At the end of my eighth-grade year, my family made the decision to foster puppies. A family friend had been doing it for a while, and the adventures she shared on Facebook drew us in. The choice seemed light at the time – who wouldn't want to hang out with a puppy for a while? And how hard could it be, taking care of wriggling little balls of fur for a couple weeks? To someone who'd never fostered before, it seemed easy enough. We'd had our two family dogs since they were puppies, hence we were already adjusted to a life of taking care of canines, and they seemed to turn out pretty okay, so watching over a few puppies to help out our local shelter seemed like a no-brainer. Looking back now, we had a big storm coming.

Puppies are not easy. They are cute, they are lovable, and they are rewarding. But they are not easy. They're like babies; they need constant babysitting. You could turn away for a second, and when you look back, you could very well find six pee puddles and the shredded remains of your favorite pair of headphones. Unfortunately, I speak from experience. It's actually quit impressive how much damage one tiny being can inflict in short amounts of time. Moreover, house-training is a nightmareish endeavor. To prevent any accidents, the key is to let them out often, about every 2 hours, and immediately after every time they eat or drink. Their schedules, especially at the age we watched them (6-8 weeks), become very demanding very quickly, especially in a family with two parents with full-time jobs and 2 teenagers with their own agendas. Two to three weeks would often feel more like two to three years.

It's safe to say that we were stressed out, tired, and not ever wanting to see another puppy for the rest of our lives once we gave them back to the shelter (which we always made my dad do because my mom and I would cry if we did it--even through the frustration, you get attached). And yet, time and time again, we came back. When our contact from the shelter asked if we were up to a couple more pups, the answer was almost always yes. By the time we stopped fostering, my family and I had hosted more than 30 puppies in our home over a three and a half year span.

Despite the exasperation, fostering is one of the most impactful things that has happened to me. Not only did it teach me responsibility, it taught me how it pays to give back to my community. The work of fosters is essential to keeping a shelter running; it frees up space, keeps vulnerable animals from catching an illness from another animal, and overall, is a huge help. The organization I worked with was mostly ran by volunteers, so it felt wonderful to know that my family’s contribution could be of help to such selfless and caring people, let alone the endlessly deserving and innocent animals. Even further, as chaotic and difficult as it was, fostering is fun. Puppies, and dogs and cats in general, when they’re not being a pain, are the most adorable and intriguing creatures to interact with. Every single one of them deserve happiness, love, and a home, so to be able to provide them with some of that for however short of an amount of time is an indescribably great feeling. That’s why we kept coming back, even through the stress.

To anyone who has both the means and enough love in their hearts, I cannot recommend fostering enough. Not only would you be helping helpless animals in need by simply taking them in, you’d be doing yourself a favor, too.