Rescuing & Fostering: Why They Matter Now More Than Ever

Puppy Pancake Day is an event full of cute faces, wagging tails, and stacks of pancakes, but it is also a day to raise money and awareness for recues. This year we have partnered with ARTS Senior Animal Rescue, and ARF Animal Rescue Foundation to bring awareness to the fact that rescues need more support and are overflowing every day.

Across the board, rescues are under more pressure than we can even explain. More animals are being surrendered, fewer families are able to adopt right away, and many rescues are stretched thin trying to keep up. The most unfortunate part of this reality is that older animals are often left behind and adopted less often than puppies or kittens. We want to talk about why we chose ARTS and ARF, the positives and negatives of fostering, and how you can help.

Puppy Pancake Day Rescues

Puppy Pancake Day isn't just about celebrating dogs and Stampede. It is an annual fundraiser we at Bon A-Pet-Treat! hold every year to raise money for animal rescues. When we partner with rescues our mission is simple: connecting people with these foundations to find forever homes for their animals.

ARF and ARTS are actively looking for fosters, adopters, volunteers, and supporters who can help ease the pressure they’re under. Any animal adopted or fostered opens up space for more animals in need. But we also want to express our admiration for both of these foundations, as they work tirelessly to make sure their animals go to the perfect environments for them.

Why senior animals need us the most

Both ARF and ARTS help so many animals in need every day, and we are grateful to have both of them at Puppy Pancake Day. They both have a variety of adoptable animals to choose from. We wanted to focus more on senior animals and bring awareness to the community of the realities they face in rescues.

Puppies and kittens tend to get attention quickly. They’re easier to place, highly sought after, and often move through rescue systems fast as they are so young they don't have a lot of background or stress to recover from. Senior animals are a different story. They're often there because something has happened. If you think about having a pet for say 15 years, would you give it up for the last 2 or however long you have left? Most people would say no, meaning these senior animals end up there more likely because of loss themselves.

They’re just as loving, often calmer, and already past the chaos of puppyhood but they tend to wait much longer for homes because of their age and previous traumas that may take more adjusting time in new homes than puppies or kittens.
Reasons like these are why ARTS Senior Animal Rescue take special focus on older animals who are often overlooked. Dogs like Dolores and Ablu at ARTS are two examples of dogs that are have been in care for far too long, and are reminders that age should never be a barrier to the love they can give and receive.
Senior animals also do not require a lot of training or baby-proofing. What they need is comfort, stability, and someone willing to see their value beyond age.

Fostering: The Good & The Bad

As more families face financial pressure and lifestyle changes every day, we can understand why adopting may not be the right choice at the time. Not everyone is in a position to adopt, and that’s okay. But fostering is one of the most flexible and important ways to help rescue animals. It can be short term, occasional, and can be as flexible as you want it to be.
Fostering is one of the most impactful ways to help. Fostering an animal that has been surrendered gives them a safe place to re-establish trust, helps them learn what having a home feels like again, and frees up space in rescues for other animals in need. Fostering truly helps rescues and is one of the things that keeps them alive. For these reasons fostering is very positive, but we want to talk about why it's not always the easiest option.

The Emotional Reality of Fostering

One of the most honest parts of fostering is that it comes with attachment. You bring an animal into your home, your routine, and your heart all while knowing that the goal is to eventually say goodbye. Sometimes people assume the hardest part is the animal being adopted. But in reality, it’s much more layered than that.

For example: sometimes a foster family will begin to consider adoption, only to have life shift unexpectedly with new responsibilities, major changes, or circumstances that simply make it impossible to keep the animal. In those moments the decision isn’t about lack of love but about doing what’s safest and most responsible for everyone involved.
And then comes the next chapter: helping that animal transition into their next home. It’s emotional and complex. And for many fosters, it’s something that stays with them long after the animal has moved on. Saying goodbye to a foster animal can be one of the hardest things you’ll ever do, but also one of the most meaningful as it will be an even better outcome for both the foster and the animal.

There’s a common saying about fostering that the “best” foster outcome is a foster fail, meaning you end up adopting the animal yourself. But the truth is, the real success is always the same: the animal finds safety, care, and a committed home, whether that’s yours or someone else’s.

A story that is very close to our hearts involved a dog named Sergio. After being brought into foster care, the family was ready to adopt him. However because of major changes and circumstances, Sergio eventually found a loving adoptive family elsewhere. Sergio was a wonderful dog that was perfect for the foster family at the time, however it was only fair that Sergio be in an adult only home and that quickly changed the circumstances of adopting him. The amazing thing about this was that the foster home was able to stay connected, help with pet sitting and continue to care for him whenever needed. Even through illness and difficult moments, that bond remained. It did not make saying goodbye any easier, and was a very difficult time for the foster family.

It’s a reminder that fostering doesn’t always end in goodbye, and it often evolves into something else entirely: a continued network of care.
And yes, sometimes that goodbye still hurts.

A Final Thought

Fostering is often described as “hard but worth it,” and that’s true. But it’s also more than that, as it is a quiet bravery that many people take on knowing that one day they will have to say goodbye, but it is also so rewarding because the animal is where it is meant to be. That is why we care so much about these rescues and the people and community that run them. They share the love and drive that we do to make animals (and their parents) lives better every day.

We want to thank ARTS Senior Animal Rescue and ARF Animal Rescue Foundation for being with us this year, and we hope this event can help support them and find so many animals their new homes!
We’ll see you at Puppy Pancake Day, where pancakes will be served, tails will be wagging, and the work of the community will be right at the heart of it all!