It’s Mother’s Day, and we want to give a special shout-out to all the mum’s out there. BUT, very special to us, are our wonderful foster mum’s, without who we wouldn’t be able to help as many hounds as we do.
A dog may need to go into foster for a number of reasons; they may be very young, or old and not be able to cope in a kennel environment. They may be recuperating from injury and illness and need extra care, or they may have only ever known life in kennels and need a little extra support to help them transition to a home environment.
Here we focus on some ladies we just couldn’t do without, three of our amazing foster mum’s who have provided lifelines for hounds in need.
Jenny
Jenny is a truly treasured foster Mum. This lovely lady has dedicated so much time to looking after vulnerable rescue dogs in her own home over the years, and before Christmas amazingly welcomed her 34th foster dog into her heart and her home – Barney. Barney, an ex racer had never lived in a home environment before, and now Jenny, along with her husband Terry are doing a wonderful job in helping him transition from a kennel dog to a home-ready hound. Barney has completely transformed in their care.
Jenny’s experience means she is very gifted at preparing lost souls for their home life. She has looked after a number of different characters for Forever Hounds Trust, from shy withdrawn hounds straight from the racetrack, to the more exuberant youngsters! She is incredibly patient at losing her knitting, her space on her sofa and her neat lawn. On this Mother’s Day we would like to thank Jenny for all she does for our hounds and recognise her talents as a truly wonderful foster Mum.
Janet
Janet has been a lifeline for a dog called Lyric that arrived into our care in October 2020. Lyric came over from Ireland, and was one of the most traumatised dogs we have ever seen. She was so distressed and scared and it soon became apparent she would not cope or flourish in a kennel environment. She would spend the days cowering at the back of her kennel, staring at the wall, refusing to come out.
Desperate to get her out of this situation, we approached Janet who we knew as an experienced sighthound owner. Janet kindly agreed to foster Lyric and provide a quiet loving environment for her in a bid to make her feel safe again.
Two years on Lyric has made slow, but good progress with Janet – something we could never have expected considering the state she arrived in. Given that a further move would be detrimental to Lyric’s welfare, Janet very kindly agreed to be a permanent foster for this lovely girl. She and her husband continue to provide a safe haven for Lyric where she can relax, and all her needs are best met. This really is the best possible outcome for this lovely girl, and we are truly grateful to her wonderful foster mum Janet – she has been there when Lyric needed her.
Nicky
Nicky, a Forever Hounds Trust volunteer, first became aware of Bliss (a 9 year old greyhound), when it became apparent that her owner was unable to care for her. As there was an urgent need for assistance, and Bliss was an older dog who probably wouldn’t survive in an kennel environment, Nicky didn’t hesitate in welcoming Bliss into her heart and her home as an emergency foster. After a period of assessment, sadly Bliss’s owner was not in a position to have her back, so she came into the care of Forever Hounds Trust whilst in Nicky’s loving care.
Not only did Nicky and her husband ensure that Bliss received all the medical and welfare attention she needed, they cared for this lovely girl as their own, and gave her a safe loving environment where Bliss felt loved.
Nicky was also instrumental in helping Bliss find her forever home through a meeting at a event she was supporting. She was quite sad to see Bliss go after three months in her care, but felt reassured that she would have a secure and loving forever home where she would be happy. Nicky continues to offer a foster home for our needy dogs, we just couldn’t do without her.
All three foster mums have been completely selfless in their caring for dogs whilst in their care. The dogs referred to in their stories are shown below.
If this has inspired you to offer a foster home to a hound in need, please click here to email our foster team who would love to hear from you!
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