Hamster Central - View Single Post - Need advice from people who rescue/foster

Ria P · 10-20-2021, 09:02 AM

I foster and rehome sometimes and drifted into it by initially volunteering as a driver for someone who rescued and rehomed.

One day i called to collect two dwarfs and the person who answered the door didn't know anything about it. I have driven a long way so wasn't leaving without probing further into it. Suddenly the person remembered that his absent girl friend had mentioned hamsters in the garden shed. Two dwarfs were living in filthy rat cages in the shed in the summer heat. I paid the agreed fee, took the cages and literally run to my car and drove off.
I had to pull in because i had to deal with my emotions first before i could drive on safely. I didn't know whether to scream in anger or cry with sorrow. I did neither but talked to the hamsters instead. Told them that they are on their way to a better life now.

This was one ocassion and there were lots of others.
I have a thread here called "Foster hamsters" where you can follow my journey from the beginning.

It is not easy to foster and the emotional side doesn't get any easier but knowing that we are helping a hamster to a better life makes our own turbulent emotions easier to cope with and in the end, it makes it all worthwhile.

Rehoming itself is another story and can be difficult, upsetting, frustrating or sometimes successful and rewarding.

Focus on the hamster and try not to give the humans involved too much thought because they don't deserve your time. The hamsters do and many need the help of people like you and me.

10-20-2021, 09:02 AM
Ria P House of Hamsters Join Date: Mar 2019 Location: Wiltshire, UK Posts: 7,103	Re: Need advice from people who rescue/foster I foster and rehome sometimes and drifted into it by initially volunteering as a driver for someone who rescued and rehomed. One day i called to collect two dwarfs and the person who answered the door didn't know anything about it. I have driven a long way so wasn't leaving without probing further into it. Suddenly the person remembered that his absent girl friend had mentioned hamsters in the garden shed. Two dwarfs were living in filthy rat cages in the shed in the summer heat. I paid the agreed fee, took the cages and literally run to my car and drove off. I had to pull in because i had to deal with my emotions first before i could drive on safely. I didn't know whether to scream in anger or cry with sorrow. I did neither but talked to the hamsters instead. Told them that they are on their way to a better life now. This was one ocassion and there were lots of others. I have a thread here called "Foster hamsters" where you can follow my journey from the beginning. It is not easy to foster and the emotional side doesn't get any easier but knowing that we are helping a hamster to a better life makes our own turbulent emotions easier to cope with and in the end, it makes it all worthwhile. Rehoming itself is another story and can be difficult, upsetting, frustrating or sometimes successful and rewarding. Focus on the hamster and try not to give the humans involved too much thought because they don't deserve your time. The hamsters do and many need the help of people like you and me.