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Old 10-20-2021, 06:40 AM   #1
Kikya
Newborn Pup
 
Join Date: Mar 2021
Posts: 30
Default Need advice from people who rescue/foster

Hello,

I've been thinking that I would like to start my own rescue someday down the line. Now I'm currently working full time and raising my children but someday, I won't have so much responsibility.

The internal problem I'm having right now started a few days ago when I saw a craigslist ad that I just knew was a terrible situation. I found a rescue that said they would take them in, if I was able to transport them and house them for a couple of days etc.

I went there, I paid a "rehoming" fee (which was basically booze money, not joking) for two "female" hamsters. The cage was filthy, nothing but a food dish, a water bottle, and an inch of dirty bedding. The house smelled like smoke. When we got home, it was clear one was a male and one was likely pregnant. I got the cage/water bottle cleaned, made two bin cages, put what extra supplies I had in the cages, wheel, fresh bedding, hides etc. All was good and they genuinely looked much happier. Dropped them off last night at the rescue.

I'm so glad I was able to get them out of that situation and when I was doing it all, it felt like the right thing. But afterwards, I just feel very sad about the whole thing. Not that I helped the hamsters but that people would treat animals like that. The female is pregnant about to give birth, the male potentially has a lump on his chest (that in my mind 100% was caused by the smoke inhalation in that house). The babies are likely to have health issues with a young mother and being conceived in that place. I am telling myself that they will have better lives from here on out, but that's little comfort for some reason.

I realize there are a lot of terrible situations out there and this is by no means unique. I guess what I'm wondering about is how you deal with the fall out? Perhaps, I am too emotionally invested to be able to foster or rescue. Perhaps most rescues are so busy in "saving mode" to deal much with the aftermath. I don't know.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.
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Old 10-20-2021, 09:02 AM   #2
Ria P
House of Hamsters
 
Join Date: Mar 2019
Location: Wiltshire, UK
Posts: 7,103
Default 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.
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Old 10-20-2021, 11:14 AM   #3
Lilafernim
Senior Hamster
 
Join Date: Sep 2021
Posts: 409
Default Re: Need advice from people who rescue/foster

I have absolutely no clue any advice to give you but I just want to say I think it’s a wonderful thing you can do if you are able to make even one animals life better. I think what you both did are amazing things, to take time out of your lives and make a full effort to make an animals life better is incredible. So thank you!
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Old 10-20-2021, 07:50 PM   #4
Kikya
Newborn Pup
 
Join Date: Mar 2021
Posts: 30
Default Re: Need advice from people who rescue/foster

Thank you both for your reply, I will keep trying and take your advice about not thinking about the humans. I will try to do this!
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Old 01-13-2022, 05:36 AM   #5
Sandoval
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Join Date: Jan 2022
Posts: 2
Default Re: Need advice from people who rescue/foster

I think sometimes humans don't deserve company animals. My family and I rescued three hamsters last year, and they were also grown in a terrible condition.
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Old 01-18-2022, 05:37 AM   #6
Sandoval
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Default Re: Need advice from people who rescue/foster

I think sometimes humans don't deserve to have pets. My family and I rescued three hamsters last year, and they were also in terrible condition. I love animals, and I couldn't stay indifferent, so I helped them. I hadn't had any animal before, so it was something new. One day, I saw that one of them was doing a backflip, so I looked up why my hamster was doing backflips. That day, I did my research and found this fantastic platform that gives you great pet information, and it's super helpful.
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