Fostering pets a rewarding, emotional experience
Chunk, a 6-year-old English bulldog and beagle mix, didn’t mind getting a new temporary roommate in December, when his owners fostered a dog for the Butler County Humane Society for the first time.
Although Apollo, a 7-year-old hound mix, had been a hard sell for people looking to adopt from the county humane society, he was “a perfect dog” for Laurel and Mike Macher, who took him into their home for about two weeks in December 2023.
Laurel Macher, of Butler, said her sharing photos and videos of Apollo at her home helped him get adopted, which is one of the main benefits of fostering animals from the shelter.
“That’s one of the biggest things I love about fostering is seeing how they are in a home environment,” she said. “They act almost 100% different when they're in that shelter.”
According to Cari Ciancio, executive director of the Butler County Humane Society, the shelter has 31 active foster homes for dogs and cats. Fosters can take a dog or cat home for a period of time to help them escape the stress of being in a kennel, which Ciancio said could be a demo for how that animal would act in a home.
Fostering also helps make room in the kennel for new animal intakes, so the shelter doesn’t hit capacity when new dogs or cats arrive.
“We use fosters for behavioral animals that need extra work on their behaviors that makes them more adoptable,” Ciancio said. “At any point in time, I would love to have as many animals in foster homes as possible.”
The Machers have fostered two dogs now, only recently returning their second foster, Major, to the shelter. Laurel Macher said she had wanted to adopt another dog, but some factors held her back from it, including already having a dog. Fostering, she said, allowed her to bring another dog into her home and learn how they interact with humans as well as another dog.
“I've always wanted to help the shelter, but I have my own dog. I feel wrong leaving my dog to go give other dogs attention,” she said. “At least with fostering, I can still give them attention and have my dog.”
Ciancio said that while some dogs and cats would not be suited to being in a home with other pets, others are fine with it. Normally, the humane society lets a potential foster meet with the family and their pets prior to them bringing the new animal into their home.
“If they are taking in a dog, we always will do a meet-and-greet with their dog and the dog they are fostering,” Ciancio said. “If they already have animals, that's something we would certainly talk to them about.
“It gives us more information to provide to the adoptive family for that animal.”
Ciancio also said the humane society helps provide food and other materials to foster homes when they volunteer to take an animal home.
“We try to provide with that so they're not paying for anything out of pocket,” Ciancio said. “Many of our fosters are animal loving folks, they spoil their animals and do not expect any compensation. They spend their own money because they love the animals.”
In addition to animals that are looking for their forever homes, Ciancio said another option for fosters are animals that are aging or sickly, who may be taken into a home as “forever fosters.”
“There might be animals that are sickly that we might not be able to get better but still have a quality of life,” Ciancio said. “We call them forever fosters, and they care for them until they pass.”
Anyone can sign up to foster a pet from the humane society, Ciancio said, but the humane society performs a background check and may do an at-home meet-and-greet before sending a dog or cat home with someone. Getting away from the shelter for a short time can help a dog or cat reduce stress and even change their behavior for the better.
The hardest part of fostering for Laurel Macher was bringing Apollo and Major back to the shelter after bonding with them for a few weeks at a time. The goodbye was even more difficult because Major had changed so much from when he first came home with the Machers.
“I did cry because I’m going to miss him,” she said of Major. “That was also very emotional because I got to see Major open up and make progress and do all these things, then I had to drop him back off at the shelter.”
Chunk enjoys living with another dog for a few weeks at a time, and Laurel Macher said he is a good roommate for the dogs coming into her home as fosters.
“He’s really good about it; he’s super passive, just happy to be there,” Laurel Macher said. “He’s totally fine with other dogs. He does sleep for about three days after they leave.”
