Gondor Goes Home For Good

 

One thing we love at Rancho Coastal Humane Society (RCHS) is when a foster family falls in love with a cat, dog, or rabbit they are taking care of for a little while. That little while makes a big difference for that animal, even when another family adopts.

Gondor, a three-year-old, 50-pound Hound mix, arrived at one of our private rescue partners in the Imperial Valley when his first family moved. He was transferred to RCHS through FOCAS (Friends of County Animal Shelters). He was a timid dog who wasn’t happy about all the changes in his life. At the private rescue, he was able to wander around the house with other dogs. That changed when Gondor got to RCHS, but we knew he’d quickly feel at home with the right fosters.

For us to match Gondor with a new forever family, we needed insight into how he behaves in a home. So, we arranged for Gondor to spend some time in foster care. He was good in that home but, when he returned to the shelter, he wasn’t comfortable. RCHS made sure he had plenty of time in one of our larger exercise yard, scored some extra treats, and got a few days of special care in the front office.

Then, Gondor met Samantha, his new foster mom, and his world changed. Samantha was constantly providing updates about how Gondor did in the car, where he was sleeping, and how he was doing with strange noises, people and animals. During the two months Gondor was with Samantha, they connected on a deeper level.

“This is Samantha…Gondor’s foster. I want to keep him. When can I bring back the portable pen? He’s not going to need it anymore.”

It turns out, Samantha needed Gondor as much as he needed her. Gondor (now “Rocky”) was finally home to stay.

Fosters save lives. Gondor is a perfect example. RCHS was confident in accepting Gondor from our rescue partner because we knew we could rely on foster volunteers to care for him and gather the information we needed to find his new home.

RCHS provides everything a foster would need – beds, blankets, food, toys and treats, training pads and medical supplies, ALL AT NO COST. Our foster program is flexible. Fosters can commit to a few days or a few months. There is no expectation that a foster will adopt, but sometimes it just happens!  Maybe, you are unable to adopt right now because that’s a lifelong commitment. Make a short-term commitment to foster a companion animal – we have cats and bunnies, too!

You can learn more about our foster program here or by emailing Mikalla, our Director of Foster Programs, at foster@sdpets.org.