20 Dec How One Woman Fostered More Than One Hundred Shelter Animals in 2023

Most college seniors spend their final semesters studying, writing papers, and cherishing the last months of university social life. Bella Hubbard was not most college seniors. She wanted to act on her lifelong love of animals and give back to her community. She searched online for foster opportunities and with her first foster kittens, she was hooked.

Bella has now been a Dallas Animal Services foster for several years and this past year, she went above and beyond. Bella fostered an unbelievable 113 animals over the course of 2023 through Dallas Animal Services and our transfer partners, Hearts and Bones Rescue and Operation Kindness. Incredibly, Bella also works two full-time jobs.

We asked her a few questions about her experience!

How on earth did you foster more than a hundred pets in just one year?

Bella: I think if I hadn’t made a list, I wouldn’t have known how many it was. I will say that I’ve done a lot of litters, so that boosts the numbers. But the key was being organized with the fosters so I could make sure everyone was safe and cared for appropriately. It’s all about boundaries and time management. It’s a bit like Dr. Doolittle, but we make it work!

What’s your advice to someone interested in fostering for the first time?

Bella: Take it slow! Remember the foster pet is just as anxious about the situation as you are, so there’s no need to rush things. Slow decompression and safe handling are the most important. And be realistic! What foster pet can you safely handle and fits your lifestyle? Just because something pulls at our heartstrings, doesn’t mean it’s the right choice for us to foster, so be intentional when choosing a foster pet.

What is the best thing about fostering?

Bella: Just the thought that you can help someone get to their heart dog. All the dogs at the shelter just need the opportunity to shine and find their person, so getting to be a part of that experience is amazing. The dogs learn to trust you and open up. It’s really beautiful to see how they can trust again and gain back their personality.

There are a lot of misconceptions about animal shelters, but for Bella, the biggest one is that all dogs at the shelter are there for a reason. “People have this assumption that the dogs are there for something wrong that they did, when 99% of the time that’s not the case.” She’s right – the vast majority of the dogs that arrive at Dallas Animal Services come in as strays, and most of the pets that are surrendered come in due to circumstances well out of their (and often, their owner’s) control. “People also think that shelter dogs come with behavioral problems. In all the dogs I’ve fostered, only one truly had behavioral issues, and those got better with work. Dogs just need training and structure to thrive, the number of dogs with real behavioral issues is far
smaller than most people think.”

Of course, fostering has tough moments. Orphaned puppies and kittens are incredibly fragile, and even the most experienced fosters can find themselves facing genetic conditions or even failure to thrive in neonatal animals. More often, just the goodbyes can be tough! “The hardest thing would be letting go of a foster dog when you’ve become attached, but you know they deserve their new home. I’ve had some dogs go to some amazing families, but it’s still tough at first when they leave.”

Dallas Animal Services is so proud of Bella for accomplishing this incredible feat, and eternally grateful for the lives that she and all of the other fosters throughout our community go above and beyond to help. Nearly 1,000 Dallas Animal Services pets are in foster homes. For a shelter that took in nearly 25,000 animals last year, that every single foster home makes a huge difference in our lifesaving efforts.

If you would like to be a part of the solution to ending pet homelessness and our mission to #BeDallas90 in 2024, we encourage you to sign up to foster a shelter pet.