People stuck at home during the pandemic craved pets for comfort, and shelters could hardly meet the demand. Sounds like good news, right? But as restrictions lifted and people returned to work, the pets were being returned and even abandoned. Tom and Rami McCreery heard about the crises on the local news. They decided to help.
The McCreerys already knew a little about saving dogs. They had adopted a Labrador, called Tombstone, from Southwest Oasis Labrador Rescue (SOLR) in April of 2020. They had also adopted Roxi, a pit bull, from Southern Arizona Humane Society in November of 2018. They had never fostered before, but they knew it would be a great adventure.
Enter Charlie and Max, a bonded pair of six-month old puppies in desperate need of help. Someone had dumped the two in the hot, dry desert during a high temperature warning in June – no food, no water. They were rescued by a lady who put them in a room by themselves. “But the puppies did what puppies do, and her boyfriend threatened to dump them back in the desert unless they were removed immediately,” says Tom. “They were in our house the very next day!”
In the past year, the McCreerys have fostered ten dogs for SOLR – and they aren’t planning to stop. They recently fostered Zane, a sweet dog who came from a shelter in Mexico as a very sick boy. “He had tick fever, which had destroyed almost all his blood platelets and he was in danger of bleeding to death from an injury.” With antibiotics, healthy food, and lots of rest, Zane was soon helping the McCreery’s celebrate St. Patrick’s day. (See “Celebrations” below.)
According to Tom, each foster dog is perfect in its own way. “We fall in love with each and every one. We’ve been tempted to foster fail several times, but we just keep thinking about that next dog that needs us,” says Tom. (A “foster fail” is a person who adopts his or her foster dog.)
And there are plenty of dogs that need loving foster homes like Tom’s. “As a foster, you become the person who restores the ability of a rescue dog to trust and love people again,” says Tom. “It’s incredible to see a sad or sick dog become happy and playful again.”
