A Safety Net for Vivi: Celebrating an Amazing Animal Safehouse Program Foster

Rancho Coastal Humane Society’s Animal Safehouse Program (ASP) is dedicated to helping community members in crisis. By providing temporary pet boarding and veterinary care for individuals experiencing domestic violence, as well as military veterans and senior citizens requiring hospitalization, Rancho Coastal keeps families together.

Because they are accustomed to living in a home environment, a shelter stay can be especially stressful for ASP animals. That’s why we are always seeking foster volunteers willing to provide ASP animals with the comfort, stability and security of a home while their families receive the help they need.

Fostering an ASP animal requires confidentiality, compassion, and patience due to the sensitive circumstances surrounding an ASP animal’s situation. While it can be bittersweet to say goodbye at the end of a foster stay, knowing these pets will be safely reunited with their loving families makes it all worthwhile.

Our Foster Team would like to extend a huge thank you to our Amazing ASP Foster winner, Claire Brocato, for her family’s efforts to keep one such ASP pet happy and safe during her time in our care.

Claire regularly volunteers as a kennelmate. During one of her volunteer shifts, a lively little French bulldog named Vivi wiggled her way straight into Claire’s heart. Vivi’s family needed the support of our Animal Safehouse Program, and she was a few weeks into her stay with us when Claire offered to take her home on foster.

Being about 10 months old and completely deaf, Vivi benefitted greatly from the care and company Claire’s foster home provided. She even gained a built-in playmate in Claire’s resident dog.
As a Canine Nose Work instructor, Claire was committed to providing plenty of enrichment opportunities during Vivi’s stay.

This goofy Frenchie naturally stole her fosters’ hearts. Claire kept us updated with adorable photos, which we were so happy to pass on to Vivi’s family. This offered invaluable peace of mind while they were apart from their beloved pet.

Vivi has since been reunited with her family and gets to live her best life in a happy home once more. Her owner shared a special message of gratitude with Claire and her family:

“Thank you so much for all your help and support throughout the past couple of months. I am forever grateful for everything that you do. Thanks to your help I am reunited with my family member, Vivi, who brings so much joy and love into my life. What you do is amazing!”

Thank you, Claire, for opening your heart and home to Vivi. Our Foster Team, ASP Team, and everyone at Rancho Coastal are so appreciative of all that YOU and YOU family do for animals and people in need.