In this personal account, Sonja Arsenault from British Columbia shares her experience with fostering a dog. For more stories like this, visit CBC’s First Person section.
The decision to foster a dog was not part of our plans, especially one that bore a striking resemblance to our late pet Griffin, who we had recently lost to a heart ailment after being companions for 12 years.
Initially, we felt our sorrow was too fresh, and the bond with our Morkie-mutt seemed irreplaceable. We were hesitant to open our hearts to another canine companion, even if it meant helping them find a loving forever home.
However, one Saturday in March, a friend who volunteers at a local rescue contacted me with a picture of a scruffy poodle/Maltese mix named Sammy.
Sammy needed a temporary place to stay, where he could relax, learn house manners, leash walking, and overcome his food and child-related anxieties. Since the rescue’s foster homes were full, my friend asked if we could take in the eight-month-old pup.
I couldn’t shake off the feeling that Griffin had somehow orchestrated this opportunity, nudging me from beyond.
Thus, we agreed to foster Sammy, albeit temporarily, until he found his forever family. It was a way for us to cope with our grief and start healing in a house that still echoed Griffin’s presence in every corner.
Throughout this journey, we grew fond of Sammy. His fluffy appearance, affectionate gestures, and occasional need for personal space won us over. As his temporary caretakers, we were given the first chance to adopt him.
Despite his adorable demeanor and attachment to us, we acknowledged the practicalities.
Realizing that Sammy required a home where someone was present most of the time and had another dog for companionship, we understood that adoption was not the best fit for us.
As we delved deeper into the fostering experience, we realized that fostering aligned better with our current lifestyle than adoption. With jobs and almost-grown children, we craved the liveliness a dog brings to a home at times — the happiness, the commotion, the everyday moments that make a family feel complete.
Fostering became a fulfilling compromise for us, allowing us to dedicate our parental care to a dog in need for a few weeks or months. We embraced shared responsibilities like we did in the past, but now it was about evening strolls, cuddle sessions, and late-night supervisions of our mischievous furry friend.
The beauty of fostering is the opportunity to assist more dogs. By offering them a temporary sanctuary, showering them with affection, and then uniting them with their forever families, we feel like we are extending Griffin’s legacy manifold.
After months of consistent training and patience that transformed challenges into successes, I crafted a catchy adoption profile for Sammy resembling a Tinder bio.
The response was overwhelming, with Sammy receiving more adoption applications in a day than any other dog in the rescue’s history. Picture Sammy as the Ryan Gosling of dogs in a Bachelor-style contest, where he found his perfect match with a new family including a dog companion named Baxter