Residents foster pets through PAWS

Fostering animals always came easily to Eastport resident Nancy Tintle, so it was a natural progression to take on the role of Eastport foster care program coordinator for the PAWS animal shelter based in Calais. "It's a good way to care for animals without a permanent commitment," she says, although her own life has been full of commitments both to fostered animals that became her pets and the well over 400 animals that she has rescued, fostered and helped to adopt out over her lifetime, primarily when she lived in North Carolina. But while fostering came easily to her, she recognizes the fears that people have about becoming foster caregivers themselves.
"So many are afraid that they'll end up wanting to keep it -- that they'll get attached. But you just put the animals in a special place in your heart. When you see or help to place the animal with the perfect family, it's so wonderful," she says. She's certainly felt plenty of sadness in seeing an animal move on, but she explains that the joy of seeing that animal blossoming, really being in the right family and environment, outweighs the sense of loss. And besides, she adds, finding the right home means she's then able to foster a new animal until it too is ready for its special family.

First time fostering
When Lauren Simpson returns home after work her day is not done. Gone are the days of a neat kitchen and a quiet evening. Instead she and her husband, Lou Esposito, are greeted by a kitchen taken over by a mother cat and her four kittens. While the kittens have found the heating vents on the floor and spend a great deal of time sacked out with their fur being fluffed by the warm air, when they're up, they're up, and the fun begins.
The family of five felines is at the Calais home for a few weeks as part of the PAWS animal shelter foster care program. They arrived when the kittens were small, with the mother underweight. Simpson had lost her elderly cat to cancer just a short time before, and while she wasn't ready to find a permanent replacement, she and Esposito found that the new experience of foster caring has been a good one.
As the two foster "parents" sit on the kitchen floor in the early evening the kittens come to life. They stretch their little bodies. They begin to play. First it's a lazy bat at a cut up paper towel tube. Then it's a good scratch on the scratching post. Balls roll around. The other two kittens rouse from their slumbers. They've been to the veterinarian and are feeling a little wiped out from the experience. They revive with a cuddle and are soon scrambling with the others to bat the ball.
So goes a day in the life of a foster care home: attention to hygiene, food, play and socialization within the confines of a "safe" room, with an occasional visit to the vet for good measure.

A need for foster homes
PAWS always needs foster homes, and it's not just for mother cats and their kittens, says PAWS volunteer Sandra Lambert. There are sick and injured animals that can benefit from the quiet and extra attention of a "home"; there are older animals that need to recover from grieving for the loss of their long‑term caregiver; and then there are animals needing socialization. In 2012B2013, PAWS foster families cared for more than 200 dogs and cats.
Sometimes an animal just needs a break from the shelter itself. Lambert gives the example of an older cat that was highly stressed in the shelter environment. "We put her in foster care for three weeks." That time-out for quiet and one‑on‑one care has made a big difference. "There are plenty of opportunities for short‑term foster care situations," she says.
There's plenty of help available for those new to the concept or who haven't cared for an animal in a while. The process starts with the application, then a home visit. "It's very simple. It's to make sure that the home is set‑up the right way for a good match," Lambert explains. She stresses that a part of the application process is determining what would work best for the foster caregivers.
Lambert says, "We need more foster families for every category of care." PAWS will equip families with everything from instructional materials to beds, dishes, litter pans, food and toys. "Most commitments are fairly straightforward; however, we will also provide training for those who want to step into specialized roles like caring for orphaned kittens or elder cats or animals recuperating from an injury or severe neglect." Is it worth it, ask Simpson and Esposito. Absolutely, they say.
For more information about the PAWS foster care program in Eastport contact Nancy Tintle at 853‑2809. For other foster care locations call or e-mail the PAWS shelter in Calais at 454‑7662 or <pawscalais@yahoo.com>.