SACO, Maine — Due to a lay off during the COVID-19 pandemic, one family has taken their free time to foster two dogs for the first time.
“About a month ago we took in our first foster dog. She was a Pitbull mixed called Cleo, from down in Alabama," new foster parent Jessica Fidalgo said.
“We had her for about a month and she when up to an adoptive family in Caribou this past weekend. Then on Monday we got kind of a last-minute emergency call that this guy here with us now, Lucky, he needed a foster so he came to stay with us on Monday.”
“I lost my job towards the beginning of the pandemic and having a dog or helping a rescue dog with something I always thought would be a really nice thing to do, but always seem just like... You need to be home all the time. You need to have all the bandwidth, and suddenly we find ourselves with exactly that. So we kind of have nothing but time and energy on our hands to do something helpful.”
"Honestly, on a selfish level, my kids have really responded beautifully to having a dog to interact with. It’s really made a big difference with their anxiety, with their boredom. My daughter, in particular, it’s just really really connected to animals and she would find yourself having a frustrating day with her brother, or have a frustrating day with doing her online schoolwork and the dog would just come over and lick her face and it was like it all just went away for her. That connection was really special and really sweet to see.”
Find more information on the Rescue Charlie's Friends website.
Saco family's newest member eases lay-off pain during coronavirus, COVID-19 pandemic
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