My journey into fostering could not be told without first rewinding to 17 years ago when I got my first (and only) dog. I had wanted one my entire childhood, and it was during my early 20s when I was a poor dental student, in the middle of exam week, during the hardest semester of my life, that I had the bright idea that I was going to get a puppy. And so I got one.

Tucker was my little buddy, and he lived a life of adventure. But it didn’t start out that way. I was young and naïve, and had no idea what I was getting myself into. I got Tuck for very cheap from a breeder (a non-reputable one at that!) and immediately tried to return him when I soon realized he was covered in fleas, had worms coming out of his butt, and was generally a “weird” dog. He was not the dog of my childhood dreams and I wanted a redo. Unfortunately (fortunately!) the breeder wouldn’t take him back and thus our life began.

Tucker was with me through dental school, 2 residencies, and every move the Army sent me. He lived in Florida, Colorado and Texas, as well as Germany and Korea before “retiring” in Maryland. He travelled to 20 different countries and about as many states. You can imagine the amount of “life” we shared in the 14+ years that we had together. Our relationship was special and being his Mom had become my purpose. The last year of his life was hard. Physically and emotionally. His bike trailer that once took him on rides around Lake Como in Italy and along the Route du Vin in France had to be converted into a stroller just to take him on walks. He went from needing a harness for pulling so much to needing a rear harness just to help him stand. I saw how much my once very independent dog now depended on me, and it made me sad to imagine other dogs having to grow old alone.

I got involved with rescue, not because I missed having a dog, or because I love dogs (although of course I do!) or for any reason other than to simply honor Tuck and continue his legacy. I specifically developed a passion for seniors and special needs animals after caring for Tucker through his senior years. Living in Korea for a year also opened my eyes to the amount of abuse, homelessness, and general disparities of quality of life for so many animals. I started volunteering with Lucky Dog about a year after Tucker passed. I started as a dog handler, and eventually transitioned into a weekend foster. My first foster was a puppy named Hercules from Hawaii. He was a sweet little guy, but full of pent up travel energy who was still on Aloha time. By the time we got home, went on a walk, had a bath, ate, had play time, and went on another walk, I was exhausted! He was not. I woke up the next morning to find him asleep on the guest bed with all of his toys and my shoes snuggled around him. Hercules got adopted that weekend, and though I vowed to never get a puppy again, I got a warm fuzzy knowing that in a matter of 48 hours, I had been able to help give this little pup had a complete life change.

I went on to foster 8 more dogs after Hercules but I never felt particularly good at it. You would think having a dog for 15 years would have given me the confidence and experience to handle any dog that came my way, but it did not prepare me for the variety of personalities I would encounter through fostering. Adoption events stressed me out and I always found myself breathing a sigh of relief when my “duties” were done.

This past December, there was an urgent cat foster request that was sent to the dog fosters. A cat was being returned due to being sick and needed to go to a foster with no other pets at home. It was a week before Christmas and fosters were hard to come by. I was going to be going out of town for New Year’s but figured why not? It was only one week. So I got Daisy Mae…. and the rest is history. No, I did not foster fail her (though it was a very close call!), but she changed my trajectory within Lucky Dog from being an occasional weekend dog foster to a fulltime cat foster “crazy cat lady!”

Lucky Dog Animal Rescue is awesome because there is truly a niche for everyone. I unexpectedly found my niche as a cat foster. Ironically, it took being a cat foster for me to finally figure out why Tucker was “weird”… he wasn’t weird, he was just a cat trapped in a wrinkly sharpei body! He always had a special love for cats, and I see a bit of him in each of my fosters. I can’t help but think how happy (and jealous!) he is that I have come to find myself always surrounded by a cat (or 2 or 3…).

Speaking of which, I couldn’t end this without putting in a shameless plug for my current foster. Anyone in the market for a super awesome, playful, snuggly kitten named Braveheart?! He is the last of the “B Kittens” brothers to get adopted and was really trying to “help” write this article! If you are looking for a playmate for your cat, dog, or human children, Braveheart is your boy! Available for adoption at Lucky Dog Animal Rescue.