Student's family fosters pets for nonprofit organization

posted May 5, 2008

by Allison Whitson of Campanile

Elizabeth Petit

Asta, a Maltese dog, came from Furry Friends Rescue, which is a non-profit organization dedicated to rescuing, fostering and finding homes for animals.

Palo Alto High School senior Melanie Paulson sits on her couch with two small white dogs perched on her lap. The smaller of the two, Shaggy, stares at her affectionately.

Both dogs, Shaggy and Asta, came to Paulson's family as part of a program called Furry Friends Rescue.

Shaggy, true to his name, has a short, coarse coat and a stubby tail that is constantly wiggling.

Asta, on the other hand, seems to take offense at this invasion of his personal space and leans away from the other dog. He is also a small dog and has fluffy white fur and big, dark eyes.

Furry Friends Rescue is a nonprofit organization dedicated to rescuing, fostering and finding homes for abandoned animals in the Bay Area. The organization helps to find homes for both cats and dogs, though the Paulson family has only fostered dogs.

In order to foster a dog or cat, a family cares for the pet and each Saturday brings the animal to a "showcase" at which people can come look for a pet to adopt.

Showcase locations around the Bay Area include Petco, Pet Food Express and Pet Club.

Paulson said her family takes each dog that they are currently fostering to Pet Club each week, where people can come look for a "furry friend" to adopt. People either come to look at a specific animal that they saw online or just to look around.

The next step is for the prospective family to fill out an application, which the manager of the organization reads and then passes on to the foster family.

"We make the final decision whether or not the family will be a good match," Paulson said. "It's really fun to see these dogs matched up with people who will take good care of them."

Paulson said that she has not had too much trouble letting go of the dogs when it is time to send them to a family.

"I do not let myself get attached to the dogs from the start, since I know they are going to be leaving sooner or later," Paulson said. "When I know they are going to a good family, it makes it even easier."

She added that her family members have not found it as easy to see the dogs go.

"My mom and my sister have had a harder time, depending on the dog, but are always happy to see it go to a good home," Paulson said.

The Paulsons have fostered eleven dogs already, one of which, Shaggy, they permanently adopted because they liked him so much.

"We just couldn't let this little guy go," Paulson said. "He's super friendly and he's a great dog."

However, most of the dogs that the Paulson family fostered had been as perfect as Shaggy. Foster dogs are not always adjusted to life as pets.

"Sometimes it's pretty hard because they're not always house-trained," Paulson said. "Some of them have never had a home before they get to us."

Some dogs, on the other hand, had homes before they were abandoned, and with them they brought colorful histories before arriving on the Paulson family's doorstep.

In one case, the Paulsons received a poodle that previously lived with a man who had two dogs. The poodle got out and was picked up by Animal Services, but when they called the owner, he said he didn't want his dog anymore.

Though the Paulsons greatly enjoy their experience with their foster pets for the most part, they have also had a few problems.

"We had this one dog that was really food aggressive," Paulson said. "So he would attack our hands if we got to close to his food. But he was a pretty good dog besides that."

The family has dealt with dogs that have gotten sick shortly after they received them.

"We had one dog who kept getting really sick right after we got him," Paulson said. "And another time, a dog died about a week after she came to us. She was at the vet for a few days, then she finally gave up and died. That was really sad."

People can foster or adopt either cats or dogs, according to the Furry Friends Rescue Web site, www.furryfriendsrescue.org.