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Sometimes a dog which has been abandoned or relinquished to the Champaign County Humane Society is found to be pregnant. Because the mothers-to-be and their litters require long-term specialized care, they cannot be cared for at the Shelter. Harriett Weatherford and Tom Schaefges step in to be sure that every dog has its stay. The couple, who operate a state-licensed animal foster care facility for the Champaign County Humane Society at their home in rural Sidney, have been into "pet foster parenting" since 1990. "One day I received a call from the shelter asking us to care for a beautiful dog who had been found wandering in Allerton Park," says Harriett, who is president of the Champaign County Humane Society. "Millie was just skin and bones and needed a lot of care. She was also pregnant and her litter was expected any day." Millie found all the TLC she needed then and there, and Tom and Harriett found a volunteer job of providing love and care for a veritable pack of canines since then. "That foster experience was the start of the Humane Society's formal foster program which has helped care for more than 1,200 animals," says Harriett. "We've had more than 400 animals at our home in the last eight years." Not only have dogs been helped, but cats and a few pigs and a goat as well, all of them relinquished by their owners or brought in as strays to the Humane Society in Urbana. Tom, who works in Champaign, notes that although they take in different types of animals, they specialize in pregnant dogs and newborn puppies. "We're the main site for litters of puppies. The Shelter counts on us to provide foster care for pregnant dogs, help with the birth, and care for the pups until they are old enough to go back to the shelter for adoption," he says. "We specialize in puppies. Other foster parents specialize in animals that have special medical needs, and some foster sites care for cats and kittens." The puppies are housed in a specially designed room in their basement. The insulated and raised floor is generously covered with newspapers. The puppies are brought out every night to be socialized and conditioned to life in an average home. "We run the vacuum cleaner and the TV," Tom says, "and we bring kids in to visit. Each puppy gets picked up and handled to get them used to people and all the things that go on in a typical household. Rolling around the floor with a litter of puppies is hard work," he says with a smile, "but someone's got to do it." The mother dog and all the puppies go back to the Shelter for adoption, but the couple still takes a 20 ILLINOIS COUNTRY LIVING DECEMBER 1998
long-term interest in the animals. "Everyone I work with knows the shelter has well socialized puppies because of the foster program," Harriett says, "and if they know someone who's looking for a pet they talk to me. I try not to be pushy, but if someone hints they are interested in a pet I try to persuade them to go to the shelter to look at the animals there. I like to have our foster animals adopted by friends and neighbors so we can have visitation rights." The couple keeps track of every animal they have cared for and have several albums of photos to prove it. Each photo is of a puppy that they have fostered in their home. "More than 350 of our puppies have been placed in new homes through the Humane Society," says Tom. "We know that many animals who would not have had a chance are in good homes because of our efforts." But while puppies are fairly easy to place, the same cannot be said of full-grown dogs. "Many people are biased against taking an older animal because they don't think it will ever be a real part of the family or will be hard to train," says Harriett. "But it's really easier to know what you're getting when you adopt an adult, and you don't have to go through all the typical puppy problems." Tom adds, "The old saying 'You can't teach an old dog new tricks' isn't true at all. The older animals, especially the mothers we have fostered, make great pets. We should know. After all, we have adopted five adult dogs into our own family over the years." "LeRoy Neitzel, vice president of the Champaign County Humane Society and partner in the Heritage Animal Hospital in Champaign is our veterinarian," Harriett says. "Ullfore, the shelter was able to Hire its own veterinarian, we relied on him to help us with the foster animals. I can't begin to tell you how much help he's been when we've had problems. He really helped us keep our animals in good health and to create a top-notch medical program for the animals we care for." Tom and Harriett remark that their work is rewarding, but that animal foster care is not something to be entered into lightly. "As a state licensed foster home, we have to keep track of every animal we deal with," Tom says, "and we keep detailed records of what we've done for them. Harriett adds, "Fostering is an emotional roller too. We're happy that our efforts have enabled the shelter to find homes for more than 350 puppies that may have died if we couldn't have helped them, but we've lost about 50 to diseases and the like. We're dealing with a high-risk population and it can be very heartbreaking. It's a wonderful feeling, though, to see them years later in their adoptive homes."
Story and Photos by
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"We specialize in puppies. Other foster parents specialize in animals that have special medical needs, and some foster sites care for cats and kittens."