HOUSTON - Adopting a pet isn’t the only thing you can do when it comes to helping abandoned animals. Being a foster parent to pets can be just as rewarding.
What was once Sharon Oiler’s son’s room is now a doggy den.
"I guess that's what keeps me sane, knowing I'm doing the right thing,” Oiler said.
Doing the right thing would be easy when you get to wake up every morning to these cuddly creatures. Oiler has been doing it every day for the past 15 years.
"I've been blessed, and I feel like I can give back in a way,” Oiler said.
She’s the foster mom to several pups now and to roughly 500 others who have come before. Her only job is to help them grow.
"Just a nice soft bed and some food is all they require,” she said.
Oiler is part of the foster program for the Rescued Pets Movement.
"They help you every step of the way. They provide you with food, medicine, there's a clinic there that you can take your foster to and get medical treatment,” Oiler said.
Oiler gives the dogs their food, shots and gets them on their way to their new lives.
"Just knowing what they're going to and that they're going to live a great life, that makes a difference,” she said.
But it’s not always easy. During Harvey, five of her foster dogs came down with parvo. She had to burse them back to health.
And then the day comes – as it always does – to say goodbye.
“I’m not always the only one out there crying, the rest of the fosters are, too, but it's the right thing. It's the right thing to do,” she said.
There have been a few favorites she just couldn’t let go of, like her shy collie, J.J. Watt.
“He's scared to death all the time,” Oiler said.
As soon as these pups are gone, the next will come, because there are many that need her help.
“There are a lot. We are overrun right now, everywhere," she said.
It’s a puppy love like no other. And for Oiler, she wants to share.
“Everybody can do something. Even if you only took one, there's seniors that are turned in. you put them in a crate, you feed them, give them a little love and they're thrilled. It's not hard work,” she said.
Working before as an IT salesperson, a business owner and a P.E. coach, this is the full-time job Oiler never knew she wanted – and she wouldn’t have it any other way.
"I'm just a really lucky person that I get to do what I love every day,” she said.