One Woman’s 14-Year Mission to Foster Dogs

On a quiet street in Crystal Beach, a dog named Enzo is having a very good month. He arrived shy and still, content to curl up on a blanket with a toy. But lately, something has shifted — he’s jumping, running, nibbling, and exploring the world around him with the wide-eyed curiosity of a puppy finally feeling safe.

That transformation is no accident. It’s the work of Cheryl Tweet.

A Crystal Beach resident with a warm home, a patient heart, and nearly a decade and a half of experience, Cheryl has been fostering dogs since long before it became a social media cause. Enzo is her 19th foster dog — and if her husband Rod has anything to say about it, probably not her last.

A Wake-Up Call in Amarillo

Cheryl’s journey into dog fostering began in Amarillo, Texas, where she and Rod came face-to-face with the reality of high-kill animal shelters. “I was shocked by the hundreds of animals that were put down every month,” she recalled. “It was just a shocking number to me.”

Rather than look away, Cheryl decided to act. “I thought I could be upset and complain about it, or I could be part of the solution.”

Her first foster was a mama dog found on the streets who required an emergency C-section. Cheryl and Rod brought home the mother and all six of her newborn puppies. Their children — middle school and high school age at the time — helped bottle-feed and weigh each puppy to ensure they were gaining weight.

That was 14 years ago. She never looked back.

Not All Rescues Are Created Equal

Over the years, Cheryl has worked with multiple rescue organizations, and she’s quick to share one of her most important lessons: do your homework.

“I’ve found that all rescues are not created equal,” she said. “It’s very important to research your rescue and make sure that they are running their rescue like a good business.”

She recommends prospective fosters fill out a volunteer application with a reputable organization, provide references, and be prepared for a vetting process. A good rescue, she says, will take that screening seriously — because a foster home is a safe landing for a vulnerable animal.

Once approved, fosters can reach out when they see a dog they think is a good fit, or they can wait for the rescue to make a match. Cheryl follows several rescue organizations on social media to stay connected and watch for dogs that might be right for her household.

She speaks highly of the Joshua Fund Rescue, a Labrador-focused organization that maintains a waiting list of families ready to adopt. “You know that there’s a family waiting for them,” she said. “Your responsibility is to ensure that they get a happy, healthy, stable dog that’s going to be welcomed into their family.”

The First Few Days: Give Them Time

For anyone considering fostering, Cheryl is candid about what to expect when a dog first arrives. “The first few days are hard,” she said. “They don’t know what to expect. You don’t know how they’ve been treated, what environment they’ve been in. They’re scared.”

New fosters need quiet, consistency, and patience — regular meals, fresh water, a safe space, and the reassurance that life is going to be okay. She cautions against expecting too much too soon.

“You don’t really start to see their true personality until somewhere after three, four, five weeks,” she said. “You just have to have patience.”

Enzo is a perfect example. When he first arrived, he was so calm that Cheryl thought she’d landed the easiest dog in the world. Then week four hit. “Now his puppy personality is coming out,” she laughed. “He wants to jump and run and play and nibble, and he’s just curious.”

The Hardest Part: Letting Go

For all the joy that fostering brings, Cheryl doesn’t sugarcoat the emotional weight of it.

“It’s exhausting — mentally, physically, spiritually,” she said. “You do fall in love with them. It’s hard work and you fall in love and then you let them go.”

Saying goodbye, she says, is the hardest part of the entire process. She worries whether each dog will be cared for not just today, but through their very last days. She takes comfort when adoptive families send photos on “gotcha days” — the anniversary of an adoption — or check in during those first few uncertain weeks.

She admits she has kept a few dogs over the years, including two from that very first litter. Some rescues discourage fostering failures, as they’re affectionately called. For Cheryl, that rule is almost a lifeline.

“I would keep them all,” she said, laughing. “Some rescues do not let you keep the dogs, which is great if you have a big heart like mine.”

What Surprised Her Most

After nearly 150 combined months of fostering, what still catches Cheryl off guard?

“Dogs will change your heart,” she said without hesitation. “They are the perfect example of agape love. They love you without ceasing.”

Watching that unconditional love work its way into people — her children, her husband, strangers who came in skeptical and left devoted — is something she says she never fully anticipated.

“I guess I hadn’t experienced that before until I started fostering, and then I have seen it happen over and over again.”

Thinking About Fostering? Start Here.

Cheryl’s advice for anyone considering becoming a foster is simple: start small, do your research, and don’t begin with a puppy.

“I would start with an older dog that just needs a safe spot to lay in for a while,” she said. “Find local rescues that are close by, reach out, fill out an application, and then wait and see.”

The investment of time, energy, and love is real — but so is the reward.

And somewhere in Crystal Beach right now, a dog named Enzo is proof of that.

Tom

Tom Osten is carrying on the legacy of CrystalBeach.com to promote this very special and unique community. He is living the dream in Crystal Beach with sweetheart Georgia.

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