Jessie's Joy

The Ozaukee Humane Society often sees animals that are injured, orphaned or very ill. That is what happened with Jessie's foster animals. Three kittens arrived at the shelter; their mother and one sibling had been killed by a dog. At less than a week old, there was almost no chance they would survive. It would have been hard enough to make it out in the wild with their mother, but without her it would have been impossible.

As soon as Jessie saw them, she wanted to help save their lives and she volunteered to foster them. For the next 10 weeks, Jessie took the kittens everywhere she went. The kittens needed to be bottle fed every three hours and there was no rest in the evenings! Jessie got up through the night as feline mother. She remembers how greedily the kittens took the bottle from the start.

It wasn’t long before Jessie starting seeing the amazing transformation from defenseless infants into vivacious kittens. Before she knew it, they were eating on their own and she was sleeping through the night! Their outgoing personalities were a testament to the excellent job Jessie did of socializing these kittens to know and understand the love of human beings. They were curious, energetic and affectionate.

After 10 weeks, Romeo and Monique went back to the Ozaukee Humane Society to be sterilized and were quickly adopted. Telly, named for his unique habit of sitting on Jessie’s telephone, stayed with her for two additional weeks. As the smallest member of the group, he needed extra TLC. Eventually Telly, too, was adopted into a loving home. He will always have a very special place in Jessie’s heart.

Fostering involves just as much hard work and effort as it provides joy and laughter.  Whether you're fostering a litter of puppies or kittens or an adult cat or dog recovering from a recent fracture or amputation, there's more to do in your household than before, especially cleaning. 

There is also a great deal of laughter and love.  To watch young kittens play "pounce and prey" with each other can teach you as much about feline body language as it can about laughter.  To have a puppy snuggle into your lap after a walk and fall blissfully asleep reminds you that peaceful moments need to be treasured, too.

Fostering an animal until he or she is ready for adoption is a rewarding commitment.  Some people feel they cannot foster because they would never be able to give the animal(s) back so OHS can find them a home.  But, really, when you talk to those who foster, they will tell you that while this litter of kittens was special, they always know that there is another one waiting for their loving care.  And while this dog needed help adjusting to three legs instead of four, there's another waiting who needs our help as well. 

If you would like to become a Volunteer Foster Parent, click here to fill out an online foster application. You can also call us at (262) 377-7580 with any questions or email us.