Meet Laura!

People often ask us what it means to be a foster based rescue. Basically, our rescues live in volunteer's homes until they are adopted. This means that the cats and dogs go from the stressors of being abandoned or neglected to a stable home environment. They get used to home life, kids, cats, dogs, and learn basic obedience as well as house/crate training. When they are adopted, they are already used to being in a home!

We're lucky enough to have some great volunteers and foster parents. We can't say thank you to them enough, and we love showing them off to all our fans! Today our spotlight falls on Laura who is an avid rescuer and mother of two! Laura owns Baby Steps which helps women and families through pregnancy and birth. In her spare time, she volunteers with us by fostering dogs rescued from high kill shelters. Her two daughters, Maddie and Grace, are our youngest volunteers who make sure their foster dogs are knowledgeable on how to play and cuddle!

Name: Laura Fields
Location: Powder Springs, GA

How long have you been fostering? My husband, Chad, and I started fostering when we bought our house in 2001. We took a break for a couple of years when we had our daughters (fostering only the random stray, which happened a few times), and started back last year with Georgia Humane Society.

Why do you foster? I foster because I can't stand not to. I have a great fenced yard, a dog who loves to play with other dogs, and kids who really enjoy fostering. I look at the shelter websites with pictures of all the dogs who will probably be put to sleep because nobody wants them, and I just can't NOT foster at least one of them.

Do you tend to foster any animal or breed? I started out fostering shelties, broadened my focus to herding dogs in general, then narrowed it again to Catahoula Leopard Dogs. I still have a very hard time turning away any Catahoula, but since I've been back in rescue I've just been wandering the local shelter with my girls whenever we have foster space. Then we choose a dog together that we all connect with.

Who was your favorite/most memorable foster pet and why? There have been so many, and for different reasons, it's hard to narrow down. My 2nd foster ever was Rusty, a sheltie. I was so in love with him, that I almost decided to keep him and stop fostering. He ended up in a really perfect home, but he was by far the hardest to let go. It was with him that I learned how to love them then let them leave so I could rescue another. We lost one foster to heartworm treatment, and another to cancer. The ones who don't make it always stay with you. Sometimes the new owners stay in touch, and being able to see into your foster dog's new life keeps the bond going. The best example of this for me is my Australian Cattle Dog foster from last year, Topher. His adoption felt fated it was so perfect, and he's well on his way to being a therapy dog. There's nothing better than combining helping dogs with helping people!

What have you learned by fostering? I've learned that love really can change everything. I've had dogs who have been through hell, who had been abused or neglected, but who still had it in them to love people. And I've seen dogs who seemed beyond help either physically or emotionally who have been brought back through the love of a foster mom or dad who was willing to invest the time and patience in them. They're all worth saving, if only enough people would open up their hearts and take them in.

If you could tell the world one thing about animal welfare and rescue what would it be? Please be a responsible pet owner. This means spaying or neutering, making your pet a permanent part of the family, and keeping them safe.

Favorite quote/saying? "He is your friend, your partner, your defender, your dog. You are his life, his love, his leader. He will be yours, faithful and true, to the last beat of his heart. You owe it to him to be worthy of such devotion." - Unknown