What happens when you fall too much in love with the pet you foster? Carrol Baker reports on some foster fails — carers who loved their charge so much they simply had to adopt them.
Not passing a big exam, or failing to make the rep netball team, doesn’t feel great. Nobody likes to bomb out at things they’ve given their best shot at.
But there’s one thing we think it’s quite ok to fail, and that’s fostering pets. Some temporary carers fall so much in love with their furry charges that they can’t bear to give them back to the rescue centre to find a permanent home. It’s called foster fails.
PETS caught up with a couple of these bighearted carers to find out more.
Tiny Tinkerbell
Sharon Hopkins is proud carer to gorgeous tabby Tinkerbell, aged one, and 15-year-old tuxedo-suited Daisy, who is big sister to Tink. Tinkerbell came into Sharon’s life when the tiny kitten was just a few days old. “She had six brothers and it was chaos,” she says. “All the boys were little balls of energy, but not Tinkerbell. She’d sit beside me and look up at me; she just wanted to hang out,” Sharon remembers.
Under Sharon’s love and care Tinkerbell has blossomed into an adorable cat who is very sweet-natured and gentle. “Often when we get these kittens they’re frightened little bundles who hide and hiss,” she says. “But before long they become cuddly, smoochy little monkeys; it’s a nice feeling to be able to care for them.” When it came time to take Tinkerbell and her brothers back to the refuge to be de-sexed and re-homed, Tinkerbell still hadn’t reached her 1.1kg target weight so the vet advised Sharon to keep her at home for another week. “By this time my heart was breaking at the thought of having to give her away,” she says. “And in the end, I knew I just couldn’t let her go.”
Now Tinkerbell, Daisy and Sharon all play an active role in Sharon’s fostering work at home. Any kitten families who are lucky enough to find themselves in Sharon’s care have two big sisters to help look after them! Being a foster carer is what Sharon describes as a “bitter sweet” process. “I know that as a carer I’m just part of the bigger picture, part of that journey to helping these animals find a home,” she says. “I do love what I do and it’s great to feel that you can make a difference in the lives of these animals.”
Sunshine Coast Animal Refuge (SCAR) gives refuge to abandoned and surrendered cats and dogs until they can be matched to a forever home. The refuge has a no euthanasia policy and relies on the generosity of others to support the animals in their care.
Want more forster stories? You should have picked up PETS issue 56! Subscribe to the magazine here.
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