THANK YOU to All of Our Amazing Fosters!

Fostering is one of the most important ways that Southern Pines Animal Shelter makes a difference for the animals in our community. Without foster homes, the young, the sickly, and the afraid would have no hope here. It is only with the help of our dedicated foster families that we can save the neediest of the animals that walk (or, more often, are carried) through our doors. So, this post is a shout out to all of the amazing foster families that give their time and their hearts to the animals of Southern Pines.

Clearly, I cannot list every amazing foster who has helped us in the past, but here are pictures of a few of our recent foster families with their foster babies. Please send us photos on Facebook of you and your foster animals so that we can make another post about just how awesome all of you guys are and what a great experience fostering can be.

Melissa Brown and her daughter have been fostering Luna and Cubby until their Rescue Waggin' dates. Fostering can be an amazing experience for children. It helps to teach compassion and responsibility and preps them for caring for their own pets in the future.

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 Christin Wychelewski-McGinnis and her family have been fostering a litter of five puppies for us since they were just a few weeks old. Obviously, they are having a lot of fun with their new housemates.

Jennifer Farmer, one of our new office workers, has been fostering this sweet little kitten named Peavey. He's brought a lot of joy and laughter to her household.

Kristi Pierce and her daughter are one of our most dependable and awesome kitten foster families. They recently fostered Hallie and her three newborn kittens Dipstick, Tootsie, and Pumpkin until they were big enough for adoption. They do a great job socializing their kittens so that they settle in well in their new homes! It's always hard for them to give their foster babies back because they love them so much, but they know that they are saving so many lives by continuing to foster for us!

Theresa Venette is one of our board members, and she has been fostering kittens for Southern Pines for years. This is a photo of her with a litter of kittens she bottle fed. Without dedicated fosters like her, kitten season would be much harder on our staff and the animals that we are devoted to.

 

 

Jennifer Harvey, one of our staff members, also loves fostering puppies and kittens that are too young for adoption. Sometimes, fostering is a great way to find your new best friend. Jennifer fostered Priya, a little brown pitbull puppy who was too young to be at the shelter, and they fell madly in love. Some people call these "foster failures," but we like to refer to them as "unexpected soulmutts."

 

And, finally, let me take a minute to pat myself on the back here. My boyfriend and I rarely go a week without a foster animal in our house. We especially love fostering kittens and older dogs who need a little TLC. We like to think that we are saving lives, but really it's animals like Ash and Ember and all of the other amazing foster animals that we've taken in over the years that save us every day. They show us a depth of love and devotion that many people go their whole lives without experiencing, and they give us so much laughter, too.

So, if you have a little room in your house and in your heart, please consider fostering an animal for your local shelter. They will appreciate it more than you can ever know, and they'll do their best to show just how much it means to them every day.