Scott Moriarty, a bit lonely and without work, was just trying to get through the holiday season and winter in New York City. Then Zara came along.
Moriarty, who never fostered before, took in the 7-year-old black cat after a friend pressured him to at a Thanksgiving party. Zara’s longtime owner was too sick to care for her and Moriarty meant to help her find a new forever home. But the video graphic artist said he became a “failed” foster after only two nights with the affectionate, purring, majestic feline.
“I texted back the foster people saying, ‘Hey, is it normal to cry 20 times in three days?’” Moriarty, 34, told USA TODAY.
Animal foster homes are important to the broader animal rescue system because formerly stray cats and dogs need loving, safe homes while they wait to be adopted, said Jennie Anne Simson, a rescuer and foster coordinator who brought Zara to Moriarty’s apartment. Many shelters are full and can’t always accept new animals, so foster homes fill an enormous gap, with tens of thousands of dogs and cats fostered each year. Grassroots rescue groups across the U.S., in coordination with shelters, rely on foster programs to get animals off the streets, keep them safe and reduce overcrowding at kennel facilities.
Foster fails happen when a temporary foster decides they want to officially and permanently adopt the animal instead of giving it away. Fails are rare, and usually happen for good reasons, animal rescue groups told USA TODAY. Some people fall in love unexpectedly with a dog or cat, despite their best intentions to adopt the animal out, said Simson, who helps gets cats off the street with Brooklyn Animal Action.
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‘Something went very right’
Foster fails usually occur after the human and animal create a powerful bond, which is sometimes supercharged by the animal’s vulnerable situation, Simson said.
“There’s cats that take a long time to warm up, you really have to work to get to know them and it’s incredibly rewarding,” Simson told USA TODAY.
In Brooklyn’s Flatbush neighborhood, Simson let Zara out of her carrier in Moriarty’s apartment bathroom the Saturday after Thanksgiving. She was not anticipating Zara being a foster fail, but then she saw Moriarty immediately struggle to hide his tearful eyes from her.
“When I tell people I foster failed they say, ‘Oh no, what went wrong?'” Moriarty said during a phone interview as Zara slept beside him on the couch. “I’m like, no, no, no − something went very right.”
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Some dogs and cats end up in foster homes when shelters are full or because of an emergency or abandonment. Dogs and cats with past trauma that can’t be around other animals, as well as those with serious health problems or injuries, benefit from dedicated foster parents.
Foster fails can happen after humans spend quality time nurturing the animal, and the dog or cat can also be harder to adopt out due to their medical issues, said Meghan Hyatt, a foster mom who has six dogs at home.
‘He’s my baby, that’s my boy’
In Nokesville, Virginia, Hyatt has “tiny” dogs and “massive” ones, dogs young and old and spends about $100 a month on kibble.
Of the six dogs, only a Redbone Coonhound named Imogene was planned for when the family adopted her nine years ago. Three others − terrier-Chihuahua Violet, Mastiff-Labrador Hank and black Lab Ryder − are foster fails. Two of the dogs − Chihuahua Dustin and black Lab Midnight − are current fosters.
Since 2019, Hyatt, her husband and two sons have successfully fostered over 40 dogs. Over the years, she has seen emaciated dogs covered in sores and a dog with bullets lodged in its body.
“We’ve had dogs who have been through horrible things,” Hyatt, 44, told USA TODAY. “But they just give entirely of themselves without expecting much of anything in return. They just want your company and their basic needs met.”
The Hyatt family foster failed with Hank, a giant 8-year-old Mastiff-Labrador mix, after sporty northern Virginia families expressed interest but backed off after learning how lazy he is. Hyatt also thought adopting out a young terrier-Chihuahua mix named Violet would be easy. Her husband advertised the dog, but for six months, the foster organization said no one expressed interest.
And then there’s black Lab Ryder.
“It’s just this connection I had with him, he’s my baby, that’s my boy,” Hyatt said. “We have other dogs and I love them all, but Ryder’s my boy.”
Hyatt, who lost another black Labrador a few months before taking Ryder in, tried her best not to get too attached to the dog. But Ryder’s arrival came during March of 2020, when the world shut down due to COVID-19. Ryder was also taking heartworm medication that left him with unbearable pain in one of his paws, and early on Hyatt spent a night lying on the hardwood floor keeping Ryder company while he whined, trying to sleep.
“You get attached to all of them, Ryder just − I think our hearts hurt a little bit,” Hyatt said. “He was there in that moment in COVID, he was snuggly.”
Should I foster a dog or cat?
If you like dogs or cats, you should definitely foster, said Simson, explaining there’s a “a huge backlog” of cats waiting to be rescued off the streets of Brooklyn. In northern Virginia, Hyatt said there’s a “never-ending supply of dogs” needing fosters, and she sees multiple foster agency email requests and community Facebook posts each week looking for temporary homes.
“We never have enough fosters,” Simson said.
It’s impossible not to get attached to a foster animal, so don’t prevent yourself from bonding with them, Hyatt said. Just stay in touch with the foster agency, who will remind you that your job is to get another foster, and another and another, Simson advised. Consider how having one dog or cat permanently in the home could negatively affect your ability to care for another animal who may need to be in a “no-other-animals home,” Simson said.
“To be that safe holding place for them while they wait for their forever family, it’s an honor to be able to do that,” Hyatt said. “And yes, you do miss their presence in your life, but you’re giving that gift of the joy of having a dog to so many other families.”
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