This week we would like to honor Anna Bellavia for our Foster Spotlight! Anna has quite a past with GPG. She was a two-time GPG adopter who turned volunteer and then later a foster parent. She has been with us for over a year and a half. In that time, she has had seven different fosters in her home, two permanent and five temporary. Anna and her husband prefer to bring young male pups into their home because their first GPG dog is quite the sassy female.
Anna’s most memorable experience was her first foster, Miranda. Miranda actually got her into fostering in the first place. She was volunteering the morning Blake and Miranda were rescued and she got to name them! They were both very scared and screamed when the rescue team tried to remove their slip leads. It was a sound that she had never heard from a dog before. The pups were so skinny and Miranda couldn’t use one of her hind legs. Anna sat in the kennel with them for an hour and was able to pet and feed them.
When she learned later in the following week that Blake was being picked up as a foster, she and her husband decided to bring Miranda home until her hip replacement surgery. They had to carry her whenever she went outside or upstairs and could only take her on short walks. She was so smart and they were able to get her potty and kennel-trained in just the month they had her. The day of her FHO hip replacement, Anna went to the shelter and held her until her new foster came to the shelter. Miranda was crying and in pain and Anna cried for her. It was a hard day but so worth it now as she sees updates of Miranda in her new home.
She tells new foster parents to give their new dogs time. They will not be the perfect dogs on day one but with your love and attention they are well on their way!
Anna and her husband are just the biggest dog lovers. They describe their two GPG pups as the best dogs they could have asked for. Luke and Leela are spoiled, just like the fosters they bring into their home. Unfortunately, she and her husband travel quite a bit for work so they do not get to foster as much as they would like. Every bit helps when it comes to GPG’s mission and we could not be more thankful for all the help Anna and her husband have given. Thank you!!!