by Kim Butler

Created on: June 13, 2008

If you've ever wandered through the kennel aisles of your local animal shelter and watched the dogs as they jump against the mesh door or lie forlornly on the concrete floor, sometimes in their own feces, surely the thought comes to mind "I would never want to spend a night in a place like this". I ask the question, why should the dog have to?

Studies have shown that domestic animals living in a temporary foster home are much more well-adjusted and socialized as opposed to animals residing in a kennel or shelter environment. Throw in the usual rampant bout of kennel cough that makes its way through the dog kennels and then you've got sick animals as well.

As someone who has been rescuing homeless animals for many years, I have seen both sides of the equation here, and first-hand knowledge lets me state with some level of authority that fostering works. I personally have fostered dozens of dogs of all ages as well as cats. The benefits of being in a home environment are immense. Being able to live in a structured family environment, with the benefit of one-to-one training creates a happy, well-adjusted dog and in many cases we're able to break the dog of unsuitable learned behavior. We have been able to take the "chronic chewers" and teach them that booda bones really are better to chew on than dad's shoes-and increase their chances of finding a forever home.

I had a 10-month old chocolate lab named Coco that I rescued from a local shelter. She was a wonderful dog, full of energy. She even had her own book club, "Coco's Book of the Week" (my idea based on how many of my books she ate.) She loved a good mystery- Patricia Cornwell, John Grisham-she just tore right through them. Wasn't real keen on art books though-she didn't get past the cover of my Salvador Dali book. At any rate, with the proper training, she abandoned her book club, found a wonderful home and is living large-thanks, I believe, to fostering. At the shelter, she may have gotten a home-but may have been brought right back because of her bad habits. In a foster home, the foster parents can take the time to work with their foster animals so that they become better, well-adjusted, more rounded and sociable family pets.

Shelters have a purpose and that is to be a short-stay facility for homeless animals. The key is the word "short"; all too often, animals wind up staying for months. Life in a kennel or shelter is not what the animals are used to. They become depressed, withdrawn, and sick. Some may be euthanized depending on the shelter's policies and available space. What the rescue world needs is more foster homes so that shelters really will be "short-stay" facilities.

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