06/19/2025
💛 In honor of National Foster a Pet Month, our next foster spotlight is on Shelley Christensen, another one of our longtime fosters! Read what Shelley had to say about why she loves fostering and her advice to people who are worried they won't be able to "give up" their foster dogs once they're ready for their forever homes.
On why she fosters with our rescue:
"Fostering with Hopeful Tails has been such a fantastic experience. The level of support that I get from the team is absolutely unmatched. They are always checking in with me, offering encouragement and showing genuine gratitude for the work that I do with my foster dogs. Having direct access to trainers has been so helpful, especially when I take in the more challenging dogs. I also love how much exposure our dogs get, whether it be on social media or events."
When asked what fostering means to her:
"Fostering is honestly probably the most rewarding thing I've ever done in my life. I particularly love taking in the ones who desperately need some extra help to become more adoptable—whether it be time to decompress, extra training, learning how to truly be a dog, recovering from a medical issue or anything else. One of the greatest things about fostering is that I'm able to really get to know the dogs and help determine what kind of home my fosters would be best in. It helps both the adopters and the dog ensure it's a great fit on both ends.
Her advice for people worried about fostering:
"So many times when I tell people that I foster dogs, they comment that they could never do it because they "could never give them up." I think people sometimes forget that I'm not "giving them up"—I'm passing them along to AMAZING forever homes. They gain human and fur siblings. They have Barkbox subscriptions. They have over-the-top birthday parties. They go on family vacations and spend weekends at the lakehouse. They are straight up spoiled. To be the bridge between the shelter and their forever home... how lucky am I?"
❤️🐾 If you're interested in fostering with our rescue, fill out our application here: https://www.shelterluv.com/matchme/foster/HTR/Dog
