Civitan House Foster Pet: Giving Back to the Community and Growing…Together!
Over the summer months, residents of Eggleston’s Civitan House made the enormous commitment to foster a pet as a way to give back to their community and enrich their own lives.
After thoughtful discussions about what fostering a pet would be like and how it would affect them, Charissa, Rachel, and Thomas visited the Chesapeake Humane Society and chose a sweet older dog named Benny*.
Benny was in a unique situation. He was in the Chesapeake Humane Society’s crisis boarding program. This program allows owners to surrender their pets for a short time due to temporary housing issues like eviction, domestic violence, and medical concerns. The program allows pet owners to get back on their feet and bring their pet home when ready.
Bringing Benny Home
Once the Civitan housemates got Benny home, they made a checklist to assign equal responsibility for the various caretaking needs of Benny.
Charissa was in charge of feeding Benny in the morning; Thomas was in charge of feeding Benny in the evening and walking him nightly, and Rachel was in charge of walking him in the daytime and bathing him.
Rachel said, “The first bath we gave Benny, we flooded the bathroom! There was water all over the floor and the hallway.” Rachel got a good laugh thinking back to the event.
Benny was an older dog that didn’t play very often, but he did enjoy chasing them around the house and loved to get on their beds (even if he wasn’t supposed to). Michael really loved having Benny at the house and found it easy to care for him.
After several months, all the housemates and staff really fell in love with Benny and missed having him in the home. Benny is now back with his family and is doing well. His owner was thankful to Charissa, Thomas, Michael, and Rachel for providing such a wonderful home for Benny this summer.
While the residents of Eggleston’s Civitan House are taking a much-needed break after learning so much about caring for an animal, they are considering a foster pet again, maybe even a cat next time!
Interested in fostering a pet?
If you would like to learn more about fostering and how to apply visit the Chesapeake Humane Society website. Foster families are needed for a variety of reasons. Whether it’s a puppy or kitten who needs some extra attention as they develop or a special case like Benny who just needs a temporary home. See how you can give back to the community as the Civitan housemates did.
*Benny is a fictional name used to honor the privacy of the pet owner.
