Very few things in rescue make me visibly angrier than when an adopter mistreats one of our volunteers. While I was away, we had an adopter not show up to an appointment to meet one of our kittens in their home. No phone call. Nothing. Just didn't show up. People don't realize that our volunteers MAKE TIME for the appointment. They clean their house, and fret about their beloved foster leaving their care.
Yesterday, we had an adopter stay at a foster parent's house until after 11 pm - FOUR HOURS! In the end, she pulled out catnip and the cat became overly stimulated and bit her really hard - drawing blood. Needless to say, she didn't take the cat home. But c'mon - FOUR HOURS? I had to wonder how long she would've stayed if the cat hadn't bit her. (*snicker*)
I suppose this blog post isn't a plug for fostering. But I must say that in the 20 years that I've been doing this, I think that we've only had about 5 unpleasant incidents like this. People are generally kind, courteous and very very polite. I have no qualms about telling an adopter that the "interview is over" - especially if they aren't going to adopt.
The good news is - we had NINE adoptions while I was gone for the 4 days! I was busy updating the files and working the administrative
As I'm about to push "Publish" on this blog post, I hesitate because of the negative comments (above) regarding fostering. But I've always given honest viewpoints in this blog and will continue to push "Publish" without soft-pedaling the text.
I couldn't complete this post without saying how much I appreciate those of you who give an opportunity for a 2nd (or 3rd or 4th...) chance for any animal to be loved once again. Every foster parent who gives their time, their home, and their heart to the unloved, unwanted and homeless animals deserve to be treated with respect, care and kindness. In our rescue, I wouldn't have it any other way.
8 comments:
I don't think your comments are negative, you're just being real. It is always better to have a realistic expectation of what you're getting into rather than being hit with a dead fish!
I foster dogs. I don't think what you said should scare anyone away from fostering. Fostering can be wonderful, and difficult for so many reasons. No harm in being honest. You've shown us a ton of the good times.
i really appreciate those who put in so much effort for these defenceless animals. Yup, those who are rude just need a good wake-up call.
I love fostering!! Yes, you get the odd person every so often, but we do it for the love of the animals(dogs and cats)
99.9% of the people I have met fostering with you or the dog rescue are wonderful people.
So, on to the next foster....
I prefer honest posts. Good and bad. Hey, whatever happened to boo boo?
Fostering is awesome! I would hope someone wouldn't be turned off of fostering because of situations like that. They're so rare.
I encounter jerks in my daily life too and they have nothing to do with fostering. That's people for you.
4 hours??? That woman sounds a little off. I want to foster when I have a bigger place and the only thing that puts me off a little bit is having to deal with the public (I worked in customer service for years and hated it)...but I still think it would be worth it. Also, when I worked at PetSmart it was better than a lot of the other places I worked because the customers were all pet lovers and just seemed generally nicer and happier. So this doesn't put me off - I like the honesty, like everyone else said.
Anonymous: You can foster in any size place, I have a tiny apartment and I foster, as long as you have enough toys for exercise and entertainment they don't need much space. Better to live in my tiny apartment than die at the shelter. Only down side is I can't have 10 fosters!
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