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JJ Johnson’s household was already full. Two dogs, two cats, and a husband who’d made it clear he wasn’t interested in adding another permanent pet to the mix. But Johnson followed a number of animal rescue accounts online, and it was hard to scroll past the dogs featured there, running out of time in shelters that were already stretched thin.
That tension is what led the family to short-term fostering. Rather than adopting outright, they began opening their home to dogs who had already been placed with new families, sometimes just days before a scheduled transport, giving them a safe, comfortable place to stay while they waited for their ride to an out-of-state home. Both dogs who’d stayed with the Johnsons so far were house trained and good on a leash — animals Johnson described as genuinely wonderful and well worth the effort.
What made it possible, Johnson said, was the network of shelters, foster coordinators, and rescue volunteers who’ve made it simple for ordinary people to step in. Most rescues supply everything a foster family needs — food, a leash, a bed, and other essentials — removing much of the barrier to saying yes.
Johnson hadn’t known emergency and short-term fostering was even a need before following local rescue groups, but it turned out to be exactly the right fit for the family: a way to help without permanently expanding the household.
This week, the Johnsons drove Redfield to meet his transport so he could begin his trip to a new home in Indiana. Redfield is a striking dog, a black-and-tan German Shepherd mix with one blue eye and one brown, and he settled into the family’s house as though he’d always belonged there. They’ll miss having him around, Johnson said, but they’re thrilled for him, and grateful to have played a part in getting him to where he’s going.
The family is now looking forward to whoever comes through their door next — the next dog who just needs someone willing to hold the door open until their ride arrives.
Original story here.
