Meet Oliver

Meet my new foster, Oliver. If you follow Animal Haven on Instagram then you’ve probably already seen the very graphic and disturbing image of the injuries he sustained before being rescued. He was found bloody, with his left eyeball almost completely out of his head. We can’t know for sure what happened to him, since he came in as a stray, but whatever it was, it wasn’t good. There were two surgical attempts made to save his eye, but in the end it couldn’t be saved and had to be removed. He has endured so much, but thanks to Animal Haven he’s going to be ok. He is now recuperating here in my home until he’s ready to be adopted.

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So, now that you know Oliver’s story, I wanted to tell you a little bit about what it’s like to foster, since I get a lot of questions about it. For me, fostering can be both deeply saddening and greatly rewarding. By opening your home to animals in need you’re opening yourself up to the reality of the cruelty and injustices animals face every day. And that can be painful. To look next to me at this sweet little boy and know that just days ago he was in so much pain that, as his medical chart stated, he was gasping for air…that is heartbreaking. However, there is a very rewarding flipside to this. By fostering you get to witness the amazing transformation that animals are capable of making. Despite everything they have been through, a beaten down, sad, scared animal, when treated with love and kindness, can blossom back into a sweet, happy, trusting being. As their wounds start to heal and their pain starts to dissipate, you as their foster (or adopter) get to witness this miraculous change.

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Fostering can expose you to heartbreak, to pee on your floors and to some sleepless nights….BUT today, after spending the whole night watching this dog writhe in pain, I forced my exhausted self out of bed to take a shower. And when I came out of my bathroom I found that the little dog who had been awake all night, was finally comfortable and peaceful in the safety and warmth of my bed. And that…well that makes this whole process priceless. 

If you have any questions about fostering, feel free to leave them in the comments section below. I will try to answer them all in an upcoming post.

xo,

Tedi