Arden B

As every one should, I love dogs. Growing up I had a dog named Heatley, and while I recognized him as my dog he didn’t feel like it. He wouldn’t play catch, go on walks, or do any of the activities I wanted to do with a dog. While I didn’t have a childhood dog through Heatley, I did through Hux, my uncle’s dog. I was obsessed with Hux, and through that grew my love of dogs.

In about the 3rd grade my mom informed me of fostering and how one can take care of really young puppies; I was immediately hooked. I began to ask to foster any time it popped into my head because a second dog was completely vetoed. While I’m sure my persistence was annoying, my mom just shrugged me off. Later in the year, Heatley passed and a few months later we got a new dog, Dakota. I love him so much, however, despite the new dog, when playing with him and doing all my dream dog activities become routine, I started asking for more again.

In 9th grade, my mom told me we were certified to foster. While I asked less frequently than before, it was never an idea I let go of. A couple weeks later we had our first fosters, 3 puppies. Since then I have loved interacting and helping all the dogs that have come into my home, from 4 week puppies to hoarding dogs. My favorite result of fostering is the puppy we gave to my grandparents, (the dog in the photo) and the puppy we gave to my friend. Even though fostering started as a childhood fantasy, the experiences have been so rewarding, and I hope to continue finding more ways to help the dogs in my community.