I wrote about Gustavo on Facebook when he first came into rescue before Christmas. He was considered a hospice dog, and his foster wanted him to experience happiness in his final days of life. His owners could not manage his severe skin allergies and osteoarthritis and reached out to rescue for help. One of the things I love about my new rescue friends is that there is no judgement for families needing to relinquish a pup. Managing Sweet G’s issues could have been a full time job, not to mention very expensive. Not everyone has the resources he needed.

Gustavo’s very experienced foster smartly decided to focus on one issue at a time so she and her husband would not get overwhelmed. The skin issues were first. After about 10 days of treatment, those improved enough for them to start thinking about his joint issues. The vet prescribed a miracle drug called Librela, and after a few weeks Sweet G was running and playing with his foster siblings. It became clear as he progressed that his days would now be measured in years vs weeks or days.

Yesterday he went to his forever family. Happy and healthy, probably for the first time in his life.

This is fostering. This is why people say fostering saves lives. It truly does. And I would argue it also helps save a little bit of the foster humans as well. Here is what Gustavo’s foster shared on the foster network page today. Please read and consider doing any or all of what she suggests. And read it all because after is a video of Sweet G strutting his stuff on the beach with his furever family.

To anyone considering fostering:

Fostering is not for everyone, and that’s okay. You can buy a dog from a preservation breeder if that’s the right fit for you and your family, and that’s okay too. There are plenty of ways to help rescue dogs, even just liking/commenting/sharing posts of adoptable dogs on social media is a huge help. It seems small, but it gets dogs adopted. When people are thinking about fostering, I often hear “I would get too attached.” Yes, I get attached and my heart breaks when they go. I haven’t discovered any tricks for avoiding those feelings. But putting my feelings aside, I already have a lot of dogs and not a lot of time. I am not their dream home, and it’s not about me and what I want. It’s always about the dogs and what they need. They can have whatever their heart desires, they just have to tell me what that is. My job is to listen. It’s the most rewarding thing I do with my free time.

My second piece of advice is to find a rescue that is a good fit for you. Fostering is an unpaid all-volunteer position, so make sure the rescue is one that will value that commitment. Will they support you in meeting the dogs’ needs? Will they be transparent in what they know or don’t know about the dog before placing them in your home? Do they have training resources and a line of communication for you if needed? Do they outline clear goals and expectations? Is there someone who helps find the applicants and how do they screen them? Does their screening process align with the values you hold as priority for the dogs? Do they respect your time?

Whether you foster or not, thank you for your support, rescue takes a village.

• lifeinmiddleage