“In February 2022 we adopted our beautiful puppy, Callie, from Acadiana Animal Aid. We loved her dearly. Unfortunately, she had a mysterious neurological disorder that was progressing despite all treatment attempts. After loving her for 6 months, things became too unsafe and we had to make the gut-wrenching decision to lay her to rest. Our hearts were broken. Our hearts were not ready to jump into the commitment of adopting again—losing Callie left a huge void in our hearts and lives. I brought up the idea of fostering, that way we could have paws in our home again. My girls wanted to do it right away to help them heal. We started fostering at the end of August 2022. It has been the most wonderful experience. We get these sweet pups who are super scared and with a little bit of patience and love the transformation is amazing. It has been so rewarding for all involved. People say all the time “I couldn’t do it I would get to attached.” Well, you do get attached and show them unconditional love because it is what they deserve. Going into it knowing you are a safe place for them to stay while they get ready for their forever home makes it so worth it. Even my girls will get so excited when they get adopted, then are asking when are we getting the next one? We “failed” with our #7 foster but have continued to foster and hope to do so for a long time.”
Foster
What is a Foster Home?
A foster home is a temporary living situation for our shelter pets. Foster families provide shelter, care, and love while our pets await placement in a forever home or travel on a transport to an out-of-state shelter partner. The number of animals we can save depends entirely on the number of people who open their hearts and homes to foster pets. Foster homes allow us to create space in the shelter so we can rescue more pets in need.
Why Foster?
Louisiana has a serious pet over population problem. Every day puppies and kittens enter municipal shelters and may not make it out alive. Fostering provides a life-saving outcome for these pets. Foster homes offer an alternative to the shelter environment and provide the attention and comfort that only a home setting can provide — especially for young kittens and puppies, older animals, and frightened pets who are having a hard time in the shelter. Foster pets usually stay in their temporary home anywhere from a few days to two weeks.
Fostering has so many rewards: you are able to help a pet in need, enjoy the companionship of a pet without a lifetime commitment, try new companions for the resident pets in your home, and provide some extra TLC to kittens and puppies too young to be adopted.
Fostering Snapshots:
