My husband and I (along with our dog Sammy) fostered Wags for 4 months. It was our first foster experience. If I could describe fostering in two words they would be exhausting and amazing. Seems like a contradiction, doesn’t it? Here is why I chose those two words…
When you agree to foster an animal you cannot anticipate how much work they will be. You may get a dog that is calm and easy going and has been in a home before or you may get a dog that needs training and has never been in a home. We got the latter with Wags. Don’t get me wrong, she was a GREAT dog. Probably the most snuggley dog I have ever had the pleasure of knowing. We did lots of snuggling over those 4 months. We also did lots of training, including potty training. When you are working with a 45 pound full grown dog that is acting like a puppy it can be exhausting, but the reward is SO worth it. Watching her learn to settle and wait for treats was so amazing. Oh, look that second word…
It was amazing to watch her learn and even better to watch her teach our dog Sammy new things. As an example, Sammy had never noticed there was a world walking by the front windows of our house. There could have been a parade going by and she would not have noticed. Wags saw it all and showed it to Sammy. Still whenever I hear Sam bark out the front windows, I think of Wags and smile. The foster experience touches you in ways you do not expect. It can be emotionally exhausting picking a new family for a dog you have opened your home to, but the reward for the hard work comes back ten fold. And allowing that dog to move on from your home opens you the opportunity to save another dog in need. They never move on from your heart.
If you are interested in fostering for the WAGS Fund, please contact us at info@wagsfundrescue.com.
If you are interested in reading a little more about my foster experience with Wags, you can read more here:
Fostering
Fostering, Part II
Fostering, Part III
WAGS Fund 