I’ve loved animals my entire life, and I’ve always felt inclined to get involved and make a difference, but I never knew exactly how. I had heard of fostering, but wasn’t sure what it would involve or how it would fit into my life. The idea of it intimidated me, and I wanted to make sure I was making the right choice in choosing to foster. I had almost submitted applications to foster several times, but always backed out at the last minute after creating excuses…
“Work is so busy right now!”
“I’ve got a lot going on with my family.”
“I just don’t have the time.”
“What if my own dog doesn’t get enough attention with a puppy around?”
When the day came that I swallowed my fears and actually hit “submit” on a completed application, it wasn’t long before I got a call from RMPR to be interviewed and less than a week later, I was arriving to pick up my very first foster - a little husky girl named Harley! It was exciting to have an adorable puppy galloping around the house, and there was so much laughter from the silly puppy antics and plenty of tender, loving puppy snuggles. It was everything I hoped for. We had a few weeks of joy, and then...
Adoption day came. I had a heavy feeling knowing I had to say goodbye to Harley. She felt like part of the family and I didn’t know how I was going to let her go. Like I mentioned, I’ve loved animals my entire life and all I could think was “I love her way too much to say goodbye!” I cried and I thought “why did I do this?! I need to take her back home, she needs to stay with us.”
And then the right person came along. The adopter was everything I would have wanted for this dog. Kind, compassionate, active, and a very dedicated pet owner. And man, she LIT UP when she met Harley. They had an instant connection, Harley jumped right into her lap and showered her with kisses and they got along so perfectly.
I realized then, it wasn’t about me. It wasn’t about how much I loved Harley. It was about saving her life, and she wouldn’t have survived if I didn’t give her a safe home to escape to. She would have died in that overcrowded New Mexico shelter. And to see what an impact Harley made on her adopter melted my heart. It is such a
powerful gift to give.
I got to show Harley kindness and compassion, give her a soft fluffy puppy bed, plenty of love and treats, and teach her that humans aren’t all that bad. I was able to help get her to safety, and get her into a home that was everything she deserved and more.
And there were other puppies waiting for their chance to escape death row. Other puppies just like Harley, who would bring laughter, love, and entertainment to us. Who wouldn’t make it without a safe place to go.
20+ fosters later, and I’ve loved every single one just as much as Harley and while I miss them and the goodbyes are always hard, the satisfaction of knowing I helped save their lives and get them the forever home they deserve far outweighs anything else. So many people say “I could never give them up once I fostered th
em!”, but this is so much bigger than any of us. This is our chance to make a real difference, one sweet puppy at a time.
I hope you’ll read this and consider
the tremendous positive impact fostering makes, and that this leads you to take advantage of the opportunity to love and snuggle puppies, with peace of mind knowing there’s no-strings/vet bills/lifelong commitments attached and that YOU can save their lives.
Want to get involved?
Fostering: https://www.rmpuppyrescue.org/foster
Volunteering: https://www.rmpuppyrescue.org/volunteer