fear, anxiety, stress, excitement, happiness and authenticity in adults and children, which encourages humans to become more positive, genuine versions of themselves. Animals help to teach us to love ourselves and others with no games, egos or gimmicks. “We humans can get hurt through relationships, but we can also heal through relationships,” Good shares.

Take Heart Counseling & Equine Assisted Therapy is located at 699 Wooltown Rd., in Wernersville. For more information, email Info@TakeHeartCounseling.com or visit TakeHeartCounseling.com. See ads, pages 43 and 50.

Sheila Julson is a freelance writer and contributor to Natural Awakenings magazine.