After spending the past decade working abroad, I found the transition to being a permanent D.C. resident to be pretty bumpy. Though I loved seeing family and friends so regularly, few could relate to the reverse culture shock I was experiencing, and I hated that my new after-work default had become watching Netflix every night instead of getting out and about exploring like I did when I was living in Turkey, or Nigeria, or Thailand. One of my coworkers was a Lucky Dog foster and was always sharing puppy pictures that made me smile and, one day, it just clicked: I could do that too! Though I’d never had a dog before, I’ve always loved animals, and I just knew that volunteering with Lucky Dog would be much more fulfilling than binging another season of something alone on my couch. And so it began—I signed up to foster and, now a year and more than 30 foster pups later, I can’t imagine life any other way.

For my first foster, I chose an 8 year-old hound mix, thinking she’d probably be an easy dog to dip my toes into the foster waters with. Yet, as soon as the volunteer who dropped her off left, I was terrified: wait, Lucky Dog is trusting ME to take care of this animal?! Though I didn’t know the first thing about caring for a dog (or at least so I thought), I’ve learned that Lucky Dogs are resilient: the dog looked at me, looked at the few toys I’d bought her in advance, and pranced over to them like she owned the place... and why is the human so nervous? Though I’d only intended to keep her short-term, that foster ended up staying with me for a month, at which point I realized I couldn’t imagine living without her. And just like that, I’d adopted my first dog ever.

Since then, my first foster—and now roommate and adventure buddy—Taffy and I have taken planes, trains, and road trips to adventures all over the country. We go camping almost every weekend—she carries her own pack like the independent woman she is—and when we’re in D.C., we continue to foster Lucky Dogs in need of love, usually a bath, and a safe place to stay. Not only did Lucky Dog give me the best possible four-legged partner for adventuring and exploring, but also a supportive community of other volunteers to go to for advice, share the highs and lows of fostering with, and make friendships deeper than just our love for animals.

Now, especially with COVID-19 keeping so many of us at home and making us question how to better spend our time, I can’t recommend volunteering with Lucky Dog enough. Even if you’re not able to foster, there are so many other people who play critical roles in getting Lucky Dogs and Cats to their forever homes. People often ask me if I’m sad when my fosters get adopted, and don’t I just want to keep them all? Of course I’m bummed when a squishy little puppy isn’t napping next to me during my conference calls anymore, but nothing compares to the joy of seeing your foster thrive with his or her forever family, and knowing that you played small part in making that happen. I can’t imagine life without my Lucky Dog, and I’m eternally grateful to every volunteer who made her part of my family. If I can be one of those volunteers for another Lucky Dog, it’s a small way to pay it all forward.