How long have you been rescuing dogs and how did you come to be involved in dog rescue?  About five years now. Our first dog, Ripley, was rescued from animal control in 2004. Our intent was to find the dog we felt was least likely to be adopted by anyone. Ripley, who was huddled in the lap of an animal control officer, shivering, was extremely terrified by all the new faces and would not make eye contact. She was malnourished and heartworm positive. While Ripley was not the poster child of the ‘perfect dog’, for what we were looking to accomplish, she was the perfect candidate. Five years later she is still learning how to be herself, but she has come a long way from that terrified pooch in the kennel. We got involved with K-9 New Life in 2007. We heard about them through word of mouth and found that their mission was inline with our own rescue efforts. 

What is your most memorable foster dog experience?  Our first foster dog, Snoopy. He came straight to us from animal control -- a 2 year old Border Collie mix… not really “our kind” of dog. We both thought, “There’s no way we’ll get attached to this dog.” Six weeks later, when Snoopy’s new owner came to pick him up, reality set in. He got along great with our two dogs and was an extremely smart, well-behaved dog. We thought, “How are we going to let him go? He’s such an awesome dog and our dogs love him!” As Snoopy and his new owner backed out of our driveway and headed off down the street, Snoopy stared out the back window of the car at us until they were out of sight. We both knew that it was going to be hard to let Snoopy go, but we also knew there were many more dogs out there who needed our help.

What advice would you offer to someone who is considering fostering a rescue dog?  You should expect to get attached, in some way, to each foster dog. This is only normal and means that your heart is in the right place. The greatest reward with fostering is knowing that every time a foster dog goes to their new home, another life has been saved and a chance for another dog in need has been created.