Out of every hundred huskies the group helps, about 65 are strays or shelter dogs. (The rest are surrendered to the society.) One reason for this is the breed’s history as sled dogs for nomads. Their instinct is simply to get out and run, and they’re all too good at it. A husky owner who left the door open a second too long saw the dog vanish — then, only six hours later, got a call from a shelter 60 miles away.

“Remember that these are the guys who pull a fully loaded sled 300 miles a day in the Iditarod,” says Robert Baker of Tails of the Tundra. “[T]hey could be 300 miles away by the next day – and it is impossible for the owner to call every shelter within a 300-mile radius.” (A tag or microchip is lifesaving in cases like these.)

The Save Our Siberians – Siberspace Rescue Fund is another group dedicated to helping Siberian Huskies. Its mission is to raise money to help pay unexpected expenses for groups that rescue the dogs. Robert Baker also works with this group as applications coordinator, and says the most common expense is heartworm treatment (dogs bred in puppy mills are especially vulnerable to this). Torn ligaments are another, a result of the rough play Huskies enjoy.

SOS-SRF has one unusual way of raising money — sales of yarn and other items made from fur shed by Huskies. It accepts donations of washed fur from Husky owners, but it’s also happy to get money. The society has other Husky-related items for sale, too.

Fostering a Husky is obviously a big job that takes a willing attitude. Baker says the important thing is that the foster family “will care for the foster dog just like they care for one of their own.” Many people love Huskies enough to do just that.

There’s a way to make your donations to animal welfare groups more personal — virtual adoption. No, this doesn’t mean getting a virtual pet, it means providing for a real animal without taking it to live with you. The animal stays in a shelter or sanctuary where it can get good care. You pay a one-time or recurring fee, and in return get regular updates, photos, and visiting rights. Some groups will post your name (or business logo, in the case of corporate sponsors) in the animal’s living space.

The fee can run anywhere from a one-time payment of $25 for a shelter dog or cat to $125 a month for a grizzly bear. That’s one of the fun things about virtual adoption — you can choose an animal you couldn’t possibly keep in your home. The Fauna Foundation of Québec, for example, lets you “adopt” a chimpanzee.

An animal which will need to stay in a sanctuary permanently is obviously a bigger commitment than a shelter pet, which will hopefully find a real home eventually.

If you choose virtual adoption, you can be sure there’s an animal somewhere that’s just right for you.

If your resolution is to:

• Lose weight and/or get more fit, having a pet around will definitely help you get exercise. Dogs not only have to be walked every day, both they and cats enjoy running around and playing with their people.
• Cut down on stress, animals help with that just by being there for you. Many people who own dogs have lower blood pressure and heart rates under stress. The exercise helps, too.
• Save money and/or manage debt, you may wonder how taking in a pet can help with that. However, fostering is usually cost-free for the foster family; the sponsoring organization generally supplies food and litter and pays the vet bills. You’ll get the benefits of having a pet without spending any money.
• Give to others/do volunteer work, fostering is a great way to do that. You’re helping creatures who need human care to survive, and also helping the people who will eventually adopt them. And you can do it right in your home, without a schedule to keep to.
• Get a better job, you’ll make contacts while fostering — adopting families and other volunteers. You never know who may be the one to point you toward an opportunity. (Bailey Jung, a business owner in Metro Vancouver, says his volunteer work with a service dog organization and others has brought him more contacts than networking events ever have.) And your volunteer work is one more experience to put on your résumé.

As a foster family for the humane society, we were the first stop for several rescued cats. Like any cat in a new place, they spent the first few days hiding. (By the way, when your new cat is doing this, it’s not a good idea to leave food and water too close to the hiding place. Make the cat come out and get used to the house.)

Then there was the feral cat that wouldn’t come out at all, even after I forget how many days. He went straight for the darkest corner of our basement and hid among our piles of junk. If we’d let him alone, he’d probably still be there today. Instead, I consulted the humane society, which lent me a trap (humane, of course) and gave me some advice: Bait it with lunch meat. It seems the strong smell has a powerful tug on cats. Salami: It’s not just for humans anymore.

I was doubtful, but I put some dried beef or something in the trap and set it. Next time I looked at it, there was the cat! He looked grumpy, but not hungry. Soon he was on his way to another home, without so many places to hide. And we were ready for the next rescuee.

What does this have to do with pets? First, pets can actually help in recovery from addiction. We’ve seen before that they bring health benefits, both physical and mental. Their affection, and sometimes just the everyday details of caring for them, help change their people’s outlook. Some drug and alcohol treatment centers keep dogs and cats “on staff” for this very reason.

However, a pet can’t be a positive influence on an addict unless he lets it. And many addicts, in their resistance to change, use their pets instead as an excuse not to go into residential treatment. They don’t want to give up their dog or cat, on top of everything else, but who’s going to take it in for a month or so?

My family and people like us, that’s who — fosterers who help out the local humane society. We’ve taken cats for any length of time, from just a few days to, well, going on 10 years. And we’ve had a few whose owners were spending 30 days in treatment. One stayed longer because his owner needed to find a new apartment that allowed cats, but that was fine with us.

The cats sometimes showed signs of coming from an unstable environment. They scrounged for food as if they couldn’t count on regular feedings, and one of them had never been taught not to jump up onto a stove. (We worried a little about that one’s influence on our new kitten.)

But we were glad to have every one of them. For every pet owner who needs help to break an addiction, somewhere there’s someone who’s willing to do their part by caring for the pet.

The society serves Vancouver Island, Canada. It was founded by hobbyists who often found themselves being given unwanted reptiles (shades of Alligator Bob, the Chicago gator rescuer who refuses to give his last name). Its work is very necessary in an area where the SPCA doesn’t currently accept reptiles, and wildlife centers can do only so much.

About 50 animals have been taken in by the society this past year, and 40 of those have been adopted. The rest stay with foster families, just like other pets awaiting new homes. So far, there have been no unadoptable reptiles. If the society receives one that’s too sick for adoption, it will be rehabilitated with the help of a vet.

What inspires someone to adopt a reptile? Dawn says many people who think they’re scared or disgusted by reptiles change their minds when they meet one. And reptiles can be “a good alternative for people with allergies, or who don’t have appropriate space for more traditional household pets.”

Some types of reptiles will let you interact with them, while others do better going their own way as display pets. (You can think of them as your own tiny wildlife preserve.) Research will help you decide what kind is for you.

And if you do decide to adopt a reptile, check for a rescue society in your area.

1- The Value Of Friendship

The saying goes that “a dog is man’s best friend” and that couldn’t be closer to the truth! Having a dog or cat involves serious responsibility but the end result is worth it. When you take good care of your pet they return the favor in the form of companionship, love, and loyalty.  Who wouldn’t want to experience that?

2- The Value Of Responsibility

Responsibility is a valuable life skill, and taking care of a cat or dog definitely teaches them about ownership and care. You need to walk and feed the dog, change the litterbox and feed the cat. And don’t forget quality bonding time!

3- Respect For Life

Having a pet teaches a child much more about life than an elementary science lesson will. And having a pet at a relatively young age will help your children learn to love animals and other living things (such as plants).  Respect for animals leads to respect for all forms of life and especially human life which makes a better world for all!

HugABull Advocacy & Rescue Society works to help not only individual dogs, but the entire breed’s image. It also strives to build a community of responsible owners for dogs who often attract the wrong kind.

Many of us have the idea that pit bulls have been bred to be aggressive – and, though they can’t help it, they’re not the kind of dog you’d want to have around. News reports and breed-specific legislation, like Ontario’s restrictions on bull breeds, certainly reinforce that.

It’s true that pit bulls were originally bred to fight bulls, bears, and other dogs as a spectator sport. However, to work with their handlers, they had to be free of aggression toward humans. This resulted in dogs that need close association with their owners. HugABull’s website says:

. . . they are not a good choice if you want a very independent dog. Your pit bull can snooze away the day while you’re at work, but will definitely claim your attention – and your lap – the minute you get home.

Unfortunately, as it also says:

The pit bull’s tough reputation often draws the “wrong” kind of owners. Not surprisingly, these are the same individuals who beat, starve and neglect their animals, eventually abandoning them altogether.

Homeless pit bulls often have trouble getting adopted, not only because of their reputation, but because they’re not at their best in a shelter. Without an owner, a pit bull can grow depressed – or hyperactive.

HugABull helps out by placing pit bulls in foster homes and helping them find permanent homes. It also works to spread accurate information about the breed. To find out more, visit HugABull.com.

• Some animal rescue groups don’t have shelters anymore, or may never have had them. With enough foster homes, it isn’t always necessary to go to the trouble and expense of maintaining a shelter.
• Some pets are considered unadoptable, due to old age or medical problems. It’s better for them to live out their lives in a foster home rather than a shelter.
• Feral cats, especially younger ones, can settle down and make good pets – but they usually need individual attention first.
• Pets tend to make a better impression on potential owners when they’re in a home setting. Some animals are not at their best in the noise and confusion of a shelter. Some people also may find these places overwhelming.
• A female may need a quiet, private place to give birth. If you want to give your children a biology lesson, this is a much more responsible way than letting your female pet get pregnant.
• Owners may be servicemembers sent overseas, who want to keep the pet for the long term but can’t take it along. Several humane societies have started programs to support the troops in this way.
• A pet owner may need to go into treatment for addiction. He or she actually may be using the pet as an excuse not to go – after all, who’d take in a strange animal for a month? Well, the humane society probably knows someone who will.

As Kim Croom, Director of the Pet Foster Network, said in an interview with RedPlum: “[Fostering] doesn’t cost the foster home anything at all. Most people just don’t know that.”

Fostering is giving a pet a temporary home as an alternative to an animal shelter. This can last anywhere from a few days to the rest of the animal’s life. Many humane societies and animal rescue organizations run foster programs, and they’re often looking for volunteer families. The organization (or, in some cases, the original owner) keeps ownership of the animal and pays major expenses like vet bills and prescriptions. Some will buy the food and litter, or provide it from in-kind donations they get. Our fostering organization even sent a volunteer to our house to feed the cat while we were away.

Meanwhile, you as a foster “parent” get all the happiness of having a pet. Of course, you have responsibilities, too, on top of its daily care. You’re usually the one who has to get the animal to the vet. You also may have to show it to potential new owners, transport it to adoption events, take phone calls, and do paperwork. And it can be hard saying goodbye. But if you decide you want, and can afford, to adopt your foster pet, you’re usually given preference. The organization may even waive your adoption fee.

Fostering pets means giving your time and love, not your money.