Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Foster Dad: Wayne Thompson

By Amber N. Yoo, HSSV Volunteer

Milpitas resident Wayne Thompson was thrilled when Humane Society Silicon Valley chose his neighborhood to build a new LEED Gold-certified Animal Community Center in. Wayne was first in line to be a dog volunteer, walking and playing with the dogs in HSSV’s care. Like most visitors, Wayne wanted to take every dog home. So, he did the next best thing. He started fostering.

A year later, Wayne has fostered seven dogs, helping build their confidence so that they could thrive in homes of their own. "I push the dogs to help them work through their issues. It gives me great satisfaction to see them get adopted," says Wayne.

Currently, Wayne is helping a 4-year-old German Shepherd / Chow mix, known as “Dino the Bionic Wonderdog,” recuperate from full hip replacement surgery. "Dino just seems to always see the bright side of things and doesn't move like a dog who has had hip replacement surgery,” says Wayne. It’s been two and a half months since Dino’s life-saving surgery, and now Wayne is helping HSSV search for the right family to adopt him.

What happens when Dino gets adopted? "People ask me how I can give them up after being with them for so long. I tell them 'I cry big crocodile tears when they go, but then I walk back into HSSV and they have another dog for me to take home.'"

It’s true that HSSV continually has orphaned animals who need foster homes. That’s because the organization rescues more than 3,000 animals a year and depends on foster volunteers to literally expand the shelter walls. By fostering, Wayne helps free up space inside the shelter and provides specialized care to those animals who need it the most … animals like Dino, who I’m sure will always be thankful to foster dad Wayne for opening up his heart and home.

If you want to open up your heart and home temporarily to help orphaned animals like Dino, please visit our foster page to learn more. If you are interested in adopting Dino, contact Casaundra Cruz at (408) 262-2133 ext. 183 or Jeri Seiden at ext. 185.

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