Briana with her current foster, a 6-year-old German Shepard
By Jill Fox
Earning service hours was no struggle for one Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Senior, who will graduate in May with over 700.
Briana Eyzaguirre has been doing what she loves since her sophomore year: spending time with animals by fostering puppies and kittens.
“Fostering animals is an easy and therapeutic way to help out the community,” said Eyzaguirre, who began volunteering for the Humane Society of Broward County shortly after the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, and has fostered five puppies and kittens to date.
“After what happened at MSD, a lot of people got dogs, and I started doing this, and it really helped me,” she said.
A resident of Kensington in Coral Springs, Eyzaguirre will be attending the University of Florida in the fall and majoring in biology.
She was looking forward to summer travel plans, but now with the Coronavirus, she said she would most likely stay home and foster a dog.
Becoming a foster parent was a simple process. Eyzaguirre contacted the humane society, and attended a short meeting to learn about the animals, their common illnesses, and completed the necessary paperwork.
She explained that the newborn puppies and kittens are too young to be with other animals, and need a safe home environment for approximately three weeks before they move to the shelters. This is where foster families come in.
“Because of COVID-19, shelters are open less, and don’t have as many employees,” said Eyzaguirre, “And it’s healthier for the animals to be in a family setting, where they can be more social and not as scared.”
She said the humane society does everything it can to provide foster parents with food, toys, a cage, towels, and wee-wee pads, so they don’t end up paying for extra expenses.
“All you have to do is give the animals some tender loving care.”
Currently fostering a six-year-old German Shepherd with hip dysplasia, Eyzaguirre said, “He’s a big baby, and I’m trying to find him a forever home.”
Eyzaguirre would like other students to know while they are home, they could be helping, and hopes they will reach out to local shelters and the humane society.
If you or someone you know is interested in fostering an animal, email volunteer@hsbroward.com to register for an Adoption Ambassador and Foster Care Orientation. You must be over 18.
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