A tax man cometh or what to deduct on your tax return if you foster animals

April 15^th is just around the corner, which if you're a foster means it’s time to get your tax paperwork together. That’s right, over the course of the year, as you feed, clothe and buy bedding for your foster pooches and felines - you accumulate a small mountain of receipts in the process. If the rescue organization you foster for is officially recognized by the IRS as a Charitable Organization (you can easily find out by searching for it on the IRS' website) you get to add up all your numerous expenditures and deduct them as cash contributions on your tax return. See? Your government wants you to foster. Here’s what you can deduct:

What to do when your dog growls, eats shoes and flies on private planes

Meet my newest foster. Brownie is a one year old beagle and dachshund mix. Saved from a certain death, Brownie arrived to me on a small Cessna plane only hours after receiving his death sentence. This kid was lucky. A private organization called Pilots and Paws arranged for about 300 scared, shivering and completely unsure of who to trust dogs, to be flown in small groups from several high-kill shelters in North Carolina to rescues organizations in Northern Virginia. Brownie was one of fourteen taken in by HART, but unlike others on this life saving trip, he arrived without any written history as to how he ended up at the shelter. Not knowing what to expect, I took the little guy home to find out.

First thing I discovered: he is a growler. His upper lip would rise with intent of scaring anyone who approached when things didn’t go his way. Having experience with Chihuahuas, I knew what to do.

After firmly reprimanding him with my voice (never touching to prevent any biting reflex) I would commence my acting ignoring him altogether. Dogs are communal animals and hate to feel not part of the group. So he quickly learned to associate the displeasure in my voice with now quite terrifying to him feeling of getting abandoned. (Especially, having just experienced the granddaddy of all abandonments in North Carolina). Second thing I found out: he is a chewer.

Adopting an older dog or how Ms. Precious learned new tricks

Princess

What is age, be it in human or dog terms? A collection of remembered experiences? A slow accumulation of knowledge accompanied by a similarly slow dissipation of good looks? Why do we, humans, hold to a stubborn belief that older means less fun, beautiful, clever or worthy of chances we so easily afford the young? A couple of years ago, I happened to take in an 8 year old white Shitzu dog named Precious. She had already lived with several fosters and arrived with a myriad of instructions for her severe skin allergies that put her in a shelter in the first place, literally half naked. The foster girl before me took such excellent care of her skin that Precious was once again fully furry, but despite her improved appearance all she wanted to do is hide from people. Needless to say, this did not make her an adoption day magnet, until one Saturday a lady called Maria came in saying she wanted her and nobody else. After successfully adopting Precious she kept in touch, sending regular updates. My reasons for preferring older dogs are numerous, but I thought Maria’s own words would speak better to the mystery and special joy of adopting one. Here's Maria’s gorgeous letter:

The ears have it or how Sammy beat Sarcoptic mange

Sammy

Imagine: your ears have enemies, a small army of tiny microscopic insects looking to devour them one bite at a time. First, they burrow deep into your lobes then they start their painful feast. Not a comforting thought, right? Well, that is what many dogs live with every day. Sarcopic mange as vets call it is a pretty treatable skin disease if caught early. So, why are so many dogs continuing to lose their ears, tails and other parts of skinned anatomy to it every day? Because many owners don’t even realize their dogs have it. Moreover, professional veterinary tests give false negatives close to 70% of the time.

When it comes to battle with mange, shorter haired dogs are usually luckier. Tips of their ears are easily observable, so scaling and dryness are more detectable than in those with fur. In the medium to long haired dogs, owners get a nasty surprise of separating fur chunks well after the infection is on its way. 

You are the reason your dog barks (and generally misbehaves)

No, seriously, you are a huge part of it. Working with foster dogs, who have lost their original families, I notice a rather persistent trend. Dogs, who get that fresh chance at life, try to do everything in their power to be good, do right and take their behavior cues from their new owners without second thought. Sounds like a dream? Not quite. 

Most of us can only imagine the traumas and challenges our newly adopted canines have lived through before they met us, and like most warm blooded humans, we selfishly believe that we can love all the hunger, abuse, loneliness and plain horror out of their precious little souls. We believe we can achieve things in our own human way. This very conviction is the main reason why you see so many dogs suffering from its consequances. Human love comes in many shapes, so for some dogs it looks like heaps and heaps of dry kibbles and for others it ends up being oodles of knitted tutti-frutti hats and sweaters. Then, there are those of us who think that we can hug their troubles away. Dogs are treated like plush toys, squeezed and kissed on a whim be it at a dinner table or in moving vehicles. There are even those of us who claim parental rights naming them our furry “children” in multimillion dollar wills, while refusing to take even one vacation day for years, out of fear that being away would destabilize and ruin their fragile canine psyches.