Today, Cricket is a happy black-and-white pup who loves playing in the yard, enjoying pup cups and curling up on the couch with his family. Looking at him now, it would be hard to believe that he once struggled just to walk.
When Cricket arrived at Jeffersonville Animal Shelter in Indiana, his front legs were badly bowed. Standing and moving around were difficult for the young puppy.
After a veterinary exam, the shelter team learned that his condition was likely caused by spending much of his early life confined in a crate and not always having enough food. Once Cricket was out of the crate and receiving proper nutrition, his mobility began improving within just a couple of weeks.
But his difficult start had affected more than his legs.
Because food had not always been available to him, Cricket became protective during mealtimes. He would snap if people or other dogs came too close while he was eating.
Thankfully, Jeffersonville Animal Shelter had recently started a dog foster program with help from a grant from Best Friends Animal Society. The program was designed to give dogs like Cricket a better chance to heal, learn and thrive outside the stressful shelter environment.
The shelter had been working to improve its save rate and move closer to becoming no-kill. One of its biggest challenges was finding foster homes for larger dogs and dogs who struggled with stress or behavior issues while in the shelter.
To change that, the team began encouraging more people in the community to foster dogs. They wanted to show that fostering was not only important, but also manageable and rewarding.
With support from Best Friends, Jeffersonville Animal Shelter was able to provide foster families with the supplies and resources they needed. The only thing the shelter couldn’t provide, as one team member joked, was the love and kisses — the dogs handled that part themselves.
The community responded quickly.
The original goal was to place 30 dogs in foster homes within 90 days. Instead, the shelter reached that number in just 15 days. In the first three months, 91 dogs entered foster care, far more than in the months before the program began.
The foster program also helped create more foster-to-adopt opportunities, giving families time to make sure a dog was the right match. The shelter supported fosters with supplies, veterinary care and even trainers when needed.
Those efforts made a major difference. In less than two years, the shelter’s save rate rose from 84% to 91%.
For Cricket, foster care changed everything.
In a home environment, he received the patience, training, exercise and affection he needed. His legs continued to improve, and he became less protective of his food. Soon, he was running, playing and acting like the joyful puppy he had always deserved to be.
Before long, Cricket found a forever family of his own.
Now his days are filled with zoomies, treats, snuggles and all the love he could ask for. Thanks to the shelter, his foster family and the community that stepped up, Cricket got the fresh start he needed — and the happy life every dog deserves.