Bundles of FUN
Sunday, December 6, 2009
By: Shara Dunlap

You know the short time these little babies/adults are with you; they will have had more love possibly than in their lifetime. Sadly for some the only time they had is with you. For this reason fostering is truly rewarding.

I have been fostering for 10+ years. Beginning as a dog walker and finding out the need of foster parents, I converted an unused room to accommodate rabbits, puppies, and kittens with or without moms. Since then it has stuck. What could be a better use of an unused room? My alarm clock has been replaced with the sound of running feet above me. I watch the morning news, drink coffee and love on them before my day starts. Gosh, are they so glad to see you after nights sleep. They love to crawl on you wanting nothing more than kisses and hugs. If you have a life that's stressful it is one of the best ways to relax. Watching them play, run, interact with each other and you are so calming. If your day is a little slow they provide great entertainment. If you are feeling sad they will just love and purr all over you as if to say it's OK. Whatever the problem was in your day you soon forget.
Of course after the weeks you spend watching them grow or make them well if they have been sick, you can get attached. It's difficult giving them back. Your heart knows though, they had the BEST life they could have with you. Choking back tears you pray they find a forever family who will love and care them as you did.

Peanut the One-Eyed Chihuahua
Friday, December 4, 2009
By: Moriah Taylor

Peanut was found abandoned and in very bad shape She only had one eye, a few teeth, and almost no hair. She was able to recover in a foster home and then went on to be adopted by a wonderful family!

My sister found Peanut in a cardboard box, abandoned out in the country. She was in pretty sad shape.  She only had one eye, about three teeth, and almost no hair. My sister knew I was a foster parent for Wayside and called me immediately. We got Peanut up to Wayside and I ended up fostering her while she regrew her hair. It turns out that she had lost most of her hair due to severe flea infestation. Despite that, and only having one eye and a few teeth, Peanut turned out to be only about 6 years old, and full of spunk. She was sweet and loving from the first day I met her. She got along great with my dogs and cats. When she was ready for adoption, I couldn't believe how many people wanted to make her a part of their family. She ended up being adopted by a great family with two young daughters and a small dog. Peanut took to them immediately and, though I missed her so much, I was thrilled to see her find her forever family! I hate to think of what would have become of Peanut if she hadn't been found and taken to Wayside. I was so happy to be part of providing this little dog a second chance at a wonderful life!

A Happy Ending for Bridget
Friday, December 4, 2009
By: Sharon Robertson

Our Foster Experience

Early in 2006 we took a very sick and very pregnant mama cat into our home for foster care. Her survival and that of her would-be kittens was definitely in question. After two weeks on medications, force feeding and hydrating and lots of TLC she recovered and presented us with four healthy babies. Eight weeks passed and it was time to return our brood to the shelter. I said to my husband, "I can take these kittens back but I don't think I can part with Bridget (mama)- she has become too much a part of our lives." He agreed and we adopted her. She has been a great joy to us and we continue to foster kittens for Wayside. Fostering is one of the most rewarding things I do as a volunteer - I highly recommend it!

Never Too Many Cats
Thursday, December 3, 2009
By: Pamela Dooley

Our great foster experience

We have four adult cats that live in our house but we always have room for foster kittens. We have been foster parents for 5 years, both at Wayside Waifs and for a shelter in Virginia. Each litter has its own story.
We had a litter of two precious kittens this past summer who were so tiny when they came home with us. We put them in an enclosure until we were sure they were litter trained. Our Holland Lop rabbit lived in the enclosure also and immediately assumed they were his babies. He groomed them, played with them and was very sad when they were big enough returned to Wayside. But it was not long before we had another litter for Toby to nurture.  There is always room for a few more cats in our home.

Griffen & Sebastian
Thursday, December 3, 2009
By: Trish Stinger

We fostered two 3-day old puppies for three months. It was an amazing experience!

Someone brought a litter of puppies to Wayside Waifs in a shopping bag.  They were only 3 days old.  I had not fostered before and decided to take two of them home for a few days until a more permanent foster family could be found.  After a few days, we fell in love and decided to keep caring for them until they would be ready to be adopted.  For weeks we did bottle feedings every 2-3 hours. We watched their eyes open for the first time. They they began to walk instead of crawl and then they began to run. It was truly the most rewarding experience of our lives. Three months later they came back to Wayside Waifs, weighing 23 pounds each. I cried and cried because we had grown so attached to them, but they were going to be large dogs and it just wasn't realistic for us to adopt them without a large yard for them to play in. Within 24 hours they were adopted by a woman and her son. She took both Griffen and Sebastian and now they are nearly two years old and so happy with their family. While fostering can be a big commitment, it is definitely worth it and I will always cherish the experience of helping these two pups who could not care for themselves.

First Time Foster
Thursday, December 3, 2009
By: Bonnie Still

In the spring, there were so many kittens at Wayside Waifs, I decided to foster some of the little cutiepies.

Because I work at Wayside Waifs, I see all the kittens that come in. This was my first year with Wayside and I was overwhelmed at just how many kittens they receive that need fostering - to fatten them up, socialize them, to give them the love they need and deserve.
I called my husband to get the "ok" and brought home five adorable orange kittens, all of which were girls! Mango, Tang, Marmalade, Cheeto & Cheddar provided two very interesting and fun weeks, to say the least! I'd forgotten how much energy our own kitten had, but I'd never dealt with five energetic kittens. Their adorableness won me over immediately of course, and I had so much fun playing and cuddling with them. After two weeks, they had fattened up enough to come back to Wayside Waifs, and they were all adopted very quickly. A few weeks later, I was fortunate enough to see Cheeto again, more grown up, but just as cute as ever. Giving these kittens so much love is just about one of the best experiences I've had in my life.