Sarah's Story: Another Chance
Lily, Duncan and Dylan are living with me now. They were found abandoned in the rubble of an apartment complex in the projects. They were living inside the walls. Somehow Lily managed to keep her two babies alive, hunting for food while her boys slept, and nursing them when they awoke. Despite her extreme thinness when we found her, she seems to have an elegance about her that is indescribable. Her kittens were 6 weeks old and small enough to fit inside a teacup.
They are beautiful fellows. Dylan is a silver-grey tabby, much leggier than his brother and more adventurous. If he isn't wrestling with Duncan, he has taken to knocking over vases of flowers and reorganizing my French literature collection. He tilts his head in a comical way as he sits with me and watches the re-runs of Columbo that he seems to so enjoy. Duncan is solid blue-grey like his mother. He is smaller than his brother, and more affectionate and gentle, with a stronger attachment to Lily. He likes to sleep on my shoulder while I sit reading, which is quite a feat for both of us! He also helps me type when I’m working at the computer, and his big green eyes follow my fingers as they race over the keyboard.
My job is to foster them. I look after them for however long it takes to find an adoptive family. Darsi the beagle sulked for three weeks before we found her a lovely older couple who had just lost their Dalmatian. Niki the German Shepherd only took 24 hours. Someone saw me leaving the kennel with her and called right away. The longer they stay, the more attached I get, and when I see the faces of the people who come to adopt them, I know my job is over. I cry when they leave. I keep an album with a photo and some notes on each of them. So far, it’s 15 this year. If I do nothing else this year, I tell myself, I can honestly say that I did my bit for the homeless, for those who can’t help themselves. Something that matters ...
My dog Reilly is getting quite used to the continuous flow of creatures through the house, and as long as none of them attempt to make me their own, he is indifferent. He came from the Humane Society himself, so he knows what it is to be wandering the streets, alone and famished. He’s been with me for eleven years now. He puts up with a lot; cats combing through his long tail or clambering over him when he sleeps, puppies crying all night or chewing his stash of bones, and, of course, sharing my now-divided attention.
People ask me how I do it, remain detached and watch Camille, Emily or Alistair being driven away to their new lives, shivering in the back seat of a station wagon. They think I have no heart perhaps. That would make it easier to understand. But there is plenty of heart involved. I remind myself of all the times I was lost and what it would have meant to be gathered up into nurturing arms and given another chance. We don’t always get one, but these animals do. I see to it.
Sarah W., Adopt-A-Pet Foster Mom
Adopt-A-Pet does not operate a shelter facility. We rely on foster homes like Sarah to provide temporary care for our orphans. Please consider helping us give ONE more unlucky animal Another Chance. YOU have the power to change his luck. Call us now and ask about our Foster Care program. You’ll be rewarded in ways you can’t yet imagine! Just ask Sarah.