I had wanted to foster for at least the past 4 years and finally felt it was the right time, just this past month. We have 3 cats of our own, a dog, a budgie, chickens, and 3 younger kids, so I thought our hose would be great for acclimatizing kittens. We are loving our foster kitties, and one in particular I so badly want to adopt, but I’m trying to convince myself to keep going with the original fostering plan. Send help. lol

We follow a lot of rescues on Instagram and donate supplies when we can. We bought our house this fall and finally had the space to give back. SAAR was the first rescue to pop up the day we decided to apply.

I started fostering when living in Winnipeg many years ago. I also did pet visits to various shelters in Winnipeg. When I moved to Steinbach, it just seemed like the obvious thing to do, so I applied to SAAR and was accepted to be a foster parent. Wouldn’t trade this experience for anything. Thanks SAAR for accepting me.

My Foster Story: My husband and I tried for years to have kids. Due to medical issues, it turned not possible. We attempted adoption and in 2019 we were chosen as parents for a little girl.

We had her for about 5 weeks when her biological family changed their mind and we had to give her back. The summer of 2019 was hard and we needed a way to heal. I had been following SAAR on Facebook and saw the rescue needed fosters. My husband and I felt that this was a great opportunity to heal and we had so much love to give. What better way than to a poor animal that just needs love and safety.

I started fostering after seeing the post of Pugsley on the SAAR Facebook page. Subsequently, I ended up getting Pugsley to foster without actually asking for him specifically. Unfortunately he passed a few days after I got him but it just made it so clear how necessary it is to foster and help animals. Since then, I have had one adopted and 3 currently in care and love each like my own.

I saw an advertisement on Facebook and wanted to teach my cat to be more social around other cats. Once she gets used to a new cat, then she enjoys playing with them and isn’t lonely when I’m at work.

We had 1 cat … then I adopted 2 cats from SAAR in 2018 and 2019. After that, my husband said no more cats. Fostering was an alternative to adopting more. Newsflash … We have since “foster failed” 2 more so now we have 5 cats and continue to foster. lol and long story short, my husband is a softie!

I started fostering two years ago when I caved to Michelle’s request to take on some kittens. She promptly showed up at my door with a bag of chow, pellet litter, milk replacer, cat bed, toys, and 4 very young kittens. I have doing it pretty much since. I have 5 cats (2 “foster fails”) and two dogs of my own so it can get a bit crowded. But it’s always worth it, no matter how hard it can be at times to see them go.

I started fostering cats in Alberta and about a year after I moved here, I saw a post needing people to foster bunnies and I wanted to see how a bunny was to have as a pet.

We wanted to open up a space for animals that were meant for someone they hadn’t had the chance to meet yet. We show them love and trust and get them to their best selves so they are ready for their furever homes.

I moved to a home in the country just outside of Steinbach in 2013. Cat kept appearing in our yard and we kept trapping them and fixing them and finding family or barn homes.

We soon realized that this was unsustainable, as cats kept appearing. One day I saw a fundraiser for SAAR and contacted them and started volunteering, and with the amazing support of the rescue, I have been a part of hundreds of rescues.

I wish more people could know how fulfilling being a part of animal rescue is. To anyone out there who wants to know this joy, please contact SAAR and someone will be happy to answer any questions!

A few weeks after my last dog died, I found out I had stage 4 cancer. I didn’t think getting another animal was ethical. I realized fostering was flexible enough to work around my desire to knock off my bucket list trips while I still can, while still getting the fur cuddles that I long for. It also gives me a sense of feeling like I’m giving back and keeps me from going to dark places.

I have moved and am no longer in a position to foster, but still like to help out as much as I can by driving cats around when their fosters aren’t able, and potentially house/cat sitting if needed.

I went through a difficult separation and I was looking for something to get me out of a funk. I got in touch with Michelle and got a kitten right away … I foster failed almost right away too! I have counted 27 fosters from all the pics and videos that my phone has … the most I had at one time was 9 fosters! It’s so rewarding to go through the hard work and then see them go off to furever homes!

We have adopted 2 cats through SAAR, and unfortunately our first ever fur baby Flint passed away in April 2023. Since then, we have battled with the idea of fostering or adopting another cat, and we finally got the perfect opportunity we couldn’t pass up to foster, and I so happy we did!