One of the biggest questions that people ask when I tell them that I foster dogs through Pflugerville Pets Alive is “Don’t you get attached to the dog? How can you let go of them?”
The answer is pretty simple… I’m attached to every dog in our program not just the fosters that live with me, and the most rewarding part of being a foster or volunteer is finding the perfect home for a dog!
In the end, the perfect home may be with me, or it may be with someone else. The goal is always to place the dog in the BEST possible environment with the BEST possible people. We have a rule in our house that our dogs cannot outnumber our humans, but we decided to break the rule this holiday week and host a foster for the long weekend.
It has been an awesome experience so far. I wanted to take the time to share my experience with short term fostering and share a little about Rosalee.
Fostering is pretty simple through Pflugerville Pets Alive. You fill out a questionnaire (email <a href=”mailto:foster@pfluervillepetsalive,org”>our foster coordinator to get setup!</a>) if you aren’t a current foster, and Pflugerville Pets Alive will supply you with a crate, bedding, toys, food (if needed), and a great support system.
When I fostered Honey, I sent so many messages to Kim, Kerri, Devin, and many others. Everyone always responded to me quickly and with kindness! They are a wonderful group of people who want to set our fosters and the dogs/cats up for success.
Being a long term foster was a wonderful experience (that resulted in a foster failure on my part— foster failure: when you decide that you are the perfect match for the dog/cat you have decided to foster so you adopt them), but being a short term foster has had many benefits as well.
Rosalee LOVES to play. We have a large pitbull mix, Roxy, who also loves to play but her fur brother and sister prefer to sleep. Rosalee provided Roxy with a playmate, walking mate, and dog park buddy. Perhaps you have a dog/cat who needs a playmate, fostering for a weekend or a few days, is a great way to give your pet the opportunity to socialize and play with another!
I have 3 dogs, and Rosalee has gotten along with all of them. I also have a wild 18 month old human, and she has done great with him as well. She likes to go on walks, visit the dog park, and lounge around. She takes a while to warm up, but once she warms up to you, she will melt your heart. She loves to cuddle and put her head in your lap.
She loves to ride in the car! Rosalee needs to build up her confidence in public as she tends to be a more reactive on leash out in public. In our home, she has been nothing but sweet and loving. As I’m sitting at my computer typing this out, she is lying quietly under my desk in fact!