Karen – Fosterer

Location: Berkshire

Role at the charity: Volunteer and fosterer

Why did you join Geordie Bullies?
I was invited to join by a friend, l nearly didn’t join because l thought it was a rescue group local to the North East, but l read about the work the charity did, realised it was committed to rescuing bulldogs at risk across the UK so I signed up.

What appealed to you about fostering?
I had wanted to foster for a long time but l hadn’t been in a position to do so. I lost my first bulldog, Stan in 2017, he had a wonderful life with us and l wanted to make a difference to another bulldog’s life. I changed my working hours and put myself forward to become a fosterer.

How many dogs have you fostered?
Only one so far, Maddie AKA the pocket rocket. She came to us very stressed having lived a lot of her short life in a crate, but my resident bulldog Aggy, showed her the ropes and she soon started to relax and learn new behavior. Maddie was with me for 3 months and she is now re-homed with a wonderful new family.

What is the biggest challenge with fostering?
Understanding that the dogs you take into your home require extra care, extra love, extra time and patience.

What have you learned from fostering?
That you can make a difference to a dogs life. Fostering is incredibly rewarding, hard work and sometimes upsetting when you see how a previous life has affected a dog, but, you can make a difference, you can be the start of a dogs journey to happiness.

What do you like the most about English Bulldogs?
I love their nature. They are full of character, very loving and sometimes emotional, its almost like having young children.

Do you have any advice for people looking to foster?
Take each dog with an open heart. Often they will give you challenges but with patience you will start to see their personality shine through.