Foster Spotlight – Tina Z
“In August of 2017, I voluntarily took in a 5 week old Beagle, Penny, who was pulled by my aunt from her relative who is a “backyard breeder” (all puppies and parents were eventually rescued). Not only was she a puppy, but she had some medical needs. I had no experience with puppies, as I had always adopted adult or senior. With much research, will and patience, I not only saw her back to health, but trained her and raised her to be the best version of herself. I took on all of her expenses for almost 6 months as if she was my own. After I spayed her, I adopted her out to a wonderful family. That family went through an application process, a meet/greet/interview process, and a home visit with me. Penny was placed with her new family on Jan. 27th. I was emotionally devastated the moment I came home to a quiet and Penny-less home. Since then, I have become friends with Penny’s new family, I receive pictures every now and then of her, and, best of all, we meet up habitually for visits. Seeing and hearing how happy her new family is and how comfortable she is with them in her new home is why I wanted to foster. There is nothing more rewarding than knowing that you saved and nurtured a life and impacted the lives of others in doing so. In addition, I know fostering will make room for another life to be saved and one less statistic.
As for LGAR, I was acquainted with a woman via FB who lived local and was a part of a town group that I was a member of. She fostered for LGAR. She saw my social efforts in finding Penny a home and reached out to me about LGAR and their needs for a foster for a beagle mom and pups. I went on LGAR’s website, as I was unfamiliar with the rescue at that time, and felt the rescue’s mission, vision and values were aligned with my own. So I filled out the application. And then I spoke to Jody, and while Jody may not have felt this way, I felt I was talking to my soul sister. Our thoughts and views around animal welfare and rescue were very much alike. I felt her passion and compassion, and that of all others affiliated with LGAR on that one call. I just knew this is where I needed to be. And it’s been a blessing- I am a part of a zealous group of advocates, have made new friends, and best of all, have been given the freedom to be impactive where I can.”
