We all know that there are mental health benefits to owning a pet. Did you know you can get the same benefits by fostering and then some? Fostering a pet is a good way to test if you, your home and family are ready to add another member. This includes; understanding if your family has any allergies, if everyone can give the time the animal needs, and if this something that you really are ready for. Additionally, fostering is the best of two worlds, you get the all the health benefits of having a pet, while simultaneously donating time and doing something for someone else.
So Why Should You Foster?
First of all, let us talk about what fostering actually is. It really means bringing home a dog or cat-or any other homeless pet such as a pig or a parrot- with the end goal of taking care of it until it is well enough to go to a permanent home or until a family is found that will love them forever. The length really varies according to the type of animal, the age, the organization and the amount of care that the animal needs. I have fostered animals from as little to a few days to as long as half a year. The main purpose of fostering is that the animal will not be with you permanently but long enough to get better or find a good home. Let’s look at all the benefits you can reap from opening your heart to a pet:
Benefit 1 of Fostering: It Makes You Happier
Every pet owner will likely agree that a fur-baby can be a huge source of emotional support, especially to those that suffer from mental illness. The American Psychological Association (link) state that studies have shown that pet owners tend to have greater self-esteem, less lonely, happier, more extraverted compared to those with no pets. Fostering a pet allows you to reap the same benefits as owning a pet for the time you have it.
When you foster a pet, you allow that pet to get adjusted and ready for another home. You often time save that pet from a neglectful situation or a situation in which their real personality cannot shine. Opening your home to an orphaned pet is a very generous gesture. This has similar effects in your brain to donating time or money. A study by the University of Zurich showed that people who are more altruistic reported higher level of overall happiness, during an altruistic activity and even after. Additionally, research has shown that there is actually a positive correlation with helping others and increased life expectancy.
Benefit 2 of Fostering: Helps you meet new people
Fostering a pet can help you meet new people. I have seen a lot of people that have come into my office complaining that they are not happy with their current social circles. Volunteering by fostering helps you connect to a community of like minded people. By sharing your experiences, you not only strengthen new relationships but you also get to learn about fun and fulfilling actitivies you can do with your foster pet, and discover local resources you might have never heard about.
Benefit 3 of Fostering: It is good for both your mind and body
The benefits of fostering a pet are similar to those of pet ownership. Studies have found that dog owners are less likely to suffer from depression, high blood pressure, and have lower trygliceride and cholesterol levels. Owning a pet has also reduced the amount of doctor visits and best of all this is all correlated with living longer.
Fostering dogs can help you increase the exercise in your life. Taking dogs on a walk to meet their daily exercise requirements can also meet your own. If you are into running, you may want to foster a pet that is younger and can run with you. He/she will be a good motivator to get you up and running.
Benefit 4 of Fostering: Helps create stronger family bonds
Fostering can help you create a stronger family bond. Whether you already have pets of your own or not, fostering teaches children the difference they can make. Fostering feels good because you are helping your community, the rescue group and the pet. It is a valuable way to spend time together and talk about what you are learning.
Benefit 5 of Fostering: Fostering teaches children and adults about empathy and responsibility
Children learn from observation. Fostering allows your children or your grandchildren to see that helping others can be fun but that it is also a commitment. Children learn about kindness and respect by observing how foster pets are treated. Parents are given opportunities to redirect their children to encourage nurturing and responsibility of these animals. Allowing them to participate with the feeding, grooming, washing, walking, snuggling etc… is always a good idea, as long as it is always under parental guidance.
Whether or not you have children, adults too are put in situations with fosters that demand their time. They learn what it is like to have a pet or how it feels to donate their time to something outside of their family circle. This can sometimes make them uncomfortable, but as I always say, growth only happens in the moments of discomfort.
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Benefit 6 of Fostering: It teaches compassion
Humans and animals are very similar. Some fosters come with challenging behavior, just like some people, but helping an animal overcome this is life changing. It teaches us that patience, understanding and compassion can go a long way. This can be translated into how we treat other human beings and how we take negativity. Animals don’t destroy a shoe because its yours, they destroy it because they All of us come with imperfections and have quirks that may not be ‘cute’,
Benefit 7 of Fostering: It teaches you about loss
Many people say they could not do it because they get too attached. I will not lie, it is definitely bitter sweet to say goodbye. The thought you always have to concentrate on is that you saved a life. You gave that animal an opportunity to find a good home, rather than ending up in a cage somewhere or euthanized. I always tell my clients; become comfortable with the uncomfortable only then does growth truly happen. We learn to say goodbye but knowing that they are going to their happy ever after. It Remember that letting go of one gives another one the opportunity to be fostered and worse case scenario if you fall in love and can’t let go, you may just have a ‘foster-fail’.