My family and I took a walk through the Houston SPCA in 2008 to see about a cat. There were many fluffy, stretchy choices but one kennel really caught our eye. It wasn’t the color, coat, or attitude of the cat that drew us in, rather, it was a note on the back of the kennel card. It read ‘FOSTER’ and our oldest daughter was immediately intrigued. You see, our family name is Foster and she thought it was pretty rad to recognize her name outside of our home. The four of us crowded together in front of the glass to see what was inside. What we found were two of our future beloved pets and we owe the joy of their companionship to whomever was selfless enough to foster them from infancy to eligibility.
That was the first time my husband and I were introduced to the idea of fostering an animal. It would be more than 10 years later that we would give the concept a chance in our own home. We had our first foster, Luna Bee, for six months before she was adopted. She was rescued from an abandoned trailer where she was tied to a palm tree. Her lead was entwined into the leaf scars of the trunk so tightly that she couldn’t reach food, water, or shelter. Our hearts hurt to see such a beautiful dog in so much pain but we weren’t sure what to do. We would throw her scraps and push water close to her in some sort of effort to help her have a fighting chance, careful to get close and attempt to untangle her. At that point we started researching rescue groups that could help with the situation. On what would be our last visit to those poor conditions we found her waiting happily for us, but this time she wasn’t tied up. This survivor chewed through her lead and was ready for her next helping of fresh fish. We contemplated bringing her home, but we already had three dogs and three cats at home, there was no way we could fit another! As we drove off for home she followed. We couldn’t leave that sweet girl alone on a highway so we pulled over. That moment changed our lives forever.
A few weeks later (after vetting and adjusting to an additional animal) I got into contact with a couple of groups I had found during my research, one in particular had recently helped a relative of mine and came highly recommended. I logged onto their website and 100% felt the love in their origin story. It wasn’t long before Luna Bee was in the care of Honoring Hope and Faith Rescue and we were officially her Foster Family.
We thought it would be difficult, adding another animal, but between the five of us we had plenty of love to give. Luna felt right at home with regular meals, indoor play, outdoor walks, and naps in the AC on our purple ottoman. She made friends with all of our pets; three dogs three times her size, our big ole male cat and even the two OG kittens we adopted from the SPCA ten years earlier. HHFR made it really easy to become a foster, too. They provided guidance as we navigated this new normal with their support group for fosters, many tools to showcase Luna Bee, as well as vetting to care for our new furry friend. The directors, while still working their day jobs, made time to contact and reach out to us and even set us up with a mentor. The only things they asked of us was to love, protect, and participate in monthly adoption events — easy!
Fostering Luna Bee was good for the souls of our family. Each of us attached to her in our own ways, even the husband. We’d share a good giggle hearing her play with the cats and watching her glide across our woods floors as she leaped to her safe spot on the ottoman. We took turns training her to sit, stay and kennel up. Walking was difficult, but we made it work, after all it was a whole new world for her so she needed time to learn. And that’s what we did, too. We learned to be patient, to be accommodating, to love without bounds, and without judgment. We opened our home for a moment in time and our hearts forever.
We had Luna Bee for about four months before going on our first meet and greet with a potential adopter. After that fell through it would be wrong to say we weren’t worried; 1. Would she ever get adopted?, 2. Are we too attached?, 3. Are we doing something wrong?. The answers weren’t as easy as yes or no so we turned to our ‘family saying’. Never give up, never surrender. Okay, so obviously we didn’t come up with that on our own, but it’s one of our favorite movie quotes of all time from Galaxy Quest. We gave Luna Bee everything, a home, our hearts, attention, patience, love and most importantly a chance. We didn’t give up on finding her furever home, we couldn’t.
Through the tools provided by HHFR we received an email from a man who was interested in Luna Bee. His message was heartfelt and after our first call I knew she was perfect for him. His sweet girl had crossed the rainbow bridge and he was feeling a bit empty until he saw a photo of Luna Bee. He was a good guy, had a good job, and could certainly provide for her. After his application was approved we met for a meet and greet. We were all nervous to say the least and the initial meeting didn’t go that well. Luna hadn’t come from the best living situation and hadn’t been with us that long, she was still adjusting. When we met him at a public location she was distracted, and scared a bit I’m sure. We went home thinking we lost another opportunity and would never find a match.
Wrong. Like I said, he was a good guy! He messaged us again this time saying he couldn’t stop thinking about Luna Bee and all she went through and wanted to give her another chance. The rest is truly history. Luna Bee’s new poppa messages me regularly with photo updates. Their furrytale came true; she truly is living her best life, and so is he.
Our family hasn’t seen Luna Bee in well over a year but it still seems like yesterday that she was here. Since saying goodbye to her we’ve successfully fostered another sweet girl, Stormy, who almost became a foster fail! We loved her to bits as well but knew there was someone out there who needed her love more than we did. The lessons that both Luna Bee and Stormy taught us will stay with us furever and we will continue to foster as long as we are able.
