New Year, New (Foster) Pet!

Photo by Gilberto Reyes from Pexels

2021 is in full swing and we are all sharing the wish for a better year for everyone than last. 
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How are you doing with your New Year’s resolutions so far? 

Another resolution you might consider that will make your life fuller and someone else’s better is fostering a homeless cat or dog. 
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Why foster a pet? Here are a few good reasons:

• You are saving a life.  There are so many homeless dogs and cats that shelters become overcrowded and cannot accommodate all of them. You are providing a temporary home until they are adopted. MHC often needs foster homes to temporarily take in pets who need special care, cannot be put in the kennel environment yet, or until space opens up at the Adoption Center. 
• An animal living in a home, a loving environment, is more relaxed, less stressed and less skittish than one living in a shelter, making it more adoptable. 
• It does not cost you money.  The rescue you are fostering for usually pays for food and veterinarian expenses. MHC will provide you with everything you need to host a cat or dog in your home. 
• Fostering helps your own dog become more socialized. Like young children, animals need to play and interact with one another.
• It gives you the opportunity to see if you are ready to permanently take on  a new pet. MHC lets you do "Foster to Adopt" -- it's like a trial period to give you an opportunity to get to know a pet before committing to adopting. We want you to be very sure you're ready to adopt a pet and that it is a good match for your household. 
• Volunteering and helping others, either people or animals, gives you a sense of purpose and makes you feel happier and more satisfied about life.

Providing a temporary home for an animal in need is a win, win situation!  The more foster homes we can get, the more cats & dogs we can rescue together.  

Then, when you’re bored with the diet and want a piece of cake, think you can’t do one more 30-minute session of exercise or attack another closet or drawer that needs organizing, you can cuddle on the sofa with a loving foster animal. 

Contact Midland Humane Coalition (or other local rescue groups) and find out how you can become a foster home.  Send an email to FOSTER@midlandhumane.org

Fore more information on our Foster Care Program, click here. 

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Shelia Huffman, Contributor
Shelia recently moved to the Greenwood community of Midland from Dallas where she was a staff writer for White Rock Lake Weekly and a columnist for Bubblelife Media.  A retired travel agent and event planner, she has  been an animal activist her entire life.  Shelia  has a daughter and son-in-law in Midland, a grandson in Dallas and a granddaughter at Texas Tech. She lists cooking and writing about food, and,  of course, playing with her Terrier Mix rescue, Penelope, as some of her favorite things.