Fostering Mrs. Whats-it

As a volunteer with Portland, Oregon animal shelters, I’ve thought a lot about what could make our community a safe one for pets, before they ever reach the shelter door. I envision living in a place where all pets are safe and loved – I call it “Petopia”.  I was imagining what Petopia would look like when I saw this foster pet care need notice on Craigslist:

I thought…. In Petopia, someone would step up to help this lady – so she and Mrs. Whatsit could stay together.

My next thought was, why shouldn’t someone – be me?
If this dog can get along with our 2 dogs and 2 cats, I can manage another dog for a few months.

I reached out to this woman, who turned out to be lovely – and really distraught at not being able to care for this dog she loved. 

We welcomed Mrs. Whats-it (yes, named for the elderly character in the book, A Wrinkle in Time) into our family and home as our foster pet.

Mrs. Whats-it  was with us, not two, but five months. And it was lovely. 

We were able to get her a complementary Banfield veterinary plan to deal with some minor health issues. We had her groomed and looking and feeling much better. 

Sweet senior Mrs. Whats-it settled in so nicely with our household.  It was like she had always been with us. Our cat (and we) fell in love.

And when Mrs. Whats-it went back to her mom, she, and we were so very happy for her!

I hope you consider a foster. There is nothing quite as satisfying as creating the BOND, as preserving the BOND.

All the best to you in the satisfying volunteer activity of fostering a pet!

– Joyce Briggs