Rescue Groups in Need of Foster Homes

Take a walk in your neighborhood or drive down the street anytime during the day or night and you’ll most likely come across stray animals. Some are carrying diseases harmful to the pets and people of your community. With only one, non-local, shelter to accommodate the estimated 1.6 million owned pets in Miami-Dade County and only a handful of local veterinarians, it’s no wonder our streets are used to unload unwanted pets.

Rescue organizations such as This is the Dog! and The Cat Network do what they can, but with so many homeless animals breeding on the streets and more being dumped or lost each day, they can’t reach their goal of helping solve the pet overpopulation problem by themselves.

“It boils down to education, spaying, neutering and community efforts,” sais Stephanie May, a volunteer for This is the Dog!

Education is understanding a pet is a lifetime commitment and there are organizations or other sources of help to keep pets and owners together or find them another home.

“For instance, if you’re downsizing and moving into an apart ment, look for one that accepts pets,” May suggests.

If you are not ready to adopt a pet, but want to help you may be able to foster a pet through a rescue group. This is the Dog! welcomes help through fostering and volunteering. Fostering allows them to help one more dog get off the street, get healthy, or stay healthy and find their “furever” home.

“Fostering can be short-term, long-term or somewhere in between. Fosters provide love, food, and comfort in their homes. You do what you can,” May said.

This is the Dog! provides the animals medical needs, spaying, neutering, food, a crate, if needed, and an adoption outlet such as their website, thisisthedog.com.

If you prefer cats, The Cat Network, Inc. is always looking for fosters, too. Fostered cats and kittens are made available through their website, thecatnetwork.org.

“We show all our fosters at local Petsmarts and Petcos. We show each weekend at Petco Homestead, 2565 NE 10th Court, Petco Kendall Drive, Petco South Beach and Petco Doral and at Petsmart Kendall Drive at SW 137 Avenue. It is most rewarding to rescue a cat or kitten, foster and find it a forever home,” Karen Rundquist, President, The Cat Network, Inc., said.

“How can you give them up? Sometimes there are ‘foster failures,’ but that’s okay. I compare fostering to your kindergarten teacher. They taught you many new things. You never forget them and what they taught you, but you graduated and moved on to new teachers. Fostering is a huge role in the adoption process. It provides everything they need before they go to their permanent homes,” May said.

Education and spaying or neutering is understanding the reduction of overpopulation can only occur through spaying or neutering pets and strays.

Each month, the City of Homestead along with Miami-Dade Animal Services (MDAS) Miami-Dade County Commissioner Lynda Bell, and the ASPCA bring the Mobile Animal Clinic (MAC) to the Homestead area to offer low cost spay and neuter procedures and free vaccinations to these pets.

“Owners are responsible for the Dog Rabies Tag fees, $27 or $5 for qualifying residents.” May said.

Other reduced spay, neuter and vaccination services are available through the Humane Society of Greater Miami, located at 10700 SW 211 St, Cutler Bay and MDAS, located at 7401 NW 74th Street, Medley.

Community cats, that live permanently outside and have no specific place to call home, can be spayed or neutered through The Cat Network, Inc. the Humane Society, or MDAS, through their Trap Neuter Return (TNR) Program. It is important to spay and neuter community cats as part of your efforts to reduce the population of strays.

“There are presently 300,000 – 400,000 community cats in Miami-Dade County,” Rundquist said.

Adopt, foster, volunteer or donate to help educate, to reduce overpopulation and, most of all, get involved. More needs to be done to make a difference and to bring services even deeper into your communities.

Both This is the Dog! and The Cat Network, Inc. are presently raising funds and looking for fosters to continue their mission to help pets.