14 Mar Foster Testimonial – Jeff and Jean

My wife, Jean, and I started fostering dogs when I retired in 2017. We have two dogs of our own, Kimi and Yoshi, both of whom were adopted through 4 Luv of Dog Rescue. I think the stories of Kimi and Yoshi motivated me to help other dogs in distress. Kimi was given up by a family that could no longer care for her. Yoshi was found abandoned on the streets and was suffering from malnutrition. God knows what would have happened to Yoshi but for 4 Luv of Dog Rescue.  

I fell in love with every dog we have fostered, from the first one, Sophie, through Denny, Frankie, Bentley, Pepe, Riley, Benji, Tyson, Bixby, and now Genji, the tenth one. Every one of them suffered a loss of some kind: owners unable to care for their dog because they’ve become homeless or ill; owners who can’t afford the medical care their dog requires; owners who don’t think their dog is a “good fit;” and dogs that have simply been abandoned by a dumpster. Some of the greatest joys of my life have been seeing these dogs recover and start “acting like a dog” again. This is especially true of the dogs that were old and ill; Pepe, Benji, and Genji. I will never forget Pepe for the first time running through snow deeper than he was tall to bark at the neighbor dog, or Benji wagging his tail for the first time, or Genji barking and running around the yard for the first time. An objective observer might have given these dogs up as lost causes, but they all recovered (Genji is still recovering) because of the love and care they received from us and from 4 Luv. The first nine were all adopted, and I’m sure Genji will be adopted also. It can be hard to let these dogs go, but I know that every foster dog that has been adopted has gone to a good home.