Chester Veterinary Clinic has started a new Foster Friday program, which highlights new foster animals searching for their forever homes, on the vet’s Facebook page every Friday.

“These animals are so amazing, loving, and caring and they deserved to be loved and cared for, so we want to help them as much as we can,” said Chester Veterinary Clinic office manager Amanda Bickford, who is responsible for updating the Facebook page each week with new faces of furry friends in need.

Bickford explained that the idea for the new Foster Friday program came about because the hospital’s chief of staff recently read an article about a similar program and thought it was a great idea.

The hope is that in the future, Foster Fridays will be more than just an online update, becoming a weekly meet-and-greet of area foster animals in need of new homes.

“It really is amazing how grateful rescue animals are,” said Bickford, who has fostered several animals herself. “It’s like they know that you saved them.”

Currently the clinic is working with several local shelters and rescues including CT Animal House in Waterford, Cat Tales in Middletown, the Connecticut Cat Connection in Windsor, and Homeward Bound Adoptions CT in Chester.

Chester Veterinary offers its services to the rescues and shelters at a discounted rate. In addition, it also offers spay and neuter clinics for cats, in the hope of curtailing the feral cat population in the area.

“We are here to help people keep their animals healthy,” said Bickford. “We try our hardest to work with our customers, as well as the local animal control officer, shelters, and rescues so no animal has to suffer.”

She added, “Staying local is important to us and we want to get that message out there. There are a lot of animals in need right here in our state, so people don’t necessarily need to only go to rescues that pull animals up here from down south. There are a lot of reasons to adopt from local shelters and rescues, including the fact that there is an opportunity for an in-person meet-and-greet with the animals, so prospective owners and the animals can check each other out and hopefully make sure that it is a good match for everyone.”

She also pointed out that adopting a rescue animal usually results in lower vet bills, because in most cases they are already spayed or neutered, up to date on their vaccinations and shots, and in most cases if they have an health issue like heartworm or Lyme disease, it has already been addressed and treated.

In addition, Bickford said, older pets sometime make the best companions, because they are already house trained.

“All of the rescues and shelters we work with are continued resources for the people who adopt from them. They help them if they need veterinarian references and training, and in the event a pet doesn’t work out, for whatever reason, they will take them back and help to find a new owner,” said Bickford.

Bickford suggested that people who are starting their search for a new pet reach out to local veterinarians as a jumping off point for contact information for local rescues and shelters.

“We are always more than happy to do whatever we can to help animals and people find one another and stay healthy and happy,” said Bickford.

For more information about Foster Friday pets, visit the Chester Veterinary Clinic page on Facebook.