Surrounded by a litter of newborn puppies. Sounds like a great gig, doesn't it?

Still deciding whether you should foster a puppy or not? Here are things to know before you foster a dog.

At Path of Hope Rescue, we aim to help pregnant dogs and homeless puppies. One of our biggest needs is volunteers to foster litters of puppies. Fostering a mama dog and her litter of puppies can be scary, but it may be one of the most rewarding things you can do. Let’s hear from one of our volunteers, Marissa, who fostered the Jungle Book Litter.

An american staffordshire terrier foster puppy named Baloo with dark brown white fur color sleeping on a gray couch with sleepy tired face — Baloo, a cute puppy fostered by Marissa (Path of Hope Facebook)

“To a potential litter foster,

Before I try to persuade you to dive in and foster a litter, I want to be honest with you. Fostering a litter is tough.

Some days you want to quit. You marvel at the amount of poop a litter of puppies can make in less than 24 hours (I still don't understand the physiology of it all!) and ponder your life choices as you run the washer full of reusable pads for the third time that day.

You'll wonder how they managed to chew through the heat pad cord that is wrapped in a protective metal casing in the 30 minutes you left them alone.

You'll run away in terror (okay not really) as they nibble at your feet, hair, and clothing when you climb into the pen to do anything. You'll worry when they get the sniffles, and feel oddly protective of them and their momma when the first adoptive family comes to meet them.

You'll shed tears of frustration and maybe sadness at times.

Sounds like a great gig, doesn't it?

An american staffordshire terrier mix foster cute puppy called Buzzie with white beige fur color sitting on gray soft couch with a sad tired face — Buzzie, a puppy from the same litter (Path of Hope Facebook)

You might be saying, "why are you telling me this? Don't you want people to foster a litter?", and you would be exactly right, I do want people to foster a litter.

Because the joy and happiness that comes with all of that poop and laundry is absolutely worth it.

It is worth it the moment you meet that momma dog as she comes off of transport. Skinny with a dull coat, scars across her body, and eyes that seem to know that she's been saved. When she jumps up to meet you, kisses your face, and wags her tail low to the ground, you know you made the right choice.

It is worth it every day as you watch her nurse her puppies, finally able to relax and sleep. Each of the puppies with bellies full, squeaking quietly in their sleep as they lay on their back, completely milk drunk with the rest of their family. Seeing them together, safe, healthy, and relaxed, you know you made the right choice.

An american staffordshire terrier mix foster puppy named Bagheera from Jungle Book litter with brown white dark fur color sitting on couch — Humans will **adopt** me and give me a loving home, I just need to be patient! (Path of Hope Facebook)

It is worth it as you watch them grow, tumbling and tipping over as they learn to walk and play with one another, their pudgy bodies and wobbly gait constantly causing them to fall over. When momma eats her food for the first time without stopping and watching you cautiously for the first time, you know you made the right choice.

It is worth it as each of the puppies begins to develop their own personality, becoming their own little dog with quirks and silly traits. Even as they start to escape the whelping pen and challenge your ability to contain them (I mean they have to try 😉), you know you made the right choice.

It is worth it when at eight weeks of age, as you hand each of them off to their forever families who have been waiting anxiously for their already beloved, new furry friend to come home, you definitely know you made the right choice.

You see, litter fostering is tough. But it is also entirely and completely an amazing experience. There is nothing like it.

An american staffordshire terrier foster puppy called Ziggy with dark black white fur sticking his nose forward to the camera on a couch — Ziggy, a puppy from the same litter, got adopted in June 2022 (Path of Hope Facebook)

To consider, for even a moment, that each of the little souls you've raised and perhaps even welcomed into this world, could be dead, or sick, or running on the streets in Texas right now had you not said "yes" is a sobering revelation. You are quite literally the difference between two very real and very different realities for these puppies and their moms.

And that makes it all very much worth it.

Worth the poop, the worry, the laundry, and all the tears. Their lives and the joy they bring not only to you, but to their forever family, will tell you that you made the right choice by saying yes.”

Fostering a litter of puppies takes up to 8 weeks of your time, but you will remember it for a lifetime. Each little puppy will leave a stamp on your heart. If you are ready to foster a litter, please sign up today. We will provide everything you need; supplies, support and even people to come clean up after the puppies!

Marissa. Project Manager/PHR Foster Mom.

Come adopt a puppy from us at Spokane, Washington. We have many Dogs Available for Adoption, and you can give them a furever family.

Most of our foster puppies and rescue dogs came from Texas, but "Why Texas?" you might ask. We have a whole blog post explaining our mission and our motivation. Spoiler alert, it is quite emotional.

Here’s our Origin Story of how Path of Hope Rescue was founded. Homeless puppies need our help, because Every Dog Wanted!

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