A dog rescue organization serving Waterloo Region is urging more people to get involved in becoming foster homes.
Pound Dog Rescue (PDR) has around 30 foster families all over Waterloo region in the process of re-homing dogs. The non-profit dog rescue is constantly looking for new homes to take in dogs.
“It’s always an ongoing search,” said Kim Spitzig, founder of PDR. “If we can’t find homes, we can’t save dogs.”
Spitzig and her husband Jarret Luke have been working with animals for over 20 years.
After working with other rescues, they decided if they started their own, they could save more lives. In 2012, the two committed to this idea and PDR was born.
Having four foster dogs in their home, the couple likes to “practise what they preach,” said Spitzig.
According to PDR, fostering is important, because it gives these dogs a second chance at life. Some of these animals are coming from rough and sometimes violent situations that no animal should be in. Their foster gives these dogs the opportunity to live out the rest of their lives with a family that truly appreciates them.
Dani Lindamood fosters dogs in Cambridge with her husband. Joining PDR was a great way for them to help the dog community and also have a dog around without jumping into ownership right away.
“We knew we wanted a dog around and that we had a home to offer,” said Lindamood. “We decided it was a good interim step to foster and help get it to a forever home and learn a bit more about what we want in a dog.”
Lindamood is currently fostering her fifth dog with PDR and is ready to adopt one of her own fosters when the right dog comes along.
There is a minimum of a three foster system before you can adopt one of your own fosters to discourage any impulse adoptions.
“Right now we are super happy just fostering these dogs and helping find their forever homes,” said Lindamood. “One day we hope we have a foster fail, that’s where you adopt the dog you are fostering.”
The need for foster homes is at an all-time high, said Spitzig. Since pandemic related restrictions have been lifted and people’s lives have been returning to normal, Spitzig thinks people aren’t having enough time for their animals and surrendering them.
“I know that every time I turn on my computer I’m going to have hundreds of requests to take in dogs,” said Spitzig. “All of my foster homes are full, so we can’t take in dogs without more homes.”
During the pandemic, PDR would have to close down applications for dogs after an hour of having the dog being posted, because they would get so many. Now, that has come to a grinding halt, said Spitzig.
Even with the high application numbers, PDR would do thorough background checks to make sure their dogs are not coming back and truly staying with the family forever.
The requirements for becoming a foster, according to Spitzig, are not that scary.
“It doesn’t matter if you have other dogs, cats, kids or even live in an apartment. If you are dedicated to doing this and can provide a good home for these animals you can be a foster,” said Spitzig.
Lindamood wants everyone to know that becoming a foster is rewarding and to take yourself out of the equation.
“I think it's really important that people step back and not put themselves at the centre of that story and it's not about them. It's about the dogs and the really tough situations that they've been through and getting them to their perfect forever,” said Lindamood.
“Of course you get attached to the dogs, but the joy of seeing them go to what is actually the best place for them to be, where they're going to be loved and cared for overcomes any of the pain of seeing them go.”
