Jiya Malbari

As an animal lover living in a home with 11 people and a father as a travel agent, I was never granted my wish of having a pet. This ask of mine seemed always to be pushed aside and I never knew why. As I grew older, I came to the understanding that when we traveled we would need to leave the pet somewhere, and when my grandmother was sick we would not have the means to handle that responsibility as well. Over time, I knew that the Malbari family household would not be able to handle that permanent responsibility.

To fill this void in my life, I would foster at the GA SCPA and horse rescue. My whole life changed when my mom was informed about the fostering program through the SPCA. I could foster animals for a 2-week to a month while getting to meet different animals and their personalities. Since beginning in 7th grade, I have fostered over 55 animals for numerous shelters. Ranging from newborn kittens and their mothers to full-grown dogs, each animal played a significant role in my life and character development. I hope to have helped them just as much as they helped me. Most of the animals I received were either too young to be adopted or too sick. The responsibility I was taught from taking care of living beings and giving them medicines was something I could have learned anywhere else and while I was saving them, they were saving me.

The animals would come to me from being dumped on the road in a box or from a kill shelter, absolutely petrified and lethargic. It was so rewarding to watch them go from struggling to walk and afraid to playful and loving animals. Now, I am questioning if I will ever get a pet or I will continue to foster throughout my life. It blows my mind that if I had gotten my way and got a pet at a young age, I would never have gotten to meet and rescue all the wonderful animals I did.