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Family fosters dogs through pandemic

6 min read
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Courtesy of Omar Brooks

Veteran Omar Brooks, of North Franklin Township, sits with his foster dog, Bhodi.

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Zaida, 5, of North Franklin Township, pets her recent foster dog, Miley. 

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Courtesy of Nicole Malesic

From left, Zaida, 5, Waverly, 2, and Omar Brooks, of North Franklin Township sit with foster dog Bhodi.

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Zaida Brooks, 5, of North Franklin Township, pets her foster dog, Willie Nelson. 

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Courtesy of Nicole Malesic

Zaida Brooks, 5, of North Franklin Township, sits with her foster dog Walter.

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Courtesy of Scott McCurdy

Veteran Omar Brooks sits with his wife, Nicole Malesic, and their two daughters Zaida, 5, and Waverly, 2, and foster dog, Sinatra.

Omar Brooks, of North Franklin Township, was never a dog person. But that changed two years and 16 foster dogs ago.

Brooks and his wife, Nicole Malesic, started fostering dogs from Bridge To Home Animal Rescue in Eighty Four after her dog died.

“She loves dogs,” Brooks said. “She wanted to have a dog in the home, but she wasn’t ready to have a stay-home dog. We agreed that was something we could do.”

Brooks is a corrections officer, and Malesic works in real estate. Because they have two young children, ages 5 and 2, most of the dogs they foster are smaller.

“From the first dog through the 16th dog, the dogs were growing on me,” Brooks said. “They’ve shown me unconditional love. They give you unconditional love during a time when people are throwing out unconditional hate.”

The COVID-19 pandemic has been an interesting time for Bridge To Home, according to the owner Tracey Crompton. They haven’t had enough dogs for the people looking to adopt.

“It’s been crazy,” she said.

Two months ago, one of the dogs they had up for adoption received more than 1,000 applications.

“She was very pretty,” Crompton said. “She had very pretty eyes.”

They’ve also added six new fostering families, who help to thoroughly vet the adoption applicants, Crompton said, ensuring they match the right home for each dog.

“We have to make sure the people who are getting the dogs are ready for the dog for life, not just until the pandemic is over,” she said. “I think people were stuck at home so they decided to get a dog because they have time right now. It’s a good time to potty train a puppy, but what happens when your life goes back to normal.”

That’s why it’s so important for her to have fostering families like Brooks and Malesic. Crompton started the rescue more than two years ago with the idea that if she could rescue 50 dogs the first year, that would be worth it. Well, that first year she rescued more than 500 dogs.

“It’s just dogs who have no chance,” Crompton said. “They’d have to be put to sleep if not for us. It’s hard when you don’t have a foster who will step up and say ‘I’ll take it.'”

Since Bridge To Home was started, they’ve rescued more than 1,700 dogs, Crompton said.

Much of their success is attributed to teamwork, Crompton said.

“I have such great people who help,” she said. “Omar and Nicole are part of the team and so are their kids.”

The first dog Brooks and Malesic fostered they named Chewy, because he looked like the character from Star Wars.

“The first dog sticks out because it was me getting over not being fully accepting of dogs,” Brooks said. “It was like Chewy knew he was going to a better place.”

The dogs typically spend a week with their family, before Brooks and Malesic choose a forever home for the animal.

“They usually start out frightened and scared, but by the third day, the dog is following us around,” Brooks said. “Every time we find a good home for these dogs, it validates what we’re doing.”

Brooks said with everything going on in the world right now, he and his family are happy to shine a light of positivity in Washington County.

“Once you save a dog, you save a dog,” he said. “I had my doubts in the beginning. These dogs seemed to gravitate to me almost because they knew I needed love and affection from them.”

For years, Brooks has been looking to once again be a part of something bigger than himself. He had that fulfillment years ago, when he served in the U.S. Army.

After graduating from Canon-McMillan in 1998, Brooks joined the Army, because he “didn’t want to be a burden” on his family, and he wanted to see the world. He served in Oklahoma, Texas, Georgia, Germany, Kuwait and Iraq. He left the military in 2003, after being in inactive reserves for a while.

“I did a tour in Iraq, and I got out for my family,” he said.

For Brooks, who has post-traumatic stress disorder, fostering dogs is almost like having a service dog.

“Being a service member, no matter what branch you’re in, sometimes a service dog helps,” he said. “They’ve allowed me to cope with things that I may or may not be dealing with. They give you unconditional love during a time when people are throwing out unconditional hate.”

Fostering also helps to fill a void since leaving the military.

“You feel like you’re a hero in certain aspects, and then you come home and work a 9 to 5 job or the night shift or go back to school, and that’s why a lot of men and women in the service never feel like they filled that void,” he said.

Well, he is a hero, just ask the 16 dogs they’ve fostered in the last two years. He’s also a strong advocate for veterans and community service in general.

“If there’s any vets out there that feel like they haven’t completely filled the need for community service or that type of value, sometimes if you just take time and volunteer, you can fill that void,” he said.

Crompton said most of their events and fundraisers have been canceled so far this year, though they have a golf outing scheduled for August, a picnic at Mingo Creek Park set for September, and an online auction slated for next month.

Brooks said even if people can’t foster or adopt an animal, supporting Bridge To Home’s fundraisers is also important. He also challenged Washington County residents to pick any nonprofit organization or charity in which to donate time, money or both, to make the community better.

“If more people picked one positive thing or organization to support, I believe Washington County, Pennsylvania, the United States and the world would be a better place,” he said.

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