If you love animals, consider being a foster family
If you have a soft spot in your heart for puppies and kittens, the Coshocton County Animal Shelter needs you. The shelter is looking for foster families to help with puppies and kittens.
Hayley Sturtz, manager of the shelter, said, “Foster commitment for most puppies and kittens is up to two weeks or until veterinary appointment for spays/neuters is complete and/or an adoptive family presents. Pregnant or mother cats can be two to three months while she raises her litter. You can tell us what your comfort level is – your timeline, etc. We never ask fosters to hold animals longer than they committed to doing so. We are always prompt in responses here at the animal shelter and prepared to receive any foster back should something change.”
All animals going to foster families are provided food, flea medications, litter and basic vetting needs. The foster family just provides a stable, loving environment for the animal, socialization, photos for marketing, updates on how the animal is doing and sometimes, a ride to the vet or to the shelter for adoption or vaccines.
Sturtz said, “Fostering helps secure temporary placement for at risk age groups. Typically, puppies six months and under, kittens with mom, and kittens needing more socialization under eight weeks. Puppies and kittens in a busy shelter serving so many new animals daily require more protection from common diseases, like upper respiratory, etc. Our fosters help get them out of the adult populations who carry things the littles can’t easily navigate and by staying at volunteers’ homes until vaccine series are complete, they are helping ensure a healthy adoption, which is always the goal.”
If you are interested in becoming a foster family for the animal shelter, the form is on their website and is very short. “These forms are to help us best match animals and circumstance, not to be difficult or a barrier to placements. We do ask for vet references and fosters need to provide household pet info. We would never want a mommy and babies in a high traffic dog foster home, for example. We want the animals in the home to be fixed because many of our fosters aren’t when they need your help. The right fit and security of our animals are what we seek and reducing stressful situations in the goal,” Sturtz said.
Megan and Ryan Stingel have fostered about 100 kittens for the shelter in the last six years. “My husband and I were in Roscoe Village, and we heard a ‘meow’ from behind one of the shops. We ended up borrowing a live trap from my dad and spent the night catching three kittens. We never managed mom and we tried for days,” Megan said.
She said she worked with Sturtz, so she called her and the Stingels took the kittens to the shelter. “We ended up taking them home as our first fosters. Their names were Harry, Ron and Hermione.”
“Fostering is one of the greatest joys of my life. I’ve been Mama to so many little nuggets that had no safe home. The world is huge and has such gigantic problems and sometimes, it feels like nothing we do matters, and that is a terrible feeling. But my time and love makes a whole world of difference to those babies. I have a photo of each.”
Megan added, “Just do it. Don’t think. Do. It’s worth it. You will be amazing at it. If not us, then who? I have six animals of my own. So it can be done, even if you have animals. No problem.”
If you would like to help, but can’t foster an animal, the shelter has a wish list on Amazon for the needs of the animals going to foster homes. These items can also be dropped off at the shelter. Items needed include: Purina puppy chow, Purina cat chow, Purina kitten chow, pellet litter and regular litter, toys and blankets.
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