Foster Home - and Office

Deborah and Elvis

Tri-City Tales Issue No. 43

Deborah Binder’s first puppy from Tri-City Animal Shelter was what they call in the biz a Foster Fail. She was supposed to temporarily care for a collie mix named Charlie, who was just a few weeks old. Deborah already had two dogs. “And then I had three,” she said. Charlie stayed the next 14 years, until she passed away from old age.

That was in 2011, shortly after Deborah started volunteering. At the time, her mom Susie was already an avid shelter helper. Deborah, who taught herself to groom her own dogs, would host a salon for the strays who came in with dirty, matted hair. She took photos of the animals for adoption. Then she started fostering, and never looked back.

After Deborah adopted Charlie, she began taking in more foster animals. She kept a couple—a dog named Jersey, her cat Shiloh—but got more comfortable with sending the puppies and kittens on to loving homes. “At first you think nobody can take care of them like I can,” she said. But then she came to realize that every foster out the door makes room for more puppies and kittens coming in. “You just see how many animals are in need.” When one of her fosters is ready for adoption, she posts their photos and helps go through the applications. “I’m really picky with who gets them.”

A few years ago, when Deborah returned to work full time working in the public works department for the City of Cedar Hill, she thought her days of fostering were over. Puppies must go outside regularly for potty training, and tiny kittens need to be bottle fed several times a day. Her new boss, however, had a solution: Bring the kittens.

So every spring, Deborah arrives at the office with a pet taxi. The kittens stay behind her desk except when they need feeding or, as often happens, one of her coworkers wants a lap cat. When the kittens get old enough, she starts looking for homes. Currently her kittens Elvis and Priscilla (see photos!) are ready for new families.

Deborah estimates that she’s fostered hundreds of animals over the years, and many of the current owners stay in touch. “Sometimes I might be having a bad day, and then I get a text with a photo of one of my former fosters,” she said. “It just brightens everything.”