Alexis M. was raised with animals in her life and believes strongly in the healing power of pets. Fostering with Seattle Humane is a way to help get them to their people and completing that amazing human-animal bond.
“My grandparents always had pets growing up, my grandma, specifically,” she says. “She’d take in every stray and get them back into good health. We had everything from a variety of birds, ferrets, flying squirrels, an injured opossum at one point and, of course, dogs and cats. When I was very young, they had taken in a pregnant Jack Russell, and one of her favorite stories to tell is finding me as a toddler sleeping in the dog bed with the mama dog and puppies. My mom kept Bud from the litter, and he was with me from two years old nearly into high school.”
Alexis started fostering for another local shelter before she made her way to Seattle Humane, first as a Shelter Care volunteer, and then as an Adoptions volunteer. One day, a staff member recommended she get back into fostering. She says it helps keep her busy and honors the memory of her dog, Bambi, who passed away last year.
“I began fostering in honor of my rescue pittie that, as cliche as it sounds, completely changed my life,” Alexis says. “She helped me through so many trials and was there every step of the way. On those hard days, I knew I’d come home to her happy face, and that made such a difference. There is no comparison to the bond you build with your dogs.”
Alexis currently has two dogs of her own; she adopted Leia to keep Bambi company, and then she added Gus to the family after Bambi’s passing. She’s bonded with many foster dogs over the past year, and she almost added one to her furry family.
“Seal bonded with my two dogs and felt like a puzzle piece that bridged the gap between both of my dogs’ play styles,” she says. “Every foster, when I return them, I have happy tears for their futures and I’m happy to have helped, whereas when I brought him back it felt like we lost a little piece of our family. He was the one that got away. I wish nothing but the best to him and his family.”
It takes a lot of willpower to provide love and care for a shelter pet, knowing they will one day move on and find a permanent family, but Alexis says that truly is the most rewarding part of fostering.
“A close runner-up is simply being able to help them decompress and seeing their true personality,” Alexis says. “It’s so rewarding to see them come out of their shell and lean in for pets or snuggles.”
For people who didn’t grow up with a grandma who ran an unofficial rescue out of her home or went through the work of training a dog-selective canine companion like she did with Bambi, Alexis has this advice about fostering.
“Take your time and don’t let the stress of the first day with a new foster overwhelm you,” she says. “Allow yourself, as well as the pet, time to adjust. You will face some that may not be a great fit and that’s okay. But, on the other hand, you will create bonds and memories you’ll never forget.”
