Diary of a Rain Rescue foster mum

Hi i’m Claire and i am one of Rain Rescue’s fosterer’s i  have been fostering for Rain since November 2011,  and as it’s approaching our first 12 months i would like to share our year with you.

How did i get into fostering?

I contacted a lovely lady from Rain Rescue about rehoming 2 cats she was advertising for another lady, but as we lived so close to a main road the owner didn’t think it would be a good idea. I kept in touch with Maggie and loved reading the emails she would send about all the cats (feral and domestic) that she was helping. I sat many times thinking to myself  i wish there was some way to help, then i got my chance……

Maggie was concerned about a cat that had been dumped in the dog pound, he was due to be put to sleep. We offered to foster him and he came to us with only a couple of days to spare.

 

 Junior was our first foster, he came straight to us from the vets after being neutered. He was beautiful with such piercing eyes and long whiskers. He was such a character, he loved to play and would even bring the ball or toys back when we threw them for him, i swear he thought he was a dog. A retired Gentleman came to meet Junior and the rest was history. He brought in the pet carrier and in Junior climbed without even saying goodbye, they are both very happy.

He was our only foster cat, we then turned to fostering dogs.

It was new years eve and i had seen that Rain Rescue had an older guy in kennels that was really poorly with kennel cough and sounded in such a sorry state so i contacted them and after a long phone call explaining we had large breed experience and no other resident animals or children we welcomed our first foster dog on new years day.

Stanley really wasn’t well at all, but in the warmth of a home and lots of TLC he soon got better. He was such a gentleman and we adored him. We still to this day will never know how he used to curl up so small and fit in the armchair but it was his favourite place.

A lovely family contacted Rain, they had lost their dog and had Mastiff experience they were perfect for him. Unfortunately Stanley passed away earlier this year and we were all devastated. We are just glad he had a Family of his own and was loved so much in his final days. We will certainly never forget him.

We waved goodbye to Stanley and welcomed our next foster Paddy into our home. He was an older steadier guy or so we thought, he had only been with us in for foster for 2 days when he slipped his lead while out walking with my partner.

A night i will never forget, i was terrified he didn’t have a clue where he was nor did we. So many volunteers came to help us find him and after a few hours of searching in the cold and dark he was finally found. Apart from being very tired and thirsty he was fine, more than could be said for me. I have never been so frantic in my life.

A lovely family came to meet Paddy and we waved goodbye to our 3rd foster.

 

Gentleman Ben was our next foster, such a steady old boy.  He had medical problems and arthritis in his bones but never once did this boy complain.

He was a total pleasure to have around. His mum and dad came to meet him and fell in love with him instantly , they knew all about his conditions but didn’t care they just wanted to take him home and love him. Love him they did but unfortunately his condition worsened and his devastated Mum and Dad had to kiss him goodbye.

 

We then welcomed  Cilla into our home,  she had kennel cough when she came to us which gradually got worse and worse i have never know a dog so ill it was a really worrying time.

She wouldn’t eat, drink or even get up to go out, we had to get fluids into her through a syringe and my partner had to actually pick her up and carry her outside.

With medication and lots of love she gradually got better, she was such a little darling a real cuddle monster however our foster time with Cilla got cut short as one of previous fosters had to come back to us. I couldn’t stand the thought of Cilla going back into kennels so i managed to persuade a friend to take her into foster temporarily. She did find a fantastic new loving home.

 

The wanderer returns, Paddy had to come back in foster with us as he really didn’t like his new family’s cat. He couldn’t go back into kennels as he was really unhappy there. We were starting to think this boy would stay with us until a lovely lady got in touch. She came to meet him and fell in love with him, he left to go to his new home the very same day. She often writes or phones and he’s doing great.

 

 

 

Crazy Daisy was our next foster, from the moment she stepped foot in the house she was like a bullet. She was never still and decided she would chew anything and everything in sight right in front of our eyes. We tried a crate to calm her but she hated it and unfortunately after a little over a week she had to go back to kennels. I was absolutely devastated and beat myself up a lot, i felt i had failed her. Due to visiting young children she was just too much, she did eventually find a fantastic family of her own and they absolutely adore her.

 

As we dropped Daisy off back at kennels we picked up young Amy, she deserved a chance of a warm loving home too, we didn’t think she would settle but she did. She was an absolute sweetheart, such a gentle loving girl. A family that had previously adopted a dog from Rain had seen Amy in kennels and told their friends about her, they came to meet her and fell in love with her. A couple of days later we took her to her new home and kissed her goodbye, she goes running with her new mum and is very happy.

 

Along comes Buster, i had already met Buster when i had been at Rain walking the rescue dogs and new he was just a darling. He really wasn’t happy in kennels so he came to us. Buster was our longest foster, he was with us almost 4 months.

He was just a dream and we couldn’t understand why no-one asked about him.

While out walking a couple asked for my number after stopping us and having a fuss with Buster. A couple of weeks passed by and i never thought anymore of it then one morning i got a call asking if we still had him and could they come take him for a walk.

They collected him at 2pm, came back at 4.30 signed his adoption papers and took him to his new home. I cried buckets, no time at all to prepare for him leaving and after spending so long with him. His new family adore him and he’s so happy.

 

Angel came to us the day after Buster went, a lovely older girl. She loved her walks but wasn’t great with other dogs and we thought she would be with us for a while. A lovely couple got in touch about adopting her and they were smitten. She has a lovely big garden to run about in and is very very happy.

 

All our fosters have been amazing, but Digby actually had me in tears the day he came to us. He was so thin and so afraid. He couldn’t eat as he was in so much pain with his teeth. He went to the vets and had to have 10 teeth out, the vet thought he had been chained up and tried to chew through the chain.

He would drop to his tummy every time we went near him.

He was afraid of dark confined spaces too so we think he may have been locked up somewhere. He started to eat after his op and started to gain weight and soon learned we weren’t going to hurt him.

He was such a sofa monster.

What a difference a couple of weeks makes, he was with us for 3 weeks and turned into such a healthy confident boy. His new family came to meet him and we knew it was  perfect all round. We explained about his fears and what he had been through and now this little boy is loved so much in his new home.

 

 

Annie was just a little sweetheart, 9 years old wow was she young at heart. she loved to play with her ball and would run around for hours given the chance.

She started suffering with seperation anxiety and we were really worried about finding her a home.

A lovely guy got in touch with Rain about volunteering in the new shop and asked about a couple of the dogs. He came to meet Annie, took her on trial overnight and text me the next morning to say she was staying. He is around all the time, a perfect home for her.

 

Jazz was our shortest foster and after spending 4 1/2 months in kennels she was only with us in foster for 3 days before finding a new family. Her new mum and dad had recently lost their old Staffy boy and felt it was the right time to get another dog. She is loved very much and enjoys lots of lovely long walks and playing ball with her new big brother and sister.

 

 

Mabel was our first Deaf foster and we wondered if maybe it would be difficult, but this girl was a total darling. Despite being deaf she knew exactly what we were trying to get across to her.

She was just a dream, probably the most gentle dog i have ever known. A fantastic family got in touch and came over to meet her, they adored her and decided she was perfect for them.

That night we took her over to her new home and she screamed the whole way there, she is terrified of travelling. It was a very stressful and upsetting journey but seeing her in her new home made it all worth while. Her new mum and dad soon settled her in with lots of love and cuddles and they are smitten with her.

 

That brings us to now, Honey is our present foster. She hasn’t had a good time of things, all her fur was missing on her back when she went into kennels and she was very stressed.

She came to us in foster and was very quiet and reserved for a couple of days, it was clear she was afraid and thought we were going to hurt her.

 

We took it slowly with her and after lots of love and reassurance she is like a different dog. She is very affectionate and full of love. As with all our fosters she will now stay here with us until the perfect family finds her and i’m sure they will she’s fantastic.

I do get asked a lot how can you do it?  Don’t you get attached?

I won’t lie it isn’t easy saying goodbye to any of our fosters but we know they are going on to fantastic loving homes to get just as much love and care as they do here. If that wasn’t the case then they wouldn’t be going.

Fostering is a massive part of our lives and i couldn’t ever imagine not doing it.

To think that every single one of our fosters were due to be put to sleep and wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for Rain Rescue.

Some have clearly been abused,  some have definitely been loved but are still found lost and alone in the pound.  Hand on heart every single one of them have been just amazing.  To be a part of that, to help them love and trust again or get better if they are  ill is just the best feeling in the world.

I know i’m helping in a small way to make a big difference in these dogs lives and for every dog we foster it leaves room at Rain Rescue for another dog to be saved.