27/11/2023
I often get people commenting on how amazing my life must be to have all these dogs live with me. That it must be nice to come home and spend time with all of them. How jealous they are that I am living their dream life.
My usual response is yeah it’s pretty awesome but.. it’s just.. it’s a lot.
What do you mean it’s a lot?
Well I mean it’s a lot.. a lot of work, a lot of time, a lot of money, a lot physically and emotionally.
People only see the pictures I post on Facebook. Which are generally the perfect cute and funny snap shot for likes and hearts and shares to get these dogs their new homes. But What you don’t see is what is behind the scenes.
You don’t see the time put into my full time job before coming home and starting the second job.
You don’t see the hours spent out in the garden cleaning s**t. Patching fencing, filling in dig holes.
You don’t see the time spent searching for best deals and offers on wormers, flea treatments, skin ointments, additives for the old dogs .
You don’t see the hard work put into building a following on Facebook, into organising and begging items for the auctions, the spreadsheets to keep it all together, the working out prices and getting addresses to the donors, checking and chasing payments are in, posting out a hundred parcels, dealing with the abuse in the post office by people who are unfortunate to get in line behind me.
You don’t see the work put into sorting duck races, online shows, sponsorship, sorting rosettes, driving to collect the rosettes, maintaining the albums, chasing payments.
You don’t see the organisation for
The dog fest, the rosettes, the collections, the organising judging, classes, drinks, snacks, volunteers to help man the stalls, the games, the entry desk, the time to print signs and schedules, to organise a place to have it, a photographer, to make sure there is toilet facilities, to run round on the day mailing sure everything runs to plan, watching people enjoy their time with their pooches while mine are at home on their own, clearing it all down packing it all up, and heading home to store away for next year.
You don’t see the time begging for items for prizes, the thought of what games, tombolas, scavenger hunts, ball picks etc I can do and scheduling them in.
You don’t see the time spent chatting to peoplle online for them to ghost you or not turn up to a meet and greet you cancelled a meal with your mum for, to make adverts and share them constantly, to beg others to share your adverts, to answer trillions of questions over and over again most of which information is in the advert that they can’t be bothered to read, to find a home checker, to arrange a home check, or to do the home check myself, to arrange a meet and greeet, to give advice on fencing and security to pass the home check, to go back out and check that it has been carried out, to arrange the adoption, payment, give them instructions on how to settle that dog in for its first few weeks, to know that your words will probably be ignored and then spend time trying to sort out the problems caused by them not following instructions as they were too excited to listen.
You don’t see the time i spend giving advice on behaviour, feeding, integration, vets.
You don’t see the play dates I organise every month, the drinks, the chocolates for you have at those dates.
You don’t see the collection boxes I take to shops to beg them to have or to go back and pick them up again in 6 months time.
You don’t see the time spent in caring for these animals in extreme heat & cold.
You don’t see the time spent grooming and maintaining general care.
You don’t see the time spent worrying about them, making sure they are happy and healthy.
You don’t see the time spent sitting with a sick or terrified dog for hrs wondering if he/she is going to pull through.
You don’t see the feed bills, the vet bills, the dog park costs, my bills I had to miss because I needed money for the dogs.
You don’t see all the hard work sometimes ending is tragic heartbreak and tears.
You don’t see the chewed furniture, the floor filled of diahorea, the stolen food, the squabbles I have to separate with my hands, the nips from the terrified dogs till they understand I am a safe person.
You don’t see the hours spent toilet training and getting
Them used to traffic, people, buses, cars, shops, public areas, so they are ready for you.
You don’t see the time lost with family and friends, the meals and celebrations missed as I have to head home for the dogs, Not including the family disagreements that come along with this choice, the arguments, the sulking, the temper tantrums.
You don’t see the time I spend trying
To stop them all barking so my neighbours don’t Complain.
You don’t see the major job it is to just go on holiday for a week to make sure all the dogs are cared for and loved while I am away. ( thanks to my wonderful adopters and local foster mums )
The list could go on and on....this is only scratching the surface.
Most people will never see or understand the behind the scenes of fostering. It’s not all glamour shots and cute fluffy animals. It’s work and a lot of it. I hope to share some small insight on what goes into it.
You see now? There is such a lot you don’t see… but I am living your dream?? Am I? Really???
But would I change it? Would I give it all up? Hell no. This is the lifestyle I CHOOSE to live. Would I have more free time? Yes. Would I have more money? Yes. Would I have less stress? Hell Yes!!! But.. would I be HAPPY? The answer to that is NO. These animals give me life, happiness, and strength. They are a huge part of who I am.
I am fortunate enough to have an INCREDIBLE support system on the team of other some other foster mums, Louise, Sandra who has to listen to me moan, Zoe who pops in to see the dogs when I am working, Hazel who does the home checks and collects donations, and Simon who puts up with my crazy ideas and driving miles, and transporting dogs at crazy times of day to crazy places around my actual job, and all my adopters who send me donations of food and dog items when I need them, so you see It’s not a one person job it’s a team effort. It’s a family effort. For that im thankful. For them I am thankful! ❤️ but it’s not easy!!!!
