The Dog That Started It All
It began with a three-legged beagle named Biscuit.
Marlene Casto, a 38-year-old single mom from Knoxville, Tennessee, had not planned to become a foster dog parent. She was already juggling a full-time job as a medical billing specialist, raising her two kids, Deja (then 12) and Caleb (then 9), and managing a household on a single income. Her plate, by anyone’s measure, was full.
But when her coworker sent a frantic message to their office group chat asking if anyone could take in a dog just pulled from a high-kill shelter, Marlene found herself typing back before she had even thought it through: “I’ll do it. Just for two weeks.”
That was four years ago. Since then, Marlene has fostered 47 dogs, ranging from terrified senior chihuahuas to rambunctious litters of puppies, all of them waiting for the permanent homes they deserved.
What Fostering Actually Looks Like
People often romanticize the idea of fostering animals. The reality, Marlene is quick to point out, is messier, louder, and more emotionally demanding than any Instagram post could convey.
“You get a dog that’s been through something hard,” she explains. “Maybe they were abandoned, maybe they were abused, maybe they spent months in a shelter kennel. They don’t trust you right away. Sometimes they’re so scared they won’t come out from under the bed for three days.”
Her process for welcoming a new foster dog has become something of a science over the years. She sets up a quiet room with a crate, soft bedding, and a worn t-shirt of hers so the dog can get used to her scent. She keeps the first few days calm, low-stimulation, and pressure-free. No forced cuddles. No excited kids rushing in.
“You have to let them come to you,” she says. “Every single one of them eventually does.”
The Kids Who Grew Up Alongside 47 Dogs
Ask Deja and Caleb what it was like growing up in a foster dog household and you’ll get two very different answers delivered at the same time, at full volume, each trying to talk over the other.
Deja, now 16, says the experience gave her something school never could. “I learned how to read body language. I learned that being scared doesn’t mean being dangerous. I learned patience, like real patience, not just waiting for something. Patience where you sit with someone and let them feel safe.”
Caleb, 13, is more succinct: “It was awesome. Except for the one that chewed my Xbox controller.”
Marlene laughs at that. But she’s also deeply serious about what the experience has meant for her children’s development. She believes fostering taught them empathy in a way that felt organic rather than instructed.
“You can tell a kid to be kind all you want,” she says. “But when they watch a frightened dog slowly learn to wag its tail again, when they’re part of that healing, it changes something in them. It changed something in me too.”
The Ones That Were Hardest to Let Go
Every foster parent, animal or human, will tell you the same thing: the goodbyes are hard. Marlene does not pretend otherwise.
Among the 47 dogs she has fostered, a few stand out as particularly difficult to part with. There was Rosie, a seven-year-old pit bull mix who had spent two years in a shelter and had given up on people entirely. It took Marlene six weeks to earn her trust. When Rosie finally climbed onto the couch and put her head in Marlene’s lap, Marlene cried for ten minutes straight.
Rosie now lives with a retired couple in Asheville who send Marlene photo updates every few weeks.
There was also Peanut, a tiny dachshund puppy with a heart murmur who required round-the-clock care for his first three weeks. Marlene slept on the floor next to his crate for five nights running. He is now thriving, living with a young family in Nashville.
“People ask me how I do it,” Marlene says. “How I give them up every time. But I think they’re asking the wrong question. The question isn’t how I let them go. The question is what would happen to them if no one did this at all.”
7 Things Marlene Learned from 47 Foster Dogs
- Trust is earned, not assumed. Every dog reminded her that safety has to be demonstrated, not just declared. That lesson has carried into her parenting and her relationships.
- Healing is not linear. Some dogs bounced back in days. Others took months. Progress often looked like two steps forward, one step back. She stopped expecting a straight line.
- You can love someone and still let them go. This one took the most practice. But she now believes that releasing someone into something better is its own form of devotion.
- The scared ones need the most gentleness, not the most fixing. Her instinct used to be to solve the problem. Fostering taught her to sit with discomfort instead.
- Kids rise to responsibility when it’s real. Deja and Caleb were not playing pretend. They had actual roles in actual care. That weight made them grow.
- A small act of saying yes can compound into something enormous. One impulsive reply to a group chat became 47 lives touched, and counting.
- Your capacity is larger than you think. Marlene had no extra money, no extra time, and no extra space. She made all three work because the need was real.
How She Makes It Work Financially
This is the practical question Marlene gets asked most often, and she answers it without any sugarcoating. Fostering through a rescue organization means the organization typically covers veterinary costs, food, and supplies. Marlene fosters through two local rescues in the Knoxville area and says both have been consistently supportive.
“I don’t pay for their vet bills. That’s a common misconception,” she clarifies. “What I provide is the home, the time, and the care. Which honestly is the hardest part anyway.”
She does occasionally spend her own money on small extras: a better quality dog bed, a puzzle feeder for an anxious dog, a training treat she knows works well. She considers it a minor, willing expense.
Her advice to anyone considering foster care for animals is to start by contacting a local rescue organization and asking exactly what they cover. “Most people are surprised by how much support is available. The rescue needs you as much as you think you need them.”
The 48th Dog Is Already on Its Way
At the time of writing, Marlene’s current foster, a gangly two-year-old hound mix named Gerald, is stretched across her living room floor looking extremely unbothered by everything. He has been with her for three weeks. He has a meet-and-greet with a potential adoptive family scheduled for Saturday.
Marlene is already talking to her rescue coordinator about the next placement.
She does not call herself a hero. She deflects that word with visible discomfort. What she will say is this: “I had a room. I had some time. And there were dogs that needed both. It really is that simple. I think a lot of people have more to give than they realize. They’re just waiting for someone to ask them.”
Consider this that ask.
How to Become a Foster Parent for Animals
If Marlene’s story has made you curious about fostering, here are some starting points:
- Search for local rescue organizations or humane societies in your area and look for a “foster” tab on their website.
- Ask about what costs are covered before you commit.
- Start with a shorter foster commitment, sometimes as little as a weekend, to see how it fits your household.
- Be honest about your living situation, other pets, kids, and schedule. Rescues will match you with appropriate animals.
- Know that imperfect is okay. Marlene’s house is not perfectly clean. Her schedule is not perfectly open. She showed up anyway.
The dogs are waiting. And somewhere out there, your spare room might be exactly what one of them needs.