“We have a whole zoo,” Leah says with a laugh as she talks about the animals in their home: adopted dogs Waffles and Eleven, foster pups Gus and Tilly, cats that include a one-eyed foster feline named Bart, chickens, rabbits, turtles and fish.
Since Leah started volunteering with Poodle and Pooch less than two years ago, she has already fostered 14 rescues, including two cats.
“Every day we’re like, “What were we thinking?” I see their little faces, and I can’t say no,” she says.
Leah’s rescue journey began after her 14-year-old dachshund, Remi, passed away.
“Normally I’d go right out and get another animal, but it was a grieving process,” she says. “And I have a son who has seizures, and we wanted to get a service animal.”
The family decided that fostering might be a good way to see which breeds might work best as a service dog. Along the way, they fostered a goldendoodle named Barry, who at 67 pounds was just too big.
Leah’s brother adopted Barry, and the next day Waffles, a mini goldendoodle, came into their lives. “This is my dog,” said Leah’s 9-year-old son, Cason.
“He greets every dog we bring into the home as his new best friend,” Leah says.
Leah, a real estate agent, likes to take on the challenging dogs. That’s how she came to foster Gus and Tilly.
Tilly, a 6-year-old mini-dachshund, has defective back legs. When she walks or runs, her legs slide out from under her. “Tilly does not know she’s disabled,” Leah says.
Gus is a tougher case. He came from a hoarding situation, and the dachshund mix is “the most emotionally damaged of any of the fosters we’ve had.” But Leah and her family are not giving up. “He’s going to be so sweet once we get done with him, but it’s going to take a lot of work,” Leah says.
Like a lot of volunteers, Leah said the hardest part is letting her foster dogs go.
“At first, I was like, I’m not cut out for this. But I immediately got another foster,” she says. “I love fostering. All these animals are my babies. I love finding them the right home.”
Leah, we are lucky to have you as one of our dedicated volunteers!