Cure has been fostering animals for five years — with a roll that includes three dogs and more than 40 cats.
"When I started, the shelter was still on Burleigh. There was not a lot of room, and they could not take in dogs unless someone was willing to foster them," Cure said. "I fostered three different dogs. I now only foster cats and kittens. They usually are special needs, ringworm or newborns or very unhappy living in a kennel. I like caring for them and giving them a chance for a good life. I even adopted one of the adults I fostered."
Cure accounts the first animal she fostered: a dog named Josie.
"Josie loved to walk and would jump straight up in the air," Cure recalled. "She was a very good traveler also. I went to Gillette, Wyoming, for several days and took Lily and Josie with me. The home where we stayed also had a dog and a cat, and I think other family members also brought their dogs. Josie fit right in and played like she had known everyone for years."
Cure has been very devoted to sheltering animals, said Kerry Hacecky, director of Heartland Humane Society (HHS).
"Rachel's dedication to serving not only Heartland but the community is amazing. She has the kind of heart, patience, helpfulness, and happiness that is rare and we value her commitment to the animals in the shelter," Hacecky said. "We are always short volunteers for fostering, especially when we discuss needs of caring for the sick or injured. Rachel is one a few willing to take on animals with illnesses and nurse them back to health. Without her, we would definitely struggle a little more.
"When you sign up to foster, you decide your availability, and we work around your interest and ability."
Fostering animals from Heartland can be for weeks or months or it could be only for a weekend or just three or four days to help the animal transition into care. And HHS will provide all the necessary items for a person to foster an animal.
"You simply need to have the time to love and care for them and the ability to pick them up and bring them back to the shelter," Hacecky said.
Fostering at HHS is a simple process," she said. "Stop by the shelter, call or send a message from our website to begin the process. You would fill out an application that provides HHS with some general information on your home. From there, we have you read a short document about the rules of foster care. You would have a hands-on, one-on-one meeting with staff members for orientation showing basic handling skills. After that, you'll be placed on a foster list where you'll receive a weekly email about animals that could use a short break from the shelter. If you're interested, you email or call. Noble, our volunteer coordinator will coordinate with you to pick up the animal. Melissa, the customer service supervisor, also sends text messages when we have an emergency need."
Cure is glad she did.
"Fostering animals gives me a lot of satisfaction knowing that I am helping them adjust to a home with multiple animals and helping them heal, either physically or even emotionally. There are so many needy animals out there I just want to help where I can," she said.
Cure was asked if she had a favorite animal that she fostered.
"I don't know that I have a favorite," she said. "They all have their own personalities. But if I had to pick a favorite, I would say it would be Truck. He was a very young kitten who hitched a ride to town in the engine compartment of a pickup. He had burns on his paws and nose from the engine heat. He spent a few days with me and made himself right at home."
HHS needs foster homes for the following categories:
• Animal under eight weeks. (They aren't allowed in the shelter due to their lack of immune system.)
• Animals with non-contagious health needs, such as ringworm cats, broken bones, or animals needing surgery
• Adoptable — these are eight weeks old to normal healthy adults. These are the most common form of fostering. One can decide to foster short-term or long-term until the animal gets adopted.
• Elderly animals (this is rare) that need hospice care rather than adoption.
HHS once relied on fostering for all dogs up until two years ago when the shelter opened 19 dog adoption kennels. Hacecky said the foster network seemed to fizzle out when that happened, and folks hay have thought the shelter didn't need foster homes, but that is not true.
"Many animals don't prosper in a shelter network, and our hope and goal is to have enough foster homes to keep these animals happy until they can get adopted," Hacecky said.
