Opening your heart to a foster is the most important aspect of fostering, and anytime you take that chance you run the risk of attachment. My family and I experienced an extreme attachment with our last foster, Star. Letting go of her was the hardest thus far in our volunteer work for VAGA.
When fostering you walk a fine line between being an owner and a keeper. If you think of yourself as the animal's owner you run the risk of being over run with animals because you can't let go. If you approach it as a keeper you miss out on a special time with that particular animal. So what's a foster to do? Honestly, I haven't figured it out other than remembering that the rescue I am helping is the dog’s owner and I am the keeper of that dog’s soul for however long they are with me. As the keeper it's up to me to make that dog feel comfortable and in the case of the retired racers, show them what life after the track will be for them. Sometimes it's a matter of getting them acclimated to everyday life such as dog beds instead of a cushionless crate, teaching them how to use stairs and housebreaking. Other times it might be to help them over fears.
A stable environment was key for Star; her short off track life hampered by too many moves. What I found when we took her in was a confident dog who wanted love and understanding, both of which my family and I had a ton to give. Owning or fostering a dog is more than walking, feeding and training, it's getting to know their personality, learning their body language and guiding them through a smooth transition. It's not much different from raising a child. As you raise your child you teach them rules and right from wrong and that's what needs to happen with your dog. If you don't show a dog what you expect then how can they learn right from wrong? They can't and don't, unfortunately dogs don't come with the Hollywood manners we see in movies, that comes from training and giving them the important information.
As a foster it's my responsibility to lay the foundation for a smooth transition into their forever home and it's the forever home's responsibility to continue what I started. If the forever home doesn't then that's when problems arise, problems such as destruction or house soiling. With proper exercise, diet and teaching your dog what you expect from the beginning you’re better able to avoid these problems.
Star came back into foster care with the label destructive; she was chewing carpet, walls and having potty problems. The house soiling worried me, I have a Beagle/Basset mix that occasionally has accidents and I worried Star would set my dog’s progress back. Star's problems could be explained one of two ways, medical or stress related. After her first few days in my home without incident I began to believe her problems were stress related. Proper introductions to other pets is important, most times you can't throw dogs together and expect them to get along, introducing them off the property is important and slowly bringing them together in your yard and home is the first step to a smooth transition and one that takes me anywhere from two to three hours whenever a new foster arrives at my home.
Turns out Star was most likely stressed with her other small canine companions. Star showed signs of agitation with my neighbors small dogs but once she realized they couldn't get into my yard or home her agitation faded. Star also had a ton of pent up energy, which I promptly started helping her release with walks and plenty of running time in my yard. By day three in my home she was relaxed and comfortably interacting with my dogs. Sometimes a placement just doesn't work and in Star's case that was it. She fit well enough with my family that we thought we were going to fail as a foster and become her forever home, but in the end I put aside my feelings and considered every thing I'd observed and it was clear that Star and Josie had a love hate relationship and it wasn't fair to either of them to force them to fit.
Being a successful foster in my eyes comes down to putting aside personal feelings and using the information I gathered observing Star's and my dogs behavior to make the best possible decision and in Star's case it was to find a forever home where she could be the queen and as of this entry she seems to have found that home. And once her adoption papers are signed Star will be another success story for VAGA and my family.
Until next time, Woof, Woof and Roo!
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