Fostering Fur Babies
Foster puppies in the care of Lori Caylor.
Before they ever met one another, Melvin and Lori Caylor each grew up with a deep love for animals and a desire to rescue those pups who were in need. When they got together, there was no question that animals, especially dogs, would be a big part of their new life together. “When we bought our house [in Vancouver] in September of 2016, we just had our rescue doxiepin [a mix between a Dachsund and a miniature pinscher], Denny, but knew we wanted a big dog. Probably a GSD [German shepherd] or rottweiler. We even made sure with our homeowners insurance beforehand that they weren’t going to have
an issue because we planned on having all of the big dogs!” Their chance to make that happen came in 2017. “We found a homeless family trying to rehome their skin-and-bones purebred GSD with horrific skin issues, missing hair, horrible allergies and [other health] issues. He looked and smelled horrific with zero manners, but we had to save him. We drove home with all of the windows down because he smelled so bad. But, where there was one that needed saving, there were many! Casey was the beginning of our journey.”
Foster Care for Animals
Veronica Roderick has been fostering cats and kittens for eight years.
Shortly after adopting Casey the German shepherd, the Caylors began volunteering for West Columbia Gorge Humane Society (WCGHS) in Washougal, first cleaning kennels and eventually bringing puppies and dogs into their home temporarily while those animals waited for their forever home. This service—foster care for animals—allows animal shelters to significantly increase their reach and rescue far beyond their physical space capacity. “There’s this little niche of volunteers called fosters that increase our lifesaving capacity,” Micki Simeone, executive director of WCGHS told me in an interview at the Washougal shelter. “They need as much acknowledgement and recognition as possible because without them, we wouldn’t be able to do a lot of what we do here.” WCGHS’s shelter, located just across the street from Cottonwood Beach, is small, with space for just 11 dogs and about 40 cats at any given time. The need in the community far exceeds this space, which is where foster families come in.
Read the rest of this article in the full digital issue below.
Learn More
Go here to learn about volunteering with West Columbia Gorge Humane Society.
Go here to learn about becoming a cat and kitten foster family through Furry Friends.
