Missing the companionship of her dog at home, UW-Madison senior Becca Bell decided to bring the comforts of a furry friend to her college apartment.
Instead of shipping her dog out to Madison, however, Bell took a different approach — fostering and then adopting through a local non-profit dedicated to providing unwanted, neglected and abused dogs with new owners.
After a quick and easy application process, Bell fostered Delilah, an Australian Shepherd. Within two weeks, the two became inseparable.
“I think my first mistake was letting her sleep with me, because I got super attached, but I knew she was a great dog,” Bell said. “She was calm, she slept all the time and she's so smart because she's an Australian Shepherd, so she was very easy to train.”
When the fostering period ended, Bell spoke wholeheartedly to her parents about keeping Delilah permanently. They obliged, and on Aug. 29 she officially became Delilah’s owner.
“When I got that email, I started crying,” Bell said. “I didn't want to think about giving her up.”
Amid a pandemic defined by social distancing from friends and feelings of isolation, Bell’s experience follows many who have fallen in love with their foster puppies in providing emotional and psychological relief. Through Fetch Wisconsin Rescue, some UW-Madison students have benefited in multiple facets from sharing their homes with a new pet.
The Science behind Animal Companions Dogs
In a survey administered by the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, 74 percent of pet owners reported improvements in their mental health from owning a pet. Pet owners also report lower rates of depression and related symptoms.
"The calming presence and the social bond that pets bring can be very powerful," Gary Christenson, chief medical officer at Boynton Health Service at the University of Minnesota, told Psychology Today. “Animals provide a distraction from the negative thoughts a depressed person is prone to have. When a pet pays attention to you, they're giving you love and acceptance."
Nonetheless, through Fetch Wisconsin, students' interest in fostering and adopting dogs enable them to take some control back over their lives.
Olivia Schlesser, another student at UW, noted her dog helped her escape the “quarantine slump” she found many people to be in. The newfound responsibilities of being a dog owner also got her out of her residence to be more active.
“She definitely got us outside a lot more,” Schlesser said. “There was one point where I took her for like almost two hour walks, and I would never have done that by myself.”
As cases of COVID-19 continue to surge within the UW community, with residence halls and a number of Greek Life organizations being quarantined in addition to a directive from UW Chancellor Rebecca Blank for all undergraduate students to limit their in-person activities, students have found solace in fostering and adopting dogs with others interested in following suit.
“Ever since I've gotten back to school we're not really doing anything and we can’t leave and it's just not the same,” Eisen said. “Having a dog will definitely bring out a lot of joy in my life.”
Providing dogs with new homes
Founded in 2013, and working in conjunction with a number of partner businesses, Fetch Wisconsin Rescue based in nearby Verona has rescued over 2,500 dogs and offers a wide array of services and opportunities to help.
While adoption may be the end goal, Fetch Wisconsin customers can participate as foster owners, by placing dogs into their homes so they may be evaluated and adjusted to homelife for 1-3 months before being eligible for adoption.
In addition, interested parties can also volunteer through planning fundraising events, transporting dogs from shelters to a foster home ranging from 50-1,200 miles and arranging home visits between prospective adopters and a dog.
As the prevalence of COVID-19 continues to increase, Fetch Wisconsin has shifted some of its protocols, namely house visits and meet-and-greets to virtual formats. Despite asking customers to consider the long-term commitment of taking care of a dog, the organization still encourages people to adopt or foster and is offering assistance as well.
“We strive to help our dogs become confident, balanced dogs and for our volunteers to be confident assertive pack leaders,” Fetch Wisconsin’s website says.
Fetch at UW
As students wade into an usual semester of hybrid learning and social distancing due to COVID-19, some enjoy the company of a new pet — and others have become interested in fostering and adopting as well.
As he sat bored in his room taking online classes during the summer, UW student Grant Seils stayed positive all because of his fostered puppy in passing the time and completing his coursework.
“The dog was an excellent distractor from the melancholy of everyday life,” Seils said. “It gets pretty boring sitting there doing [Organic Chemistry] all day.”
Students who do not wish to own a dog full-time can also engage in dog sitting, another popular way of volunteering with Fetch Wisconsin. As owners grapple with work schedules or go on vacation, students have jumped at the opportunity to temporarily take care of a dog.
“I miss having a dog, so I wanted to find a way where I can have a dog in my apartment to play with and take care of, even if it’s just for a short amount of time,” said UW-Madison sophomore Alex Feinstein.
Feinstein and her roommate Charli Eisen decided to babysit two dogs at the same time in order to cope with an altered lifestyle during the pandemic. Eisen believes the pandemic will ultimately distract her from the uncertainty around COVID-19 and its overall impact on her college experience.
“I've been in my apartment a lot just not really knowing what to do,” Feinstein said. “If I have a dog here, it's someone I could spend time with and it gives me an activity to do, which makes me think less about what's going on in the world.”
At the same time, while she could never have a dog at home because of her dad’s allergies, UW senior Gabby Miller fulfilled her dream in becoming a pet owner after hearing about the positive impact others had.
“I thought this is the perfect time to [adopt] because we have much more flexibility with our schedule with being mostly online,” Miller said. “If I'm gonna sit on my bed and do homework, I might as well have a dog next to me.”
