Our next Focus on Foster Care month story is a special one and comes from Liam a 12-year-old foster brother to 12 bundles of fur in the past 6 years!
“How do you let them go?”, that’s usually the first question people ask when they find out we foster huskies. For many, it is extremely sad to give a dog away.
But for me, it’s more about the amazing feeling when you get to see the dogs go to a family you know will treat them well, and there’s always another doggie who’s looking for a foster.
It's indescribable, the joy of seeing them find a perfect forever home after being surrendered for no fault of their own. But of course, right from the start, I know that we are just giving the dog a temporary home, to make them comfortable, secure and confident till our rescue, Homes for Huskies, lovingly and painstakingly and thoroughly scour and match new families for them.
Biscuit came to us with a fear of…literally, everything!
She was a statue carved by fear. But when she left, she was described as agile as a gazelle, beautiful as a butterfly, and curious as a Captain Cook.
It wasn’t a walk in the park to transform her and a common misconception is that to make a dog more confident, you have to smother it with kisses and hugs and soothe it all the time.
What worked with Biscuit was; first gaining her trust so she followed us and had fewer decisions to make, and then timing affection for when she exhibited confidence. Slowly but surely, she blossomed.
Bikkie as we affectionately called her, was only one of the 12 dogs who have graced our home so far. From this entire experience, I learnt to identify when a dog is uncomfortable, to give space when they want it, and to give direction when they need it.
We’ve had a whole range of doggie personalities, there was chaotic Keevi, mischievous Manny, sweet Snowy, gentle giant Ghost and Auntie Addie. And the current, Kind Kai, is one of the most loving and obedient, but he can be wild at times.
He used to fly all over the place and scratch the floor, but now that we’ve used his obedience to make him much calmer, my dad doesn’t have to cringe when the claws come out. We've had some gentle doggies too, the ravishing Raven, the kool Koby, flighty delightful Duckie, inimitable Ice...can you imagine how colourful our lives have been?
Ghost was our first foster and I was about as tall as him. Gentle though he was, he was also a pushy big brother, subtly bumping me out of the way to get to my dad and mum.
Then Raven, the mild gorgeous lil sister, Keevi the cheeky partner-in-crime, I feel like I've had a dozen siblings already. I can’t begin to fathom what a different person I would be without these adorable pests...oops, I mean pets!
Give fostering a go yourself, you'll love it and you'll thank me I'm sure!"
If you're interested in fostering for Homes for Huskies yourself you can find their foster info & application here: https://homesforhuskies.org.au/foster/
