Our Happiness and Wellness Initiative shares "Some Good News" from the SPH and our extended community. You can submit your own good news by email to: happyandwell@umd.edu.
Gymkana Director Josh Montfort ‘93, MS ‘96, UMD Senate Director Reka Montfort ‘99 and their family have fostered 65 dogs since March 2019. Pet parenting took on new meaning during the pandemic when they welcomed seven puppies into their home and their fostering turned into adoption. Their newest love is a 16 week old puppy named Tucker.
The Montfort family are animal lovers and have always had dogs as part of their family. Reka always wanted to foster, but chose to wait until the Montfort's two boys, Luke and Tyler were older--just in case one of the dogs wasn't quite as friendly. About two years ago, when Luke was 14 and Tyler was 11, Reka had been following a local rescue, Knine, on Facebook and decided she was ready for the family to give fostering dogs a try. Josh and the two boys were excited to get started, and the family has been loving fostering dogs since that time.
"People frequently compliment us on what an amazing thing we are doing, but to be honest, it is just so rewarding that it rarely feels like we deserve the compliments," said Josh. "We are getting so much out of it ourselves."
The Montfort's welcome dogs from all different circumstances. Many dogs arrive from high kill shelters just before they are likely to be put down. Other dogs have been mistreated and taken from their owners for placement in loving foster homes that help the dogs readjust for permanent homes. "These sad stories make you question humans," said the Montfort's, "but we generally find caring for these dogs to be the most rewarding fosters."
Most of the dogs have stayed with the Montfort's from a few days to a few weeks. They have even taken in puppies at six weeks and helped them wean off of their mother in order to be adopted at eight weeks. As the Montfort family successfully fostered more dogs, the rescue agency started giving them tougher cases, which means the dogs stay with the family for longer periods of time. The longest stay has been about two months.
For anyone who is interested in fostering dogs, the Montfort's don't want the large number they have fostered to feel intimidating. They have never been pressured to take any dogs. The number and frequency of dogs to foster is up to the individual or family. Rescues post when they need a foster home and volunteers can respond at any time. There is also significant support provided by the rescue agency, including all supplies for the dogs and care for the dogs if anyone is taking a vacation.
What has mattered the most for the Montfort's about fostering dogs is the family adventure. Everyone pitches in to help feed, walk, and clean up after the dogs (although Josh and Reka admit that teenagers need prompting at times). There is some work to caring for the dogs, including walking them in all kinds of weather conditions and cleaning up after their accidents. Keeping them in their own designated areas with no rugs is helpful. The dogs even pitch in to help, including their forever dogs Harper and Sydney. Harper (known as the lazy dog) is great with the puppies. She plays with them patiently and lets them sleep with her. Sydney (known as the high energy dog) is great with the older dogs. She plays chase, wrestles, and plays tug-of-war with them. This really helps the foster dogs learn to interact with other dogs.
One foster dog, Ollie, had never had human contact. Ollie spent three days cowering in their closet and shaking. They talked with Ollie and slowly got closer to him until he began to build trust with the family. After a month, Ollie showed himself to be the sweetest and most loveable dog. All that Ollie needed in order to trust humans was a loving family.
During the pandemic, having the foster dogs to care for, especially the puppies, really helped the Montfort family to cope with staying at home and dealing with the stress that everyone was feeling. They called it puppy therapy. Using social distancing and wearing masks, the Montfort's welcomed two special cases into their home. One dog was a Saint Bernard mix named Angelica, and the other was a pregnant dog named Lilly.
Angelica arrived under heartbreaking circumstances, having been kept in a crate for six years. She had not been cleaned and had weak legs and no control of her tail from not being able to fully stand or move around in the crate. Angie Prescott, UMD SPH Gymkana Coach and physical therapist, helped the Montfort's via Zoom to take Angelica through various exercises to strengthen Angelica's legs and stretch her back. The Montfort's found such joy in bathing her multiple times, shaving her hair, and supporting these exercises because Angelica was so happy to receive care. While six years old, she functioned like a giant puppy experiencing life for the first time. Two months later, Angelica moved to her forever home with a great Pyrenees dog for her to play with.
Lilly was the first dog the Montfort's fostered through her delivery of seven puppies. It was amazing for the Montfort's to see how instinctual it was for Lilly to deliver the puppies, clean them up and care for them. Tyler watched the entire process and helped with the puppies, while Luke said, "Let me know when they are cleaned up!" Since the puppies were born on Inauguration Day, they gave them inauguration themed names: Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, Honor, Justice, Hope, Faith and Freedom. The Montfort's then temporarily had 11 dogs, including Lilly and her seven puppies, Angelica, and the two family dogs. Lilly and all of her puppies got adopted to a new home except one, Joe (now renamed Tucker), who the Montfort's kept. Keeping a foster dog is known as a "foster fail," but they fell in love with the dog's sweet ways and couldn't let him go. Tucker will now help the Montfort's get future foster dogs ready for their forever homes.
The Montfort's admit that it is bitter sweet when the dogs get adopted. It is sad for them to say goodbye, yet it is satisfying to know they are going to a good home where they will be healthy and happy and make their new family happy as well. The adoptive families often send updates to let the Montfort's know how the dogs are doing, which they love to receive. There have been many dogs that the Montfort's wanted to keep, but they know that they can make a bigger difference by continuing to foster more dogs. When a dog leaves the Montfort's home to be adopted by a forever family, they have found the best way to manage their emotions of saying goodbye is to welcome another foster dog into their home soon after. Reka has taken pictures of each of the foster dogs and created a photo collage that hangs in the home to remember them. "You can't walk by it and not smile," expressed Josh.
