Desperate House---cats and dogs.....

I was emailing a friend this summer, and he mentioned that this would probably be the last he spent with his best friend, his Lab, Chip. What to say when you know pain lies ahead, but want to make the next few months the best you can for both of you? So many people speak to me about making that dreaded decision, as I wrote in some detail in "Little Bee , RIP". (Best advice is to share all your feelings with sympathetic friends.) ....... However a new wrinkle has come up. Recently, the husband of a new foster mom said he couldn't stand letting their visiting cat go to his forever home, he'd gotten too attached after only two months. Now, this is a painful dilemma faced by all foster care givers. The whole point of our work is to provide a caring home where animals' social skills can develop in order for them to MOVE ON to their forever home. If we can't detach well, the system breaks down. Now, to be honest, a lot of us do keep animals that for one reason or another we can't bear to part with. (My tortie, Emma, was so sick for so long, that after bottle-feeiding her for weeks, I simply couldn't get her out of my pocket!). ......However, if we don't prepare ourselves to absorb those twinges of loss, we either become hoarders, or give up rescue altogther-both bad prospects. So.....in this time of great need, I urge anyone interested to realize that your pain of loss bears no resemblance to the ache animals feel left in cages at shelters for months, most likely to be euthanized in the end. We must get them ALL out!!! Join foster care groups. It's a labor of love.