Sunday Night as I watched the movie "A Dog Named Christmas," I was touched by the idea which was the premise for movie, inspired by the book of the same name, written by Greg Kincaid. Animal shelters are generally overflowing and understaffed, especially during the hectic holiday seasons. What a lovely concept: to foster a shelter cat or dog, and to give him or her a real home, instead of a lonely cage, if only for a few weeks.
And what a pleasant surprise to find out that Petfinder.com was also inspired by the movie to create its own Foster a Lonely Pet for the Holidays program. Over 2,000 shelters and rescue groups are participating in the program, and you can find one close to you in the Petfinder database. If you've been seriously thinking about adopting a new pet, but aren't yet sure you can make the commitment, this is an excellent way to give a cat or dog a trial run. Even if you are not ready to adopt, it would be a wonderful way to bring some holiday cheer to a homeless pet. Who knows? You may be so bonded by the end of the holiday period that you'll decide to make the relationship permanent.
Photo Credit: © iStock Photo/Julia Pivovarova
If you've been thinking about fostering cats and kittens, this is also a wonderful opportunity to test your mettle before making a long-term commitment. Read stories and advice from current cat fosters, and if you already foster cats and kittens, post your own story.
Related Reading:
Holiday Help for Animals in Need
Fostering Dogs for the Holidays
Shelter Cat Adoption
Comments
I think it is a lovely idea. The vowels do not appreciate it.
I think this is great. Every pet should have a loving home.
This is actually a bad idea. While I believe every animal deserves and thrives in a home, part time placement results in the dog or cat feeling abandoned again. So imagine, an animal that once had a home, ends up in a shelter, takes some time to adapt to the shelter and then is placed in a home. That animal will take some time to adapt, to feel secure and safe…just in time to be dumped back at the kennel or shelter environment. Absolutely cruel.
Not to mention the fact that most people barely commit to the animals they do have, what will make someone commit fully to an animal they are just borrowing. Dogs and cats are not library books…they are living sentient beings.
Finally, holidays are stressful for humans. Bringing a new animal into the home during this stressful time only adds to the stress. Dogs and cats don’t know it’s Christmas or New Year. They don’t celebrate holidays. Baby Jesus ain’t their concern. If you want to give to an animal over the holidays, spend time at a local rescue or shelter. But don’t satisfy your selfish need to feel like you are giving when in fact you are doing far more harm.
Sincerely,
Animal Rescue Volunteer
i agree with Poly. to bring an animal to ur home+making it feel sooo good to then put it back where it was before, is a cruelty.it feels like u r baiting people momentarily to finally entice them to adopt the animal.with the expectation of reducing the millions of animals out there. not ,not good. sorry for this very bad propaganda put out by certain rescuehelping organizations.
i will add after my just written comment, that i am animal lover+i have two havanese females :lola + maddie.maddie is a rescue + is inseparable from lola. i am hoping in future to adopt one or two cats,+if i do, is not temporary.it is forever.that’s why i wrote paragraph before. again, i emphazise:few weeks foster is “cruel”.
Poly, I appreciate your thoughts on this program, as well as your concerns about the potential “cruelty factor.” Greg Kincaid posted a reply to a similar comment on the About.com Dogs blog. He said, “Thanks for your nice article. While I understand the concern that it might be hard on some dogs to return to the shelter, I think the argument loses sight of the bigger picture–we hope that 90% of the fostered dogs end up in permanent homes; most people will not take the dog back. There are similar number of people that return dogs even when they “think” they are going to keep it forever. You have to look at the whole picture, plusses and minuses. This could be a “minus” but I think the possible “plusses” way out weight that risk.”
With that that in mind, I have asked the folks at Petfinder.com if there will be a follow-up survey to calculate the percentage of dogs and cats actually returned to the participating shelters (as opposed to adoption or continuation in a foster home.)
Please consider this a reply to your comment as well as your lengthier email deploring this program.