Saving More than One Life Through Fostering

#VolunteeringJourney: Finding Renewed Purpose in Life

#AnimalRescue #Passion #Volunteer #Nonprofit #Community

Over the past years, I’ve discovered a renewed sense of purpose in my life through volunteering at my local animal rescue organization. This experience has become a significant investment for me, unlike anything else in recent memory. In a previous letter, I shared how volunteering helped me navigate through a challenging period and provided me with a manageable path towards joy and fulfillment once again. Little did I know the profound impact it would have on brightening my life and reigniting my passion.

Regardless of whether you feel drawn to working with an animal rescue, I wanted to take this opportunity to share my volunteering experiences and encourage readers to explore ways they can contribute to nonprofits and organizations within their own communities. There are often numerous ways to get involved, making volunteering accessible to many individuals. In the realm of animal rescue, you could assist with event coordination, animal transportation, crafting decor for events from the comfort of your home, helping with laundry, and of course, more traditional forms of volunteering.

Since July 2022, I have primarily been fostering and volunteering on-site for Almost There Rescue (ATR), a non-profit organization dedicated to rescuing mother dogs and their puppies in Phoenix, Arizona. ATR focuses on caring for orphaned puppies, pregnant and nursing moms, and ensures they find their forever homes. I stumbled upon ATR when someone mentioned them to me, and later, I discovered their partnership with the Best Friends Animal Society network partners. For those seeking local organizations to volunteer with, Best Friends offers programs throughout the United States and has an extensive network of partners, making it a fantastic resource.

I have been aware of Best Friends Animal Society through their collaboration with ColourPop, where they release a product annually, with all net profits being donated to support Best Friends. Coincidentally, the Liqueur pups in the photos (hello, beauty-lovers!) are posing with the product associated with this collaboration. Best Friends works tirelessly with communities to provide support and resources, aiming to make every shelter and community no-kill by 2025. Increasing the number of foster homes available is an essential aspect of achieving this goal, particularly as many shelters and facilities are overwhelmed with pets. By fostering, you free up space for other animals and become a vital part of an animal’s journey towards adoption, whether that means teaching them to trust humans or providing them with care and comfort during their transitional period. Many rescues offer all the necessary resources for fostering, such as crates, food, and medical care, while you provide a temporary home filled with love.

My first fostering experience was a challenging two-week period with Bamba and Ozzie, who were from the same litter but had vastly different outcomes. Unfortunately, during that time, I also broke my hand, which led to my husband unexpectedly having to step in and help. However, this setback turned into an opportunity as I used the time to attend an on-site volunteer orientation. As a self-professed homebody, this was a significant step for me. The warm and welcoming environment created by the ATR team made me comfortable asking questions and motivated me to return for more volunteer work.

I found so much enjoyment in my volunteer duties that I ended up visiting the rescue almost every morning. Spending time with the puppies early in the morning helped ease the harsh edges of daily life. Their youthful energy and boundless optimism brought immense joy to my heart. There were beautiful moments when I would sit on the floor with a lap full of puppies, feeling all the stress leaving my body. Their presence captivated my attention, detaching me from worries about the future and allowing me to fully embrace the present moment.

In late October 2022, I convinced my husband to embark on fostering once again. This time, we welcomed Maleficent and Prince Philip into our home for three weeks. The experience was much smoother since they were younger, but we were undoubtedly exhausted when it came time to return them to the rescue. Nevertheless, I continued volunteering on-site. However, when ATR urgently needed bottle baby fosters just before New Year’s Eve, I eagerly stepped up to care for my first set of one-day-old cleft palate puppies named Lorax and Max. Despite providing them with all the love and care possible, tragically, they did not survive. Only one of the five cleft palate puppies in the litter made it and was later adopted by their foster family. This experience marked a turning point in my fostering journey, as I discovered a deep connection with newborn puppies that surpassed my affinity for older pups. Despite the loss of my first bottle babies, I knew I wanted to continue fostering in this capacity.

This newfound passion led me to foster a pregnant mama dog named Brisket, who eventually gave birth to nine adorable puppies known as the Steaklets. I had the incredible privilege of witnessing each pup’s birth, assisting with their care, and ensuring they took their first breaths and remained warm. Mama Brisket turned out to be a true gem. She was rescued from the county shelter, and we initially had limited information about her behavior. However, she proved to be incredibly friendly, sweet, and even potty-trained.

During the fostering period with the Steaklets, my husband and I transformed a spare room into a “mutternity suite.” This setup made fostering far more manageable for us, as we both work from home. It allowed us to move around the house without disturbing the puppies and minimized noise when we needed to focus on work. I spent countless hours observing the Steaklets, reveling in their milestones such as opening their eyes, hearing for the first time, and taking their wobbly first steps. The delightful sounds and smells of newborn puppies filled my home, and I acquired a wealth of knowledge about dog pregnancy, newborn care, and raising puppies.

The Steaklets (alongside Mama Brisket) remained with me until they were six weeks old. At that point, they transitioned to their next set of fosters, as ATR adopts out puppies when they reach ten weeks of age and have been spayed or neutered. Soon after bidding farewell to the Steaklets, I fostered four Yoga Poses puppies, who were bottle babies just five days old. These pups hold a special place in my heart and were the most challenging to let go. When they reached eight weeks, I reluctantly said goodbye, fearing I might become a “foster failure” and adopt them all.

In my worry over parting with the Yoga Poses pups, I ended up bringing home three new fosters, the Fabulous Ones, named after iconic Queer figures. They spent a few weeks with us before becoming available for adoption. Despite my intentions to give my husband a break, I couldn’t resist the temptation of eight six- or seven-week-old cattle dog puppies, also known as the Bluey pups. They were an absolute whirlwind of energy! Gratefully, I committed to fostering them for just one week, enabling another rescue to find a long-term foster solution. I’m not sure I could have handled another week with such chaos!

This brings me to my current fosters, the Liqueur pups, featured in the slideshow at the beginning of this post (aren’t they adorable with their Best Friends and ColourPop gear? They might just become famous models!). Despite my husband’s initial declaration of “never again” for mama dogs and their litters, we welcomed Bailey and her whopping eleven puppies into our home when they were just five days old. I cared for all eleven for six weeks, gradually reducing the group size to five in the past week. Hopefully, these little ones will develop into well-behaved pups, granting me the opportunity to cherish their presence until…

I’ve found renewed purpose in life by volunteering my time with my local animal rescue, and it is something that I’ve really invested myself into in a way that I don’t think I’ve done in anything in years and years. As I wrote in my open letter last month, volunteering helped me tremendously to work my way out of a very difficult period in my life to something more manageable, a place where I could feel and find joy again. I could not have anticipated the profound impact it has had in brightening my life and giving me something to be passionate about again.

Whether working with a local animal rescue appeals to you or not, I definitely wanted to write about my experiences volunteering and encourage readers to consider ways to volunteer within their communities for nonprofits and organizations that to do resonate them. There are often numerous ways to volunteer for an organization that make opportunities accessible for many–in rescue, it could be helping coordinate events, transporting animals, making decor for an event at home, or helping with laundry, in addition to more typical ways to volunteer.

I have been fostering and volunteering on-site primarily for Almost There Rescue (ATR), which is a non-profit mom and pups rescue in Phoenix, Arizona, since July 2022. They focus on taking in orphaned puppies, pregnant and nursing moms with puppies, and are truly dedicated to their mamas and ensuring they find their forever homes. I had someone mention them to me once, and they popped up again when I looked through the Best Friends Animal Society network partners.  This is a great starting point for readers who might be interested in finding a local organization to volunteer for as they have programs across the US but an extensive number of network partners.

I know of Best Friends as a result of the long-time collaboration between ColourPop and Best Friends Animal Society, where they’ve released a product annually that donates all net profits to Best Friends, which is what the Liqueur pups have posed with (hello, beauty tie-in! this post is now beauty-related!). The Best Friends organization works with communities to provide support and/or resources with a goal of making every shelter and community no-kill by 2025. One critical component of achieving this goal is by increasing the number of fosters available in communities, especially now when so many shelters and county facilities are overflowing with pets.

When you foster, you free up a kennel space for a dog or cat, and then you can be part of that animal’s journey to adoption, which might include teaching them to trust a human or simply giving them a softer place to decompress for a bit. Many rescues provide all of the resources you need to foster (from crates to food to medical care), while you provide them a temporary home and lots of love!

My first fostering experience was a two-week stint with Bamba and Ozzie (same litter but wildly different outcomes!), and it was… a lot. It didn’t help that I ended up breaking my hand early on in that two-week period, so poor hubby had to step up and help a lot more than he anticipated. The silver lining was that while my hand was healing, I ended up doing orientation to volunteer on-site, which is kind of a big thing for me because I am a homebody by choice. I’m so thankful that the folks at ATR have been so welcoming, helpful, and passionate about what they were doing, because they created an environment that always made me comfortable about being there, asking questions, and coming back.

I enjoyed it so much that I volunteered almost every morning! Visiting with puppies early in the morning just smoothed out every harsh edge I had. They’re so young and exuberant, and they’re endlessly optimistic and happy-go-lucky. There were moments where I would sit on the floor with a lap full of puppies and just feel all the stress leave my body. They made it easy to keep my attention and focus on them, which ensured I was actively in the moment rather than worrying about something ahead or what things I needed to do that day.

In late October 2022, I managed to persuade my husband to try fostering again, and this time we took on Maleficent and Prince Philip for three weeks. It went a lot better–they were younger than our first two fosters–but we were definitely exhausted by the end of the three weeks and ready to return them 😂 I continued to volunteer on-site but when ATR put out an emergency call for bottle baby fosters right before New Year’s Eve, I signed up and took on my first bottle baby fosters, which were one-day old cleft palate puppies. Unfortunately, Lorax and Max did not make it despite all the love and care they could ask for; there were five cleft palate puppies in that litter and only one survived (and was adopted by her foster).

This is really what turned the corner on fostering for me, because I realized that working with newborn puppies called to me in a way that the “older” puppies did not. Even though my first bottle babies did not make it, I knew it was something I wanted to do again. It led to me fostering a pregnant mama, Brisket, and her eventual nine puppies, aka the Steaklets. I witnessed the birth of every single pup! I assisted! I ensured each one took their first breath, was cleaned up, and was warm. I got so lucky with Mama Brisket, because she was pulled from the county shelter and we didn’t really know anything about her behavior–she was incredibly friendly, sweet, and even potty-trained.

It was also during the fostering of the Steaklets that we ended up using a spare room as the “mutternity suite.” This made fostering so, so much easier for hubby and I, since we work from home. It allowed us to walk around the main areas without disturbing the puppies and also minimized any noise when one of us was trying to work. I spent hours watching the Steaklets, and I loved getting to be there for their milestones: eyes opening, hearing for the first time, wobbly first steps, and all the delightful newborn puppy sounds and smells. I learned so much about dog pregnancy, newborns, and puppy raising!

The Steaklets (and Mama Brisket) stayed with me until the pups were six weeks old, and then they all went to their next fosters as ATR adopts out their puppies at 10-weeks (and after they’ve been spayed/neutered). Shortly after the Steaklets, I fostered four of the Yoga Poses pups, which were five-day old bottle babies. They’re still some of the most special pups I’ve fostered–the hardest to let go for sure–and I had to let them go at eight-weeks old for fear we might fail!

In fact, I was so worried we’d fail, I ended up getting three new foster pups the day after the Yogis went to their new fosters to fill the void! They were the Fabulous Ones, named after Queer icons, who were with us for a few weeks before being adoptable. I wish I could say that I gave my poor hubby the break he very much wanted, but next thing you know, I brought home eight, six- or seven- week old cattle dog puppies, which some might know as the Bluey pups. They were absolutely chaotic!! Thankfully, I only committed to a week to help another rescue have more time to figure out long-term fosters for them. I don’t think I would have made it another week!

That leads me to my current fosters, which are the Liqueur pups (photographed in the slideshow at the beginning of the post)! (How cute are they with their Best Friends and ColourPop gear? They’re gonna be famous models now!) Despite my husband saying “never again” to a mama and her pups, we brought home Bailey and her 11 (!!) pups when they were five days old. I kept all 11 pups for six weeks, and then I’ve gradually downsized my group to five as of this past week, and hopefully, they’ll be sweet babies so I can enjoy them until their adoption date, September 16th. It is so rewarding to watch them blossom, gain confidence, and know that they’re going to find their forever homes in just a couple of weeks.

It is always sad to see them go, but it is a happier moment to know that they’ve been given a good head start to their lives and ready to become amazing dogs to their lucky families. People always ask how I don’t keep them all, but the reality is that I can’t keep them all, even if I wanted to 😂 Ultimately, I focus on being able to do more good for more dogs by being a regular foster, and that is infinitely easier when I don’t have lots of my own pets at home. Besides, Winnie has enough energy for five dogs!

I’ve fostered 40 puppies/dogs in 2023 alone, and there’s still time to foster a few more before the year is up! I hope what I’ve shared might encourage even one person to sign up for volunteer orientation or fill out a fostering application. For me, it has been incredibly rewarding and fulfilling, but I’ve also learned a lot about a topic/area I didn’t know as much about, meet and make friends (as an adult who works from home, this is a huge win), and grow so much as an individual.

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