Our dog foster parents offer a special, intimate bonding experience for our shy, under-socialized, stressed, or medically needy canine guests. For so many dogs, being in a foster home is an opportunity for respite from an otherwise stressful experience.
Valerie, a long time volunteer for BHS, shares her experience as a canine foster parent:
"I first
volunteered for BHS as a Campfire Girl -- the positive experience helped
nurture my strong desire to work with homeless dogs and cats. After retiring
some forty-five years later, I found myself back at BHS seeking volunteer
opportunities.
"In 2009 as
we were driving by the shelter I queried my husband, "Can we stop for just
a minute so I can check on signing up to volunteer and take a quick look
at the animals?" We hadn't been seriously looking for a dog, but
occasionally gave it brief consideration since we had been “dogless” for a
number of years, although we had two cats at home. One thing led to another and
I should know by now, it's dangerous to stop by a rescue shelter
to "just take a look".
"We were
immediately drawn to "Legs", a Miniature Pinscher/Italian Greyhound
mix. I walked briskly out to the front desk to inquire about adopting Legs and
we were encouraged to take her for a short walk. As anxious potential new
owners, we were ready to take her straight out the door and home with us right
then and there! The ultimate and indisputable conclusion: WE WON THE
LOTTERY!!
"Her shelter
name was "LEGS", and Jim said we needed to give her a different
name. He was not going to publicly call out, "Hey Legs ...come
...!!" and have it misunderstood, so we call her "Ashi" ...
"leg" in Japanese!
"And yes, I
signed up to volunteer at BHS and will always consider them #1 in my book. My
assignments included socializing the felines and providing early morning walks for the canines. The day of the
devastating fire in 2010, I arrived to organized chaos. Another volunteer and I
pitched right in to help wherever we could. We helped get the dogs
transferred out of the kennels and into carriers for transport, using makeshift
collars and leashes because all the ones in the shelter had burned/melted. We
also threw out all the bedding/toys from the kennels. The odor was
sickening and there was ash and fire retardant foam everywhere, which often
meant carrying the dogs from their kennels to the awaiting vans. After
returning home, I felt so sad and helpless. Knowing the dogs were transferred
to Berkeley Animal Care Services for interim care and boarding, I jumped back
in the car and headed there to see if they needed any help. I returned home
with a foster dog, which was the beginning of a new volunteer experience that
is fun and brings great joy and rewards.
"Ashi now
works as a therapy dog and although we keep busy with visits to hospitals,
nursing homes and senior residences, we continue to foster for BHS as often
as we can.
"In closing,
I ask that you support the Berkeley Humane Society by volunteering or
donating to their Shelter Fire Relief Fund for the rebuild effort or to one of
their other worthy programs. Your contribution will make a difference in the
lives of injured and abandoned dogs and cats of our community and help connect
them with loving forever homes."
Rosa, our previous foster coordinator, explained that Valerie
has been both a dog and cat foster for years.
She said, “Valerie is particularly helpful because she is always willing
to take on medical/behavioral cases. She makes detailed notes of the progress
the animal makes in the home. She also takes video/photos. Her foster home is
also great because she has another dog so for puppies it’s a wonderful
socialization period for them."
Do you want to become a star volunteer like Valerie? Learn about how to become involved with Berkeley Humane by clicking here!
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