Nerve Endings Firing Away

We adopted Lucy from Impact Animal Foundation nearly two years ago. The process was quick and it has been the best decision we ever made. We or rather I was contemplating getting a second dog to keep Lucy company (I’m told younger human siblings are produced for similar reasons). And obviously, my parents have been clamoring for a grandchild and each time I call home, they fervently hope it is about some ‘good news’. Finally, we settled on a middle ground and decided to act as temporary fosters for a Impact Animal Foundation, a local non-profit that helps place dogs from the rescue shelter in homes.

The foster process was slightly longer than our adoption process. First, we met with their outreach coordinator at a local coffee shop who gave us a short presentation on her laptop regarding the foundation’s mission, goal, and objectives. She told us it was required by the law. We paid one-time membership dues ($20) and we were officially part of their volunteer group. If we wanted, we could even offer our time at the local Petsmart every Saturday on Adoptions Day when the general public can see and be with all foster pets. The lucky ones get adoption applications which are processed quickly and the pets get a new home. Yes, some people end up adopting their foster pets and it is rightly called, “foster fail”. You can definitely adopt your foster but more pets you have, the less space there is for the next foster.

Next up, we received a home visit from their Foster Coordinator who basically answered all our questions and saw our home. We could specify what kind of dog we wanted especially with Lucy around because we didn’t want to referee an impromptu mad dogfight at home. Also, we wanted a dog that we could crate for eight hours when we were away at work. Ash is still wary of big dogs so that was our other criteria. Other than that, we were ready to open up our home to a foster dog.

Impact Animal Foundation in College Station, TX picks up dogs from the local rescue shelters and places them in people’s home temporarily until they find permanent homes. This gives the dogs the comforts of a real home compared to the maddening and depressing atmosphere of the shelter. Although much better than what I have seen in India, shelters can be noisy, cramped, and somewhat dirty. Unfortunately, the shelter has to euthanize dogs after a certain period of time if they are not adopted in order to make place for the new ones that come in. By law, they cannot refuse any new animal that is brought in by anyone for any reason. Space is limited and this is where organizations like Impact make a difference. We were only too happy to help out.

After all the formalities were complete, the foster coordinator called us after a few days and told us she had a dog for us. More on Elsa soon.