Meet a foster dad this Father's Day

It’s Father’s Day, and we want to give a special shout-out to all the dad’s out there. BUT, very special to us, are our wonderful foster dad’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.

Pictured is one of our amazing foster dad’s, Chris. Chris and his wife have been a lifeline for hounds in need, so we asked him what it was like being a foster dad.

So, it’s Fathers Day and I’ve been asked to share my thoughts on being a foster dad for Forever Hounds Trust’s rescue hounds. Let’s start with the questions I get asked the most regularly. “How can you just let them go when the time comes?” “Don’t you become attached to them?” Of course foster families become attached to the dogs, because they care about the dogs future, a future we want to send the dog off to with a good, solid footing to begin it’s new life with a well informed and loving forever family. And that leads me to how we can let them go, it is an emotional time but quite often, you get to meet the new family and see for yourself the immediate reactions of your charge and their prospective family. On the rare occasions you don’t meet the adopters, you can still take solace knowing that Forever Hounds Trust have carried out a rigorous vetting process to ensure they are right for your foster hound. Once you realise the dog is happy and comfortable in the prospective adopters company, that’s a major part of your emotional battle won. When you get a positive update a month down the line, the happiness and joy for your former foster is immense.

Foster dogs come to us for many reasons but whatever the reason that dog comes to you, seeing them overcome their insecurities and learn to build a bond with their human carers is just so heart warming. Our last foster had been in a home which didn’t work out, he had been put back into kennels and spent far too long there. He was happy and confident with his his Forever Hounds Trust carers in his kennel environment, but that didn’t give him anywhere near the home life he deserved. We brought him home, nervous, timid and very unsure of the big wide world he’d suddenly found himself in again. Within a week he was as happy as can be at home, another week and he was walking on the beach and stopping off at café’s. A month in and this boy was a completely different dog, happy, confident, and with us, lovingly cheeky. Seeing him evolve into a fabulous, happy and confident pet was just the greatest reward ever, we consider ourselves to be very blessed to have experienced this over and over again and are currently looking forward to our next charge.
Chris

Such an inspiring article we’re sure you’ll agree. Check out the gallery below for some of the foster dogs Chris and his wife have opened their heart and their home to, and the lives they enjoy whilst in their care before moving to their forever homes.