When the Covid-19 pandemic caused the lockdowns in 2020 I, like many others who lived alone, became bored and a bit lonely. Most of my life I had at least one pet, but had decided not to become attached as I planned to travel and did not want the responsibilities that go with pet ownership.
Someone told me about animal fostering and it sounded like the perfect solution – kind of like rent a pet with no strings attached. So I applied, and picked out one of the cats needing fostering. Her name was Beans, and she was a two year old surrender that needed short term care until ready for adoption. I had my plans made and my mind made up to take good care of her, be kind and gentle, and send her back for adoption when she was healed. I failed miserably on that last point.
When the call came to have her listed for adoption, I wrote a nice blurb about what a sweet girl she was and sent it off for posting to the website. Just a few days later I was notified that there was someone interested and was asked to return her to the shelter. I was miserable all that night before surrendering her, arguing with myself why she should go to someone else. In the end, I put her in the carrier and along with her dishes and toys I drove to the shelter.
A nice young man took delivery of the carrier with her inside and asked me to wait for the paperwork to be completed. I sat in my car for almost an hour, crying most of the time. When he finally returned to say he was sorry that it was taking so long; that there was some mix-up because they could not find any record of a request to adopt Beans the cat; I blurted out, “ I want her back! I want to adopt her and keep her and take her home!”
His response was, “Thank goodness! She has not stopped crying since we took her away from your car!”
We were reunited, paperwork completed and we came back home for good. She has been great company all during the pandemic and listened to my stories and ideas with loving patience. She also keeps me active by wanting a playmate at least once a day.
She loves me to toss one of her little yarn balls in the air so she can catch it, or roll it across the floor where she will chase after and pounce on it, often turning somersaults. Most mornings I find one of these balls waiting at the foot of the bed, or on the floor next to my reading chair. Beans likes to curl up in a chair nearby when I’m reading, working on a project, or watching tv. But she loves to snuggle in a lap when the weather gets cold. She knows when I am getting ready to go out and when I come home, she is often watching for me at the front window.
Beans is one of the smartest, best behaved and most loving cats I have ever had and I wouldn’t trade her for a million dollars.
Our foster program is an extremely important part of the work we do – find out more and see what pets are up for foster at www.forsythhumane.org/foster
Prepared by Kristen Williams
