by Mrunal Salunkhe, Intern, Humans of Canines

Fostering; Did you mean bringing a homeless dog into your home and giving them- your love, care and attention, either for a predetermined period of time or until the dog is adopted?

Well, that sounds like a brilliant idea. When one decides to foster a dog, one is basically volunteering to be a temporary guardian to the dog, either till they get adopted or till one runs out of time. It is an initiative that is helpful in so many ways to both, us humans and the dogs. During this pandemic, a lot of us are working from home or working for the home. This might just be the perfect time to lend your services to the doggie community and foster. There are numerous reasons for you to think about fostering, if you haven’t already.

• You will have a new best friend
• You can test out the waters before committing to adopting a dog
• It helps the shelters and rescuers to further help other animals in distress
• The dog learns to adapt to family households from an early age
• It is temporary and for a predetermined amount of time that is convenient for you
• You can choose whom to foster
• It increases the chances of the dog getting a forever home.

A dog is guaranteed to give you an experience of a lifetime, even if they stay with you for a few days. It’s these experiences that make fostering so much more meaningful, says Samay Seth who is an IT professional currently fostering 2 puppies- Lilo & Stitch. He says “They are my sunshine, moonshine and all the girls I need in life. I wake up with them and fall asleep after them”.  After fostering them for almost 2 months, his family too has grown fond of the pups. Since two is a company, they let Samay work in peace during the day. “We have this play session in the evenings that usually leave us with tired bodies and a huge smile”. They are looking for a paired adoption because the pups are inseparable, but till then Samay is willing to dedicate all of his free time to these princesses in his life.

Ava Wadia on the other hand, fostered a senior dog and has recently adopted her. She runs a pet boarding service in Mumbai and has some free time because of the lockdown. After getting in touch with a shelter through a post on social media, she decided to foster Lucy, who is a rescue. When asked about the challenges she faces to take care of an older dog, very happily she said “It’s been 5 months now and apart from a few health complications in the beginning, Lucy has been very cooperative, a complete angel! She was quieter when we got her home, but now being in the family who loves her, she is become a bit naughty.’

Although, looking after older dogs may be easier, it has the added responsibility in terms of medical care. Of the same opinion is Poorvaja Kumar, founder of Humans of Canines, who cared for a senior dog Hjordis, for a friend. “It’s the first time I have fostered a senior dog and it was much easier given my busy schedule. Being a 13 year old dog, Hjordis is a queen and very comfortable alone, but she socialized well with everyone in the family”. Talking about attachment, Poorvaja says “She was well settled and happy here. She had her own corners in the house and would follow us if we moved to different rooms. But because she already has a pet parent in Sweden, it was a smooth transition.’  She calls herself a dog-magnet, since she has rescued and helped several dogs.

Another good-hearted human, Vinesh Swargam, a final year engineering student rescued Snow, a dog on his college campus who was infected by maggots. “The NGO Welfare of Stray Dogs (WSD) suggested to not let him go back on the street because of his bad wound and that’s how I wound up fostering Snow. Otherwise a calm dog, he has fun playing tug every evening; but if I don’t give him attention in the day then Snow will come and close my laptop with his nose”. He already is a parent to a 2 year old dog- Stella and this new 7 months old puppy has added to his responsibilities, although he says that it is totally worth it.

It definitely is a task when it comes to raising puppies. They are the developing years in a dog’s life that mould them and thus it takes vigilance, dedication and bucket loads of patience to take care of them. Namratha, a canine trainer and behaviorist and parent to a 6 year old retriever Ginger, can vouch that even though it needs a lot of your resources to care for a puppy, it is the most rewarding experience. She has always wanted to foster, and in this lockdown she finally had the time to foster Chini, a 4 month old puppy. “In terms of raising a puppy, it’s been a smooth sailing experience. First few days I had to be very vigilant to potty train Chini. Most people get fed up of the toileting so the toilet training will be beneficial for the future family and make it an advantage for her to get adopted”. She believes that fostering makes the dog a better candidate to get adopted and there should be some kind of mandate when it comes to this.

These experiences highlight that fostering is a service, which not only saves lives but also gives us the gift of companionship and selfless love. Before you decide to foster, do make sure you consult a canine behaviourist/trainer. Consultations regarding behaviour, training, even ensuring that your home is a suitable environment to foster, are necessary and helpful as well. This will not only be helpful for the dog, but also for the caregivers. It is gratifying to take care of a dog in need and much more when one does it the right way. Look at it like you are playing cupid and by fostering you can actually make matches of canines and their lovers! So while the pandemic is upending our life in countless ways, let’s use this time creating new opportunities for man’s best friends!