{"id":6337,"date":"2019-06-18T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2019-06-18T07:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/foster-a-dog-for-foster-the-fourth-and-save-at-least-one-life\/"},"modified":"2019-06-18T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2019-06-18T07:00:00","slug":"foster-a-dog-for-foster-the-fourth-and-save-at-least-one-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/hi-lo\/foster-a-dog-for-foster-the-fourth-and-save-at-least-one-life","title":{"rendered":"Foster a shelter dog for Foster the Fourth and save at least one life"},"content":{"rendered":"

Emily Ann Peters began her Fourth of July dog-fostering effort in 2016 through finding temporary homes for dogs before they entered the shelter.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was already intercepting dogs at my house around the Fourth of July, or the shelter would call and say, \u2018We have three on the truck and no kennel space to hold them for a day.\u2019 That\u2019s where it started,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Peters, the founder of Live Love Animal Rescue<\/a>, has the bearing of your tasteful neighbor down the hall who\u2019ll meet you in a caf\u00e9 and talk about tea towels and books. In fact she\u2019ll likely do that, and you\u2019ll wonder afterward how you got talked into fostering a dog while you were discussing the merits of “Where the Crawdads Sing.” Peters has been long dismayed about the number of animals crowding the shelters during the days before and after the pyrotechnical madness that American Independence Day has become. A creative thinker as well as an advocate for animals, Peters grew her Fourth of July activities into a shelter\/rescue\/community partnership that is Foster the Fourth.<\/p>\n

The popping and bang-bang that signal the Fourth of July season\u2014it\u2019s been considered a season for decades ever since people began setting off fireworks both \u201csafe\u201d and disturbing everyone else\u2019s sleep and peace of mind about a month before the holiday. The noise frays the nerves of veterans with PTSD and survivors of gun violence. Fed-up neighbors don\u2019t even deal with it anymore and leave home for a few days.<\/p>\n

Cats and dogs leave home, too, and not in the best possible way. They wind up in shelters if they don\u2019t get hit by a car or attacked by a predator. The sudden, unexpected banging bursts can send them leaping fences and charging down streets. People also, unwisely, bring their dogs to the beach to watch the bottle rockets\u2019 red glare battling the legal displays bursting in air, and when they turn around, the dog isn\u2019t there. The following day, social media is full of posts about missing or found dogs on the beach and under porch steps.<\/p>\n

‘Everything starts with a need’<\/h5>\n

During the Fourth of July and a couple of days before and after, shelters are crowded with lost or straying pets frightened by fireworks noise. A number of shelters across the country have begun to address this crisis by asking residents to foster cats and dogs already in the shelter to make room for the lost animals and avoid having to perform euthanasia because of overcrowding. Despite successful adoption events scheduled around this time\u2014the June 15 sponsored Pet Adoption Day sent over 100 cats, dogs and rabbits home, 38 from Long Beach Animal Care Services<\/a> and 64 from spcaLA<\/a>, the intake flow eats up the empty kennel space in no time.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverything starts with a need,\u201d Peters said. \u201cI\u2019ve seen other shelters do it\u2014a 48- or 72-hour thing. But we\u2019re the only program that\u2019s two to four weeks.\u201d<\/p>\n

In 2016, Live Love partnered with Long Beach Animal Care Services to take care of smaller dogs, seniors, and dogs that needed attention because of medical or behavioral needs. The rescue provided food and any necessary veterinary visits and medical supplies. They also increased the usual foster time from a couple of sleepover nights to extended bed-and-biscuit doggy vacations that run from two to four weeks.<\/p>\n

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Angel is a Foster the Fourth 2016 alumna. She was a tiny miniature pinscher who came from a breeding situation. \u201cShe\u2019d been in this tiny, tiny little cat crate, where she couldn\u2019t even turn around,\u201d Peters said. \u201cI remember taking her out of the crate and seeing her scabby, scabby little tail. Her nails were growing into her pads, her teeth were literally falling out.\u201d Long Beach resident Urda French took her in to foster. Now, two years later, Urda has become a Live Love board member, Angel has become a \u201cforever foster\u201d with Urda and her pack because of the dog\u2019s medical needs, which Live Love takes care of. Photo courtesy of Live Love Animal Rescue<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In July 2017, Live Love and the shelter again partnered, taking in 29 dogs, 19 from the shelter and 10 stray intercepts.<\/p>\n

\u201cFour [of the strays] we personally reunited,\u201d Peters said. \u201cWe intercepted dogs who were being brought in to the shelter, giving people the opportunity to foster them while we networked for homes. If we see a dog who looks fragile, such as with an illness or an injury, we\u2019ll still network them to find their owners, but we\u2019ll also take them to approved fosters while we\u2019re looking.\u201d<\/p>\n

Foster the Fourth didn\u2019t return in 2018, Peters said, because the shelter was in a state of transition in an effort to hire a new manager and work out changes. This year, it\u2019s returning, fittingly with a bang, with the help of grants from the Edith J. Goode Residuary Trust and the Port of Long Beach. Peters has recruited a PR volunteer, Angela Robinson. She and her committee get the word out about the program through press releases and flyers.<\/p>\n

[\u201cThe Goode trust] is really invested in community outreach\u2014they were very receptive,\u201d Peters said. \u201cAngela is putting as much energy into it as her full plate can take.\u201d<\/p>\n

Orientation is mandatory, but you’ll love it<\/h5>\n

The program will be enriched by a June 29 Foster the Fourth orientation<\/a> held at the shelter; the training is mandatory for anyone wishing to foster a dog, a condition of the grant.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s very important that we\u2019re teaching people how to deal with the dog,\u201d Robinson said. \u201cIt\u2019s not just putting the dog in your pocket and going home. We teach fosters about decompression: giving the dog some space, getting used to a new environment, de-stressing after being in a shelter, and retraining\u2014how to safely integrate the dog into your home. And we\u2019re the contact for any medical or behavioral issues that pop up.\u201d<\/p>\n

Crate training will be part of the orientation. Crate training, Peters said, is the \u201cbest way to transition a dog from kennel to home.\u201d It\u2019s not an extension of imprisonment but positive and comforting, particularly to a dog straight out of a kennel in the shelter, especially during July 4. A blankie, a few toys, a quiet location and gradual integration with the new home and humans, and you have a more comfortable and therefore more adoptable dog.<\/p>\n

Peters and the other volunteers will look for homes with safe environments, a secure fence or gate, and kids who know how to be responsible pet people\u2014making sure to give the dog time to become acquainted with the home and to not provide escape routes such as open doors. Mainly, the team wants to match the right dog to the right person. Education is important in this area. Live Love will provide food and any medical care; fosters will provide the love and care.<\/p>\n

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This is the way a foster works. You meet…<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cThis is a great opportunity for shelter dogs to get a much-needed break so that other dogs have a safe place at the shelter to stay until their owners can be found,\u201d said Staycee Dains, Long Beach Animal Care Services\u2019 manager. \u201cThose who foster are heroes\u2014their compassion saves lives.\u201d<\/p>\n

Peters and Robinson expressed delight at the active role that Dains is taking to make the effort succeed. \u201cShe\u2019s kick-ass!\u201d Peters said.<\/p>\n

Free microchips available for Long Beach residents<\/h5>\n

The grants have also made possible a free microchip clinic for dogs<\/a> for Long Beach residents. It will take place June 23 at Primary Care Animal Hospital on Lakewood Boulevard. Microchipping has been shown to be the most effective way to ensure a pet\u2019s return. (Cats can be chipped at Fix Long Beach\u2019s clinics\u2014the next one will take place Sunday, June 30, at Ramona Park.<\/a>)<\/p>\n

Cats haven\u2019t been included in any of the Foster the Fourth events only because Live Love is a dog rescue.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe love cats but don\u2019t have the infrastructure to manage both cats and dogs, and this effort really stems from our rescue,\u201d Peters said. \u201cNext year, we\u2019d love to have a cat rescue participate with us if one wants to get involved and run their own Foster the Fourth for cats. We could cross-promote everything.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cat rescues, prick up your pointy little ears.<\/p>\n

Peters mentioned that the Kitten Bloom, in which qualifying people may adopt kittens from the shelter and the spcaLA for $22 during June, helps reduce overcrowding.<\/p>\n

Two to four weeks is a good period for a dog to relax and be safe while the shelter looks for the owners of the runaways. It\u2019s also a perfect length time for the foster and the dog to bond. There\u2019s no pressure to adopt, but are Peters and her Live Love team being a touch crafty?<\/p>\n

\u201cMmmmaaayyybe…,\u201d Peters coyly said. \u201cWe might have <\/em>had some adoptions come out of this.\u201d<\/p>\n

To sign up to foster a dog, visit\u00a0https:\/\/liveloveanimalrescue.org\/foster-the-4th<\/a><\/em><\/strong>\u00a0and click \u201cI\u2019ll Be a Foster.\u201d The orientation takes place June 29 at noon at the P.D. <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Pitchford Companion Animal Village, 7700 E. Spring St., Long Beach, at the entrance to El Dorado Park (no parking fee for shelter visitors). No RSVP needed.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Make sure your pets don’t spend their holidays at the shelter\u2014or worse<\/h5>\n

Everyone who lives with a pet can mitigate shelter overcrowding by following a few common-sense guidelines put together by Peters, Robinson and me:<\/p>\n