Image supplied by Treena Duncan / Nina is a Sheppard Lab Husky mix that is approximately one-and-a-half to two years old.

By Laurice Gomes

Fostering animals

‘They just need to be loved’ A family’s first-time fostering a dog and her puppies

Aug 3, 2022 | 6:00 AM

ABBOTSFORD — Treena Duncan, along with her family, is fostering Nina—a Shepherd Lab Husky mix that is approximately one-and-a-half to two years old.

“We started fostering her in November 2021,” Duncan said. “She’s a rescue dog from Northern Manitoba—she was rescued by an agency in Manitoba that Heart and Soul works with.”

Heart and Soul Dog and Cat Rescue Society is based in Abbotsford and works with animals in the Fraser Valley and surrounding areas.

Duncan explained at the time, she was working at home all the time because of the pandemic, and so the family decided it was a good time to foster a dog.

“We applied and we were accepted, and then they put a list of animals out, and we saw Nina,” she recalled. “And she has such a sweet face; we just kind of fell in love with her face, and we were like, ‘That’s the one.’”

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Nina was a package deal, as she came with six puppies. But Duncan and her family were up for the challenge and excited about their new foster mama and puppies.

Image supplied by Treena Duncan / Nina and her puppies.

“We had her and her puppies, and never having fostered before, we were absolutely insane to agree to this,” Duncan said, laughing. “It was pretty overwhelming, but it was such a cool experience to have these little puppies and have them grow up and get weaned and then off to their permanent homes.”

Duncan’s daughter worked at Petsmart as a dog trainer, and that helped facilitate some of Nina’s training.

“These dogs have had a rough start in life, so they just need to be loved and to develop trust with people,” she remarked. “When Nina came to us, she was 35 lbs. She was skin and bones; you could see every rib, every bone, on her body.”

Duncan further explained that when Nina first came home, she had a broken hip, and the family nursed her through a “very significant” surgery.

The doting foster fur mom said Nina really likes people, and she isn’t afraid of them; she just wants to be loved.

“She wanted to be around us, and it was so rewarding to be able to rehabilitate her, put some weight on her, and see her evolution from the scared, anxious dog who wasn’t sure where her next meal was going to come from, to learning tricks,” she said.

Nina has a passion for collecting sticks, and her foster family wants her to find her forever home with people that will love her, be there for her, and continue her training.

“She doesn’t get along with our cats, which is the main reason we can’t keep her,” Duncan said. “We’re really bonded. It’s going to be awful to give her back. It’s going to be brutal. We just want to know that the people that take her are going to love her as much as we do.”

Anyone who would like to adopt Nina can contact Heart and Soul Dog and Cat Rescue Society.

Image supplied by Treena Duncan / Nina with her foster family.