‘FOSPICE’ LOVE
Chico couple recognized for their work fostering pets, including those that don’t ‘have much time left’
CHICO » Shelly Rogers and Eric Rogers have fostered 89 dogs. It all started in 2012 when the missus started volunteering at the Chico Animal Shelter. She specifically stuck to administrative roles. She wanted to be as far from the animals as possible.
“I was afraid I’d get too attached. I didn’t even want to take a chance. I wouldn’t walk down the aisles where the adoptable dogs were,” she said.
But then, she met Lolo, a dog full of tumors.
She went straight to the mister and said, “We’re gonna bring a foster dog home.”
He immediately agreed to it. Lolo was adopted just two weeks later.
On Dec. 9, the married couple was recognized by Time Magazine for their work. The magazine highlighted “fospice,” short for “foster hospice,” which is when people adopt older, sicker pets.
“You’re basically taking in a dog that doesn’t have much time left. You’re taking it in so it can die in a warm home with love,” Eric Rogers said.
The Rogers’ have adopted five “fospice” dogs, but their main focus is fostering.
“It’s become a real passion for us,” Shelly Rogers said.
In 2017, she founded Friends of the Chico Animal Shelter, a nonprofit. The shelter
is municipal, but the city does not pay for the surgeries and medication some animals require. That’s where the nonprofit comes in. It raises funds for the shelter.
Shelly Rogers is also a board member of two other local groups. One is Neighborhood
Cat Advocate, which traps, spays and neuters feral cats. The other is Bidwell Wildlife Rehab, which takes in orphaned raccoons, squirrels and possums and raises them until they’re able to survive on their own.
During breeding season, the Rogers’ backyard is teeming with wildlife.
The couple’s current foster dog is Tinker Bell. She was surrendered to the Chico Animal Shelter because her old owner could no longer care for her. She’s blind, but very aware of her surroundings. She’ll take a fall every now and again. When she does, she pops right back up.
“Fostering is hard work for many reasons, but the benefits outweigh the difficulties by a zillion percent,” Shelly Rogers said.
Her husband agreed. “Fostering is great because we always have dogs around. It’s a revolving dog door at our house,” he said.
The two love fostering, in part, because it can help the shelter, the dog and the adopter.
“At different times of the year, the shelter can get overwhelmed
with animals,” Eric Rogers said.
The Camp Fire is an example of that.
“It’s tough to get a real feel for a dog’s real personality in a shelter. A lot of times they come in as strays. They’re scared,” he explained. “So, people might come in with the intention to adopt, and might completely overlook a dog that’s a perfectly good match for them because the dog is scared. To foster is really giving that dog a chance to come out of its shell and have a little bit of breathing room.”
The time they’ve spent with their dogs has ranged from eight days to eight months. In the beginning, it was difficult for them to say goodbye.
“The third foster dog, I cried so much, I couldn’t even talk to the adopter. I had to leave the room,” Shelly Rogers said.
One dog, though, the couple just had to keep. Slim was brought into the Chico Animal Shelter starving to death. He was rehabilitated and adopted by the Rogers.
“Slim is the best ambassador,” Shelly Rogers said. “He welcomes all animals into our house.”
The pandemic has taken a financial toll on the Chico Animal Shelter. To donate resources, visit chicoanimalshelter. or friendsofthechicoanimalshelter.com.
“I get choked up just thinking about it because the animals that they save, so many other shelters would possibly euthanize or give up on. This shelter will not,” Eric Rogers said.
The time they’ve spent with their dogs has ranged from eight days to eight months. In the beginning, it was difficult for them to say goodbye.