Six legs step out onto the front porch of Leslie Myers' homes. Two from Myers and four from her dog, Penelope.
"Penelope is a dog that I started fostering toward the end of October, beginning of November," said Myers.
She has been fostering animals with Young-Williams Animal Center for nearly six months now. Penelope came to her sick and shy, a stray off the streets.
"The shelter provided all of her care and I took one look at her and thought, 'I have to help this dog,'" Myers said.
Foster parents like Myers are the first line of defense for animal shelters when they reach capacity says Young-Williams Animal Center marketing manager Courtney Kilman.
"If we didn't have emergency fosters, especially when we get hoarding cases or influx of pets at once, we wouldn't be able to save lives," Kilman said.
More than 200 fosters stand at the ready to take in an animal in need of help whether it be for a few days, weeks or months. Young-Williams says fosters give hurt animals a chance to heal, shy animals a chance to socialize, while opening up space for those in the shelter ready to be adopted.
"Some of them will say it's some of the most difficult times they've had, but it's worth the reward in the end to watch them get adopted out," Kilman said.
Sitting on her front porch, Myers is of that same thinking.
"It was really rewarding watching all these people volunteer with fostering animals, getting them healthy and getting them socialized and having them be really happy and then seeing them all get to have their happy ending," she said.
And for Penelope? Well, that happy ending is right here with Leslie.
"We ended up adopting Penelope and it was really really rewarding," Myers said.
"They get to a point when they realize they're safe and they just start to relax and that's when you start to see them become the dog they were meant to be," she said.
If you'd like to become a foster for animals at Young-Williams, you can visit their website HERE.