FROM THE HEART
Fostering Hope by Jessica Morrow
I
guest bedroom to let him have some peace. By utilizing social n May 2016, Laura Bushnell was leaving work she heard media, we were able to find a “furever” home for Wall-E. the unmistakable distressed meow coming from an Today Wall-E is a happy and beloved house cat. He is also alleyway. Ordinarily, she would not have thought too a successful case for the Humane Society Foster Program. much of the cry as there are lots of stray cats that live Animal shelters are meant to be a temporary location for in the area. However, the urgency in the cry and the fact that homeless animals, the assiduous workers of our central Texas it had been raining heavily all day with more heavy rains shelters see a constant stream of animals in truly desperate predicted piqued her concerns. She followed the cries to a situations. Foster families not only provide individual attention small hole in the wall where, sure enough, a tiny kitten had and a safe home but also open space at the shelter. Fostering wedged himself to escape the rains. A phone call to animal has provided opportunities for my family to volunteer in the control led to a rescue effort that ironically included a team community one animal (or sometimes litter) at a time. of firefighters. The firefighters freed the tiny kitten from Like people, each animal has a unique the wall and he was quickly wrapped personality and each presents its own up and transported to Laura’s house challenges and rewards. Some experiences for his first night inside. Laura and her have been as simple as providing a dog a husband named the kitten "Wall-E" and LI K E P E O P LE , place to crash for a few weeks, to keeping were determined to help him. Wall-E E AC H AN I MA L litters of kittens, to housing a persnickety was swarming with fleas, starving, mother cat recovering from feline mastitis. and terrified. Laura sent out a distress HA S A U N I Q U E Some of our most rewarding experiences message on social media asking for P E R S O NA LITY have come from the more challenging cases. help. Cue the Waco Humane Society. Like, watching a deaf albino kitten gain his I had heard of Wall-E harrowing tale, AN D E AC H confidence, or seeing the relief in a pair of so I offered to foster Wall-E through P R E S E NTS ITS tuxedo cats after multiple days of lime sulfur the Waco Humane Society’s Foster dunks to treat ringworm. Each case has program. With a foster home secured, OWN C HA LLE N G E S been supported by animal organizations Wall-E entered the fostering system like the Central Texas Humane Society. and was immediately placed into my AN D R EWAR D S . My husband and I have fostered 18 home. This is not always the case for animals through various organizations over animals entering the Humane society; the years. Each one has held a special most cases involve their tireless foster place in our hearts. Of all the animals we have fostered, we coordinator, Emily Keil, recruiting from a list of other foster have only kept one (our now 7-year-old cat, “Mama Kitty”). homes in the area (more on that later). Here in Central Texas, we have enjoyed partnering with the My family had fostered several animals before and was Humane Society of Central Texas. Their staff serve both the familiar with some of the challenges that come from bringing human and animal population with grace and compassion. a new animal into the household. We already had our own Emily Keil, Foster Coordinator, has always been great in dog and cat, so making sure Wall-E had a quiet place for helping us to find an animal that will best fit with our family. himself was crucial. We set up a litter box and food in our
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