Love to the Rescue
by Betty Ryberg, FOTAS Foster
Change of scenery? We certainly experienced the need for that in the last 2 1/2 years.
A day trip on a pretty day? A walk in a just discovered park, or a hike through the woods as the weather turns sunny?
Maybe an overnight? To a cabin, a lake house, a campground? Our walls close in, our life lacks color, our days seem drab.
Take me away! A week away has restorative powers but often it’s those few hours or day trips or quick overnights that adds zest to our lives and brings a calm.
That is the highlight of doggie field trips or fostering.
Aiken County Animal Shelter dogs can come to your house, your yard, your park and it is their Disneyworld. Under your tree, playing with your pets or chewing on your toys is a wish-come-true mini vacation.
Aaah and catching a nap, sleeping late, and snuggling on a new rug – luxurious and QUIET. All the animals at the shelter are safe and well cared for-but it is not quiet. For a dog that is abandoned, oftentimes the barking of other dogs causes distress. Even one day or night away may feel like a much-needed spa.
Why don’t folks take dogs away for Doggie Day Out or foster? Is it because you may feel guilty returning them? Please don’t. A day or night away, a romp in your yard or a nap on your rug may be all that dog needs to restore his spirit and make him more adoptable when he returns to the shelter.
We have had sad, frightened dogs become their happy selves in two days. One dog slept for eight hours the first day he came to our home and then rolled and rolled in the grass for hours.
If you can’t foster for more than two days, then an overnight or day out is a respite likened to a snow day experience we felt as kids. Yippee!!
We have kept dogs for two nights and puppies for two months. All have been adopted. We didn’t change our schedules We made a safe place to sleep and play. Our busy days continued and we marveled that an animal could show such immediate relief.
Any new parent, caregiver, student or overworked professional knows the phew moment of a babysitter, respite care, a snow day or a day off.
The animals return restored and much more adoptable. It is a picnic for them. How wonderful to know your home is a five-star resort to some!
Their lives are in our hands.
