Since 2011, Pamela and Jade Hinsdale have been hooked on nursing back to health over 100 dogs for the Hawaiian Humane Society.
Juggling busy family, work and travel schedules, the mother-daughter team found that fostering dogs on a temporary basis suited them better at certain times in their lives than having permanent pets, they said in an email. They started volunteering when they realized the humane society was trying to provide personal care to vulnerable animals that needed time to heal away from the busy, crowded shelter.
Jade Hinsdale was 17 the first time they took a dog home to recuperate after a leg amputation 13 years ago and has been motivated ever since to continue fostering dogs with her mom. The rest of the family pitches in as well.
Brandy Shimabukuro, communications manager at the humane society, said the agency has a variety of foster programs for cats and dogs that need to recover from illness or surgery in a quiet, calm space, or those that would benefit emotionally from respite in a loving home environment. Foster volunteers who cannot commit to adopting animals find these programs flexible about the length of an animal’s stay, and they are provided with supplies and help by the society. Many, like Shimabukuro, fall in love with the animals and end up adopting them the pets.
“I ‘foster failed,’ but when an animal gets into a loving home it’s not a failure, it’s a ‘foster fit!’” she said.
The programs — such as Lap Crashers (for cats) and Couch Crashers (for dogs) — also give people a chance to figure out if their home and lifestyle are a “good fit” for the animal. Even if they don’t adopt, the foster families give the society valuable feedback on the animal’s behavior so that it can be matched with an appropriate family, she said.
There are 600 to 800 animals on Oahu now being fostered by around 400 “incredible” volunteers, Shimabukuro said, including many staff members who provide foster care in their own homes.
Neonatal animals (less than 4 weeks old) have such low immune systems that it would be detrimental for them to stay at the shelter where they could pick up diseases from other animals, since no animal with an ailment is turned away, she said.
Although she describes herself as “dog crazy,” Shimabukuro has been fostering neonatal kittens in the last year under the Itty Bitty Kitty Committee program, and she brings them into the office to make sure they have round-the-clock attention.
The society is in constant, dire need for neonatal kitten foster volunteers because cats breed year-round due to the warm weather, but the largest wave of kittens are brought in from May to October.
“I cannot stress this enough: Spaying and neutering is so important,” she said. It’s the No. 1 tool to curbing overpopulation.
“The humane society doesn’t have the staffing to care for the smaller kittens, who need to be bottle-fed every two hours when they’re under 10 days old,” Shimabukuro said.
The kittens can’t urinate or defecate on their own and need to be stimulated with gentle rubbing of their stomachs every two hours. “It sounds really daunting,” she said, but the society provides hands-on training and a lot of helpful videos.
“It’s not easy. It can be a really tough journey, but it is so worth it,” Shimabukuro said. “It’s been extremely fulfilling. I don’t think fostering is something I’ll ever stop doing to have a tangible impact. The reality is, if it wasn’t for volunteers, they would die a very slow, painful death, starving to death. I can’t stress that enough, fostering makes a life-saving difference.”
The Hinsdales feel the same way. Jade Hinsdale, now 30, became so passionate about fostering animals that she made it her capstone project as a senior at Punahou School, which involved interviews, research and producing a video.
“To me personally, it’s important to give these animals the best shot they have at a long, healthy life in a loving and enriching home. Many of the puppies that come to us are sick or injured, and they wouldn’t do well in a shelter environment,” said Hinsdale, who usually covers the late night/early morning shift for the household.
Pam Hinsdale said, “I have always loved dogs; they bring out the best in people and deserve to be cared for and have a forever home. Circumstances haven’t always allowed us to have a permanent pet. Like everyone else, we are busy. Fostering allows us to give back and help the humane society on our schedule. The program is so flexible and collaborative.
“We are best able to foster puppies generally who are too young to be spayed or neutered. Their length of stay ranges from 2 to 6 weeks. Because they are so young, they come in multiples, from about 4 weeks of age. We work with them on potty training, simple commands and socialization. If they are even younger, feeding and warmth are a greater priority.”
Jade Hinsdale said they always get asked, “‘How can you give them up?’ I joke that with puppies so young, they are just eating, sleeping and pooping machines, but actually sometimes it is hard to give them up.”
Pam Hinsdale added, “We always wish we could keep all our fosters! LOL, but if we kept everyone, we would have 104 adopted dogs. … I think that’s called hoarding! We don’t have a problem with letting them go at the end of their stay, since we cannot provide a forever home. We know that’s their next stop, and (the humane society) does a great job at that.”
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For more information, visit hawaiianhumane.org/foster-care; call 808-356-2200 or email info@hawaiianhumane.org.
