Dog Owner Profile | Meet The Phosterdad

I first met Benjamin Yanto, aka The Phosterdad, via Instagram. He takes some pretty darn cute dog photos, documenting the lives of the dogs he fosters. Just before Christmas last year, I decided to adopt a dog as a surprise for my kids, so naturally I reached out to him to learn more about dog adoption in San Antonio. He told me that SnipSA was having an adoption event the next day, I saw their photo of Terry online (who happened to be one of Ben’s fosters), and the rest is history! After adopting Terry, Ben told me about the playdates and outings he organizes with his former fosters and their owners, and I got a peek into the micro community he’s created as a volunteer foster.

After a reunion and photo taking with Terry and Ben recently, I sat down with him to learn more about what it’s like being a foster. If you’ve ever been curious about how to foster a dog in San Antonio (or adopt one!), be sure to read our interview.

DFSA: Just for the record, how many dogs have you fostered?

Ben: Let me see, I believe I’m at 128.

DFSA: Do you have any fosters currently?

Ben: I don’t have any currently, just because I’ve been traveling a bit. I’ll probably get back into the swing of things, maybe after Fiesta.

DFSA: So who was your first foster?

Ben: My first foster was, gosh, I have to go back…

DFSA: Well, what made you decide to start fostering?

B: I saw a Facebook post for a plea to get this dog out of the shelter by, I think, 5 o’clock. So I saw the picture…

D: Oh, so it was the same day!

B: Yeah, it was one of those urgent call outs, ‘Hey this dog needs to be out by 5.’ And I just remember seeing the picture, and I still have the picture saved, and the it just tugged at me. I kind of volunteered because that picture just got me.

D: Was is a situation where she was going to be put down?

B: Yeah. So, with the city, I know back then, dogs had a certain amount of days. I want to say it was around 5 days or something–not very long. And so the dog had until 5pm to be pulled out of the shelter. And it was one of those heartbreaking pictures. Like one of those SPCA pictures you see, you know, you think of that Sarah McLaughlin song, and you’re like, Oh my God, so. Yeah, I just went ahead and volunteered.

D: So you knew that you wanted to foster rather than adopt?

B: When I had previously adopted a dog, probably a couple months before I pulled this dog out, that family kind of opened my eyes up about the whole shelter system and fostering. So when there was that plea for this one dog, I just gave it a go.

D: So you were familiar with the foster dog system?

B: Yeah, I knew that it existed, and I understood that dogs had a limited time in the shelter system or else. So I just wanted to help this dog.

D: So when did it become a thing that you were doing all the time?

B: Well, after the first one got adopted–the first one I adopted was the longest foster I’ve had. I want to say I had him–Bosley–I think I had him 7 months. So, I had him for so long I thought, gosh, I don’t think I’ll ever find him a home.

D: Was he an older dog?

B: That one, he was probably just under a year old, so he was still a puppy. He had to be trained, and I was good about training him, and he knew his commands and all that. But I just remember that when he got adopted, I remember how hard it was and thinking I don’t think I could do it again. But then, you know going on Facebook, to the shelter, they would put out these pleas. So after he got adopted, there was another one, so from there it just kind of snowballed. I didn’t think I’d find my calling in fostering, but it’s definitely been rewarding. It’s been hard at times, because you get attached to them, especially the longer you have them. But it’s definitely been rewarding, it’s awesome.

D: What are the biggest rewards for you?

B: The biggest rewards? Gosh, just to see the progression of the dog, from coming out of the shelter to going with the new family. Because usually when I first get them, most of the time they’re shy and timid and scared, which is normal for a dog coming out of a shelter. To see their personality come out, that’s pretty amazing. And it’s awesome to seem them go to a family, and adjusting, and being a dog. That’s probably one of the most rewarding parts for me.

Just to see the progression of the dog, from coming out of the shelter to going with the new family…To see their personality come out, that’s pretty amazing. And it’s awesome to seem them go to a family, and adjusting, and being a dog. That’s probably one of the most rewarding parts for me.

D: I’m sure a lot of the dogs you may get part of their history, or a lot of their history…?

B: Yeah, their history most of the time, there’s really not a lot to go by. The shelter doesn’t give us a lot of history anyway. Every now and then you’ll come across an owner surrender, but I think most of mine have been strays.

D: So, owner surrender? I guess under what circumstances…?

B: Most of the time they won’t tell you why.

D: The shelter or the owner?

B: Both…

D: I’m sure there are lots of different life circumstances…

B: It amazes me how easily dogs are surrendered.

D: Do you have any idea of the number of dogs that get sent to shelters?

B: That I don’t know, I’m sure the shelters do.

D: Do you have any idea of the number of dogs that get fostered, through SnipSA for example?

B: I know it’s probably a few hundred a year, at least.

D: So how many dogs have you personally owned over the years?

B: I have four right now. Two are foster failures.

D: Foster failures?

B: Yeah, Berry’s one of them.

D: So what does that mean? Does that mean you fell for them?

B: Yeah, you fostered the dog hoping you might find them a home, but you fall in love with the dog so much that you can’t adopt the dog out. So you fail. So it’s not a bad thing…

D: But, you could end up with 20 dogs!

B: Right! My first foster fail, he got adopted out, but then he ended up back in the foster system.

D: Oh, wow.

B: So I felt horrible, and I just couldn’t let him go again. I know when I adopted him out I just kind of had this bad feeling. And then four months later, I got a call back from the shelter saying, hey he’s back. So that was my first foster fail; I had a hard time letting her go. But yeah, I think four is enough for now.

D: So how long have you had Berry?

B: How long have I had her? Probably about a year and a half.

D: So what was it about Berry that you just couldn’t let go of?

B: I don’t know. First of all, she’s a Frenchie mix, and I have a Boston Terrier, so I’m partial to the little smushy face dogs and the rollie pollie dogs like that. I guess it was almost like love at first sight. My intention was to find her a home, but a few applicants that she did have, I just kind of got the wrong vibe from. She had a lot of applications, too.

D: So, as a foster, are you also kind of interviewing the potential owners?

B: Yeah, so we get their contact information, and we’ll contact them and try to set up a meet and greet. And usually when I contact them I try to see if they have any questions about the dog…

D: So when it’s at event like the one for SnipSA…?

B: Usually SnipSA will just do the application and interviewing and stuff there.

D: So it happens kind of quickly then.

B: But honestly most of my adoptions have just been more one-on-one outside of events.

D: Where are people mostly finding your dogs? Is it through Instagram, through SnipSA?

B: Some through Instagram, some through the SnipSA website. I mean, I’ve had one adopter from Atlanta find me on Instagram.

D: Wow, did they fly out here?

B: They flew out here to get one of my fosters; it was awesome. Yeah, we still keep in contact, most of my adopters I still keep in contact, so it’s pretty cool. That was probably the most amazing one I’ve had…So the dog she adopted from me, reminded her of an older dog she had, previously, that passed away. So that’s why she connected with that foster of mine.

D: That’s awesome. I guess that’s a bit of a longer distance for a doggy playdate. So, I wanted to touch on the fact that you’re a photographer and social media manager here in San Antonio, and you volunteer your photography skills for animal rescue organizations. Can you tell me more about that? Along with fostering, was that just a natural thing to start doing?

B: Well, it’s funny because when I first started fostering for SnipSA–I’ve been doing photography for 10 years–but when I first started fostering for SnipSa I took photos and I sent it to them, and Shannon, the president of SnipSA contacted me and said we need your skills. So from there it just kind of blew up the dog rescue side. But most of my fosters before then, I was just always taking my own photographs. This was actually kind of before Instagram, but now Instagram makes it easier to network the dog, I think.

D: Makes it easier for them to get adopted?

B: Yeah. It’s easier to spread the word about rescue dogs. I think people are now more aware of rescues through Instagram and social media, versus what it was.

D: I had a dog when I was a kid, but before social media, I don’t know that I would have known. People think, oh yeah, The Humane Society, that’s probably the only thing they know.

B: I think back then you’d actually have to go to the shelter to see a dog, but now dogs are online.

D: I reached out to you before I adopted. I had been to an event and there was another fostering organization here. And there was a dog there, she was so cute, and it was right before Christmas, and I’d been toying with the idea of a dog for a few months before. So I thought this could be a really great thing for us. So I asked you, ‘Hey, how do I go about adopting a dog?’ And you told me that SnipSA was having an event the next day, so I was obsessively looking through the dogs, and I thought, ‘Oh, this one looks really cute.’

B: And it was Terry?

D: Yeah, because she had really great photos!

B: Oh, yeah, her Christmas photo was my favorite. With her little beanie and leg warmers. She wasn’t too happy about that!

D: You got her to sit for it though.

B: That’s funny though, small world. I remember you coming to the adoption event. I’m glad it worked out that way.

D: So, is there a process for become a dog foster? Is there a background check, do you just say, ‘Hey I want to do this’?

B: I know SnipSA does, you do have to submit an application to be a foster…but I know that they are short on fosters. I always tell people, fostering is free.

D: What do you mean by that, fostering is free?

B: You don’t have to worry about buying the dog food or the medical, because that’s all covered by the rescue. Really it’s just your time and getting the dog acclimated. But I know SnipSA is always looking for fosters, really, like a lot of rescues are. But they’re just short, but the more fosters they can get, the more dogs they can pull.

D: Is there a big foster community here in San Antonio? Or do you know any others, through SnipSA?

B: Yeah…SnipSA has it’s own little community Facebook group and all that. And the community’s pretty good about helping each other, and if you need someone to babysit the foster while you go out of town, they’re usually good about volunteering to help.

D: What is your craziest foster dog story? Did you ever just have a Tasmanian devil dog?

B: I fostered a Great Dane. It was probably about a year old, so it was pretty much a puppy. He had really bad separation anxiety, and so if I left he would just break out of the kennel. And he tore all of my blinds up because I was gone. He would tear them from the base, all the way down. So that was probably one of my craziest ones. And that dog, he was probably about 110 pounds. But he was really sweet, but, yeah, he was a lot to handle.

D: Did he get adopted pretty quickly?

B: Yeah, he got adopted pretty quick. I want to say, I probably only had him for a couple weeks maybe. It’s usually the purebreds that tend to get adopted out faster.

D: So you said that purebreds tend to get adopted out faster, and I remember you saying that Terry was kind of a longer time, too, that you had her for maybe four months. Is there a typical length of time before dogs get adopted?

B: It varies. Puppies tend to go by fast. But Terry she was kind of one of those one-offs, because I had her when she was tiny. And I was surprised for a puppy that she didn’t get adopted out that quick. But typically puppies will be gone in like a week. But it’s not very often that we get purebreds though.

If you foster one dog, it helps.

D: We touched on some of this already, but what are the biggest challenges in being a foster?

B: The biggest challenges…hmm…

D: Since you have four dogs, is it ever challenging bringing in a new dog?

B: No, my dogs are pretty used to new dogs coming in. In fact, I think they kind of help socialize the foster. So that’s really not a challenge, they basically help me foster. Challenges…I really can’t think of any. Just getting attached to the dog. That’s a challenge usually that people who don’t foster bring up. If I ever tell friends they should foster, many of them say I can’t, I’ll get too attached. So, that’s always the roadblock for people who are hesitant to foster. But what I normally tell them is, you know what? You’re saving a dog’s life from the shelter. And I always say that, yeah, it’s hard to adopt out a dog, but as soon as you adopt out a dog, there’s always another dog that needs your help. So, yeah, that’s how I look at it. When I adopt a dog out, sure I’m sad, but I know there’s going to be another dog that needs my help. So that’s always something I look forward to. Plus it’s always cool to meet all of these people in the rescue group, especially the people who’ve adopted from me. I’ve been fortunate to keep in contact with a lot of them. I make new friends from fostering.

D: Are there people who’ve adopted from you multiple times?

B: Yeah, there’ve been a couple. Most of the time people say ‘I can’t look at your Instagram, because I want to adopt them all.’ But there’s only a couple previous adopters who’ve adopted from me twice.

D: Is there any other advice you would give someone considering becoming a foster or adopting? We talked about saving the dogs from a shelter, that’s the main reason. Or maybe there’s someone like me, who’s on the fence, ‘Do I want to become a dog owner, or not?’

B: I know some people who are teetering about getting a dog. They’re not sure if they want to get a dog yet. I usually say if you’re not sure if you want a dog, why don’t you just consider fostering? Because it’s temporary. So I always look at it, if you’re fostering, it’s kind of like a trial anyway. For me it’s just an overall picture. You have to look at the overall picture here in San Antonio. Because strays, stray dogs, unwanted puppies and all that, there’s a large number here. So, if you foster one dog, it helps.

A huge thanks to Ben for allowing me to interview him, and for contributing to the San Antonio dog community in such a big way! To follow him and his fostering adventures, find him @thephosterdad on Instagram. And if you’re interested in fostering, or adopting, you can visit SnipSA’s website–along with the numerous other pet organizations here in San Antonio!

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