Working with and for pets are something which I have forever dreamed of. I wondered how one could manage something like this when they are working and most of them do not have time for a full time pet. I read a blog regarding foster care for children without homes or who are waiting for their parents to turn around before returning to their home. This led me to a search online for foster facilities for stray animals and abandoned pets. They are mostly at the shelter and for them, this is a very different environment from what they are used to. Many have been abused and are scared of humans due to bad experiences at bad homes or the brutality of being a stray cat/dog.
I came across the Animals Friends Rescue Project and PAWS; they need foster home volunteers so that they can save more animals from shelters and mainly the sick, old or helpless animals. These animals stand to be euthanized (humanely, they say) first as compared to the better looking and younger ones. Hence most foster homes will see animals recovering from trauma, illness or maltreatment. That in a way I think is what we can offer to these animals for their love and affection.
I think this is also a very great way to teach children about tolerance for animals and also to teach them that being good to your pets is not the only important thing. Even if it’s a stray animal, you do not hurt them for no reason, and in most (not all) cases I am sure the cases of kids hurting stray animals and stray animals hurting children also have some linkage to how children are taught to interact with animals.
I checked with CUPA at Bangalore, whether they had any Animal Fostering program, which they did not. They have facilities in conjunction with the vet hospital, and as they have a huge campus they say they do not require foster care for the animals. I have visited the facility, and I think if they do start a foster care program, they would be able to give some more time to the needy animals and leave the generic feeding and caring to be done in a more homely environment by a foster care provider.
I am sure I would be keen on fostering animals for a few months prior to their adoption. I think its the perfect solution for those who live alone, who travel abroad and would not want a full time pet, but nevertheless love to offer any help possible to animals.
Would you?
Oh I would!! But wont fostering a new animal for few months bother Whisky? U know the age old attention problem.
ReplyDeleteReema: I read up quite a bit about how to introduce a new cat to the old one, though I do wonder how she will react when I will take the cat away after a few months.
ReplyDeleteThey say that ensuring that the new cat is smaller than the older one ensures an auto seniority which makes things easier for them to cope with.
Oh I think i would really enjoy fostering pets, whichever they were (just not snakes and lizards, please) but then I'm quite certain I'd get too attached to them and it would be really hard to watch them go. I'm not sure I was emotionally cut out for that kind of thing.
ReplyDeleteDevil Mood: I too thought the same, I might get too attached. But then I thought it might be difficult the first time, but I do want to give it a try, sometime in the future.
ReplyDeleteI think foster care by volunteers is a very good idea. Mostly animals are cared for poorly paid workers who are not always very patient or gentle.
ReplyDeleteI always tell my friends who are keep to bring home a pet but are working full time and will not have much time to care for the pet or even to give company to the pet... that they should take care of stray and abandoned animals instead.
How did I not read this all this time!!