TWINSBURG, Ohio — The Humane Society of Summit County is looking for foster caregivers who can open their homes and give homeless animals care and compassion as they begin new lives with the help of the agency.
“All they need is basically a place to land for a little while, you know, get them through a period of time. Then, they get returned back to the shelter and they'll find a loving home,” said Kathy Kraft, a long-time cat and kitten foster caregiver for the HSSC. “And what you've done is you have kept them safe and made them a more social creature.”
The need for foster caregivers is currently great, the agency said.
More than 50 animals recently became wards of the humane society after being taken from a condemned house in November. Akron Municipal Court awarded the agency the cats, dogs and birds, which are receiving care for malnutrition and various health issues, the HSSC said.
To make it easier on the foster families, the humane society provides everything a caregiver needs, Kraft said. That includes food, cat litter, bedding, crates and veterinary care. The agency also trains foster caregivers.
“It sounds a little too cliche, but how could you not? When you have a little kitten in need, or these kittens in need,” she said.
Kraft started out in 2008 walking dogs for the agency because she mistakenly believed she could bring home an illness to her resident cats, she said.
Since learning that’s not true, Kraft, who works full time, has racked up 13,000 hours in volunteer time and fostered countless cats and kittens, she said.
“I have had up to three sets of kittens at one time,” she said.
Kraft has a dedicated room where she keeps her charges separate from her three resident cats. To keep multiple litters separated in the cat room, she uses large dog crates, also provided by the agency, she said.
Fosters who can care for litters of newborn kittens are always in big demand because of the time commitment and sleep deprivation involved with bottle feeding, Kraft said, but that’s only for a short window of time.
Because of her work schedule, Kraft said she doesn’t opt to foster bottle-fed kittens, but has fostered her share of mom-cats who have given birth the same day, which is an eight-week commitment.
Kraft is also a dedicated adoption counselor. To those who are afraid they would keep the animals if they tried to foster, she has a logical answer.
“As a foster mom, there's a certain period of time when you kind of just look at them and look how independent they are and just say ‘You're done’ you know? ‘My job is done,’” she said. “’Now please go, you need to find your perfect home.’” Yes, I would love to keep all of them. That's just not responsible.”
Fostering also can be a way to know whether adopting an animal is right for you, if you’re thinking about making a pet a permanent part of the family, said Matt Pozderac, who recently started fostering dogs for the agency.
“I think everybody should at least consider it. If you like animals, and if you're on the fence about having a dog for yourself, or having a cat for yourself, you can kind of give it a test run and give an animal a home for a little bit,” he said. “If it works out great, then it works out, and if it doesn't, OK, but maybe you can keep fostering.”
Pozderac is fostering Bella, a six-month-old golden retriever who now shares space with Pozderac and his girlfriend, Lauren, along with four resident cats and a border-collie mix named Killian.
“We got lucky in that it's perfect,” he said, although if it weren’t, the humane society would work with the foster caregiver to make it right.
The humane society conducts behavior assessments on the animals to better understand the pet’s temperament and any quirks the animal might have, he said.
“So they know their animals really well. They're just super overbooked,” he said.
Getting people to foster will alleviate stress for the humane society staff, and make sure the animals are getting the best care, he said.
The couple isn’t sure how long Bella will be with them, he said. But they are sure they won’t become a “foster-fail,” which is an industry term for those who keep the pets they foster. That’s because several of their friends plan to put in applications to adopt Bella when she’s ready, he said.
There are many benefits to fostering, he said, but one means the most.
“Think of the quality-of-life that you're providing this animal. If I wasn't fostering her, she would be in a kennel. She would get a couple walks a day maybe,” he said. “She wouldn't get to play with our dog, or our cats, or people really, other than those two walks. And so, the biggest thing for me is the quality-of-life that I can afford to her.”
The only drawback is that puppies are hard work, he said.
“It might be easier with a cat, or an older dog, but most people are aware that puppies are work and that's very true,” he said. “I don't let her out of my sight pretty much, because I don't know what she's going to get into in our house. So she's pretty much always supervised and so, that can be a lot of work. But, definitely worth it for the quality-of-life we're giving her.”
Visit the Humane Society of Summit County website to learn more about becoming a foster, or apply online to foster.