Q. Don't you get attached to the Pug?
A.Quite frankly, you will probably become VERY
attached to your foster Pug. There is so much joy in fostering the new
arrivals. As for your foster Pug, the resident dog(s) get to make
friends too. Often, the resident dog will
be revitalized in the presence of the rescued Pug, and you will witness
amazing developments in both dogs. It's educational to see how different
dogs react to training, how they play with and teach one another, your dog
becomes the ambassador. You WILL fall in love with your foster Pug.
This is necessary
to his or her rehabilitation and also leads us to the next question.
Q. How can you give him
up?
A. This is probably the number one reason
why a lot of caring people do not offer their homes for foster care: they
are afraid of the pain of giving the Pug they have fostered. Remember, without foster homes, we cannot rescue and save these Pugs: they
will die in the shelters if we don't have space for them in our network. It
helps to think of your foster Pug as your neighbor's Pug that you are
keeping during a vacation. Sure, you like him and will take really good care
of him, but when your neighbor gets home, you will give the Pug back! Some
of us think of ourselves as the rescued Pug's 'aunt' or 'uncle,' a loving
guardian for the Pug on his or her way to a permanent home. This is a Pug
who ultimately belongs to someone else, who is in our care for only a short
time. When you give him or her up, it will be to a Pugs 'forever home' that
this pug has been waiting for--and you will be opening a space for the next
rescue who needs you so desperately. There is ALWAYS another rescue Pug that
needs your help.
But, also, after many years of fostering, your fellow volunteers can assure
you there is nothing quite as moving as seeing your beloved foster Pug
happy, healthy, loved, and cherished by the forever home that really wanted
him or her and in some cases really needed your Pug. It's contagious, and we
hope you will be hooked on fostering, too
Q.
What if I'm afraid my foster dog who is ill might die?
A. We ease foster homes into the
work very gradually and never give a heartworm patient or other very sick or
injured Pug to a home until they feel ready to take on that responsibility.
To be honest, though, we can tell you that if you foster long enough, you
may very well eventually lose a foster even with all our efforts to save him
or her. Tragically, most of us who have fostered for a long time have gone
through the pain of loss because, after all, most rescues are in the program
because they have been neglected, abandoned, and abused: and that includes
previous owners not giving them heartworm pills or other medical care. The
illness is not the dog's fault, and sometimes the weeks or months he or she
is with us are the only medical care, peace, and love the rescued Pug has
ever known. We have held them in our arms when they crossed over and wept
tears for them. It happens. But in every case, if we didn't intervene, the
dogs would have had a far worse experience - dying on a cold steel table at
the end of a needle in an overworked shelter putting down dozens of animals
every day, or alone, frightened, and sick on the streets. The dogs we do
lose in our program knew we loved them and did the best we could for them;
and we are humbled by their sweetness and understanding even as they cross
over. It is, in fact, a very humbling experience, and we're never sorry we
tried to help these dogs. Most of your fosters are not only going to make
it, but are going to thrive, become unbelievably gorgeous, go on to a
wonderful new life, and make you very proud.
Q. What if I
really like the pug and want to keep him?
A.This does happen.
Sometimes the "perfect Pug" comes along, and everyone in the family just
seems to agree that theirs is the "perfect home." Fortunately, qualifying
as a Foster Home usually qualifies you as an Adopter as well! The Pug
Rescue Network's first priority is to place our Pug's where their needs and preferences as important
as the adopters'. Sometimes the dog tells us
which home is right; and we respect that. Should this happen, and we all
agree, then the foster home will pay the adoption fee, complete the Final
Adoption Agreement, and assume ownership of the dog. Please think about
this carefully, though, as often adoption means the family feels it no
longer has foster space available, and we desperately need those homes.