Do you have a passion for helping animals, especially those most in need? Then you could be a good candidate to be a Denton animal foster care volunteer.
The Linda McNatt Animal Care & Adoption Center currently has about 52 to 58 foster volunteers who provide a temporary home and nurture animals who have short-term medical needs. Fostering gives animals a chance to grow and become healthy enough to be adopted into a permanent family.
Volunteer and foster coordinator Gayla Nelson said the shelter’s mission is to get animals adopted and give good, compassionate and attentive service to customers and pets.
“We’re trying to get them adopted and out the door as soon as possible,” Nelson said. “We would much rather them be in foster care than to be sitting in here in a kennel, nervous and trying to heal from a wound.”
The city funds the fostering program, which also receives donations from Denton Animal Support Foundation, a nonprofit organization that helps save Denton-area animals. Items foster volunteers need to care for the animals are all provided by the shelter.
It is not always puppies that need fostering; animals vary in breeds and ages. As long as an animal is able to have a good quality of life, Nelson said she will foster it out.
The shelter receives hundreds of kittens each season and has trouble finding foster homes for them. Finding foster homes for larger dog breeds and pit bulls is also difficult.
“Sometimes I struggle to find foster parents, but I’ve been very blessed and fortunate to have the number of people fostering for us,” Nelson said.
Luda Arileshere, who has fostered consistently for two years, started off as a volunteer for the shelter. If fosters start as shelter volunteers first, Nelson said it helps make the process easier, although she still has a number of people who do not volunteer for the shelter and still foster.
Arileshere started fostering when she saw a cute dog who looked sad and small in the shelter. She then asked Nelson if she could foster it for the weekend.
A kitten is shown Monday at the Linda McNatt Animal Care & Adoption Center. The shelter receives hundreds …….