By Camille Cox | Staff Writer
Albuquerque, N.M., junior Evan Pfeiffer fostered Ghost, a Siberian husky, for a few weeks after learning the Humane Society of Central Texas was reaching capacity.
“Someone told me that the Humane Society was at capacity and that they were going to be potentially putting dogs down,” Pfeiffer said. “I went in with the intent to foster to adopt, but he was just a little bigger than what I could’ve given him in an apartment.”
According to the Humane Society’s website, animals can be fostered for a short period of time: 24 hours or one to six weeks.
“I kept him for as long as possible, but then I had to go out of town,” Pfeiffer said. “I returned him back to the Humane Society after two weeks … but he got adopted in the two days he was there.”
San Antonio sophomore Megan Huff also fostered a dog through the Humane Society over Labor Day weekend, giving the dog a short break away from its cage.
“My roommates and I decided to foster because we thought it would be a fun bonding experience, and we wanted to help a dog in need,” Huff said.
While students living on campus cannot foster animals, students living off campus in apartments or homes can often foster or adopt animals if permitted to do so in their lease.
“I think that if you can foster, you should,” Huff said. “Yes, it was a lot, and I don’t know if I could do it again with my current workload, but if you can, you should because it’s important and fun to have an animal.”
Through the Humane Society, those who foster will have a weekly check-in with a Humane Society of Central Texas foster family liaison to make sure the situation is a good fit.
“Animals don’t care if you live in an apartment or a house, if you have a yard, what kind of job you have or what time you wake up in the morning,” the Humane Society said on its website.
While fostering does benefit the animal, the animal can also help students feel at ease. According to a 2017 academic article in the modern psychological studies journal published by the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, professors from Troy University wrote “animals have been shown to have positive effects on people who suffer from various conditions including depression, stress and homesickness.”
Animals, in the right situation, can help students relieve stress and achieve better mental health.
“Pet therapy may be useful in destigmatizing mental illness and increasing the chance that students will seek counseling,” the academic article said.
Students at Baylor who have fostered have felt the benefits of having a dog — even if just for a short time period.
“It was very fun to have a dog because I have three dogs at home and I miss being around them,” Huff said. “Not having animals in college is sad, but having a companion by my side for a weekend was something I enjoyed doing.”
Those interested in fostering, volunteering or adopting through the Humane Society can visit its website for more information. Additionally, Humane Society of Central Texas is holding a 5K Zombie Run on Oct. 30, complete with a human and doggie costume contest.
