Foster Feature: Ning Pan
ARL foster parent and volunteer Ning Pan has traveled throughout the world, and is currently working towards the goal of traveling to all 50 states (with only four states left to go)! But one of her favorite places to travel is to ARL’s Dedham Animal Care and Adoption Center.
Ning started volunteering in October of 2021 at the recommendation of a co-worker. Having recently lost her beloved rescue dog Eva in 2020, Ning was ready for some animal love in her life again. Fairly soon in her volunteer journey, Ning noticed the critical need for foster families, and decided that fostering could be a good first step to welcoming dogs back into her and her family’s everyday lives.
Her first foster experience was with Kaylee and Macie, two senior Rat Terrier mixes. She took them home just before the holidays, and they remained in her care for 7-weeks before they were adopted together to a loving new family.
Since those first two fosters, Ning has fostered six more dogs! One of which was a “foster fail”, Buddy. “Foster fail” is an affectionate term for when a foster parent adopts their foster animal. But of course, it is never a failure when an animal finds a loving home, which was the case for Buddy! Buddy was originally adopted by someone else, but then had to be returned due to a family emergency. When he came back to ARL, Ning knew that he was meant to be a permanent member of her family, and they made it official by adopting him the same day he came back.
After adopting Buddy, Ning has continued to foster. Currently, she is fostering a dog involved in an active law enforcement investigation. This particular dog has been in ARL’s care since May of 2022, and has been in Ning’s care for over 6-months now!
Law enforcement cases involving animals can take a long time to resolve, so having a foster who is able to provide that animal with a safe place to land while they await release to adoption is absolutely invaluable. Foster homes reduce stress for the animals and allows them some reprieve from shelter life, and at the same time, it opens up the facility to care for more animals in need. This is part of what motivates Ning to continue fostering.
Even though many people may ask her, “how can you do it”, “don’t you fall in love with them”, and “isn’t it sad” when asked about fostering. Ning is quick to explain how the fulfillment of the life-saving impact that foster care has for animals in need far outweighs any sadness she may feel saying goodbye to an animal. She also keeps in touch with the adopters of many of her fosters, and receives happy updates that help fill her cup with hope for other animals in need.
We are so thankful to Ning for all that she does for animals in need, like Buddy and the 6 other fosters that have come and gone through her home. She makes so much life-saving work possible, and for that we are eternally grateful.