Mabel the Rescue Dog

3 min read (Articles narrated by Mabel)

Every time someone asks Molly how many dogs she’s fostered, she proudly says, “18!” By the time you read this post, it may be much higher than that because I know she’s not stopping there. She’s happy about the number of dogs she’s fostered because the higher that number is, the more dogs she has saved.

From the beginning, she’s been very fixated on fostering as many dogs as she can. She’s gone from one to another with sometimes less than a day in between. She even has a bulletin board on her wall that she hopes to one day fill as much as possible. But now, after a year and a half of fostering, she’s realizing that she has been putting too much pressure on the number of dogs.

The More Dogs in Foster Homes, the Better!

Of course, the more dogs that can be fostered, the better. Every time a human fosters a dog, they get that dog out of a shelter and free up room for more dogs to be saved. So, Molly has been taking in so many dogs because she wants to help as many dogs as she can. She’s been great at getting them adopted quickly and giving them lots of love, so she often feels obligated to take a foster whenever she is able to.

However, her fostering has gotten a little less frequent lately because it can be exhausting at times. She’s beginning to accept that it’s okay to take a break now and then. As important as saving dogs is, she’s not the only human in the world that can help out.

Yet, the Number of Dogs Isn’t All That Matters

It can be easy to get caught up in the number of dogs you foster. I’ve seen humans that have fostered hundreds of dogs, and that’s a lot of lives saved! I know Molly would feel really fulfilled if she could foster hundreds of dogs, but not if she has to sacrifice her sanity to get there.

Luckily, it’s not the number that matters. What matters is the lives that a foster parent changed. Our home is just a small time in a dog’s life, but it has such a huge impact on their future. Without Molly’s foster home, the dogs she cared for might not be in the loving homes they are today. Of course, the more dogs we take in, the more dogs that can find their happily ever after. But if Molly is overly stressed, it’s harder for her to find the perfect home for them and it’s harder to train them too.

So, while Molly’s goal is still to take in as many dogs as she can, she’s going to do it at a pace that makes sense for her. Sometimes we might have ten dogs in a row while other times we might take months in between each one. Either way, the happiness of the dogs in our care is what’s most important. No matter how many dogs we foster, we’ve still changed lots of lives.

Find a Fostering Routine That Works for You

Fostering dogs isn’t easy. We’re not going to sugarcoat that. But it is a rewarding experience that every dog lover should try, even if it’s just once. However, to be a happy, successful foster parent, you need to find a routine that’s right for you. Choose foster dogs you can handle and don’t overwork yourself. There are plenty of ways to foster without being exhausted.

Every rescue and shelter operates differently, so if you’re ever unsure how the fostering process works, don’t hesitate to ask them! Almost every organization is happy to accept more foster parents. And if you have any questions about fostering in general, you can ask us too!

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