Despite only having the 13-week-old black and brown terrier mix for a week or two, freshman Avery Fletcher said she got attached to Quincy, her first foster puppy, and was sad to see him go.
“I just wanted another so I would forget about him,” Avery said. “He was such a good puppy.”
Her mother, Amanda Fletcher, said one of the hardest parts about fostering puppies is letting them go.
“Every goodbye is hard,” Amanda said. “Some are harder than others, but it’s all worth it for me.”
Avery and her family have been fostering puppies for about two and a half years. Once her mom got into fostering, she said she had no choice but to join in and has loved it ever since she saw the first puppy they brought home.
Amanda said she decided to start fostering puppies because she has always had a soft spot for dogs.
“I’ve just always loved dogs. I get some anxiety with people sometimes, and [dogs make] me feel comfortable,” she said. “I’ve always dreamed of being surrounded by them.”
At first, Avery didn’t want to foster puppies because she thought it would be too hard to let them go, but then she said she changed her mind.
“One day my mom came home with a puppy, and I was just like, ‘Oh he’s so cute,’ and I’ve liked [fostering] ever since,” Avery said.
Amanda said she was introduced to fostering by a friend, and after her family dog passed away, she and her husband decided to try it. They had their first four puppies, ended up “foster failing” and keeping one and then took a break before deciding to foster again.
“I bring them home and just love on them and feed them,” Amanda said.
Lindsey Lee, a member of the K-911 rescue organization, said there is a procedure to be followed when setting up families with their foster dogs, and they have to assess the medical and behavioral situation before moving a rescue in.
“Some of our fosters have dogs or cats or kids, [so we] would need to test and make sure that they would do okay in that setting prior to moving them,” Lee said.
With two different intake locations for rescues, Lee said there are currently 17 dogs in the organization on their way to finding foster homes. With the help of the Amazon warehouse in Kansas City and the donations of food and money from many people in the community, she said they are able to provide food for the dogs and make sure they get the medical care they need.
Much of the rescuing process cost is also covered by the adoption fee, and Lee said she doesn’t like to increase it for extra costs.
“I don’t like to get close to the breeder costs, because I don’t want to be associated with that. I want it to be affordable for people to add animals to their families,” Lee said.
Avery’s family has fostered many puppies since joining the program, and while she loves the dogs, she said they also come with many jobs that must be done. Avery said she steps in when her parents are busy or when the puppies are sick and need extra care, which she said improves her responsibility but can be stressful with energetic, playful puppies.
Junior Samantha Wilson volunteered at Wayside Waifs animal shelter, where she mainly worked with cats for about a year. She said she feels working with animals has helped make her more responsible.
“You have to make sure you do stuff in a very specific way,” Wilson said. “I would go and open up their kennels and play with them. It was mostly about giving them attention and making sure they all got interacted with so they weren’t bored or lonely.”
Despite any challenges her family has faced with fostering, Amanda said the overall process is enriching.
“It’s just really rewarding to watch them grow and see them get healthy,” Amanda said. “I’ve had really sick puppies, and [just] one or two nights of giving them love and water and food in a safe place is really rewarding.”
Similarly, Avery said that fostering has been beneficial to her in many ways. Avery said one of her favorite parts of fostering is seeing a variety of dogs, something she didn’t experience growing up with only the same type.
“I just love to see all of the dog breeds, it’s so fun,” she said.
Even though it’s sad to see them go, Avery said seeing the puppies find permanent homes is one of the most rewarding parts of being a foster family.
“It’s so nice to see them go to a real family,” Avery said. “I just think it’s really cool because I’ve seen them go where they’ll actually live for the rest of their life.”
Wilson said the best part of volunteering was seeing the animals get the help they needed.
“It’s just a good feeling knowing you are being the person that’s interacting with them and helping them feel safe and happy with their time at the shelter,” Wilson said.
Amanda described fostering as almost addictive and said the cycle of taking in fosters and helping them find homes gives her a strong sense of fulfillment.
“Some people are scared to foster because it seems like such a commitment, which it is,” Amanda said. “But, you can also just foster once, and it might not be for you, but you saved a dog’s life.”
