As Shawnee citizen Shanna Christopher walks through the door, she is bombarded by four dogs and two cats. Shanna and her children, senior Lindsey Christopher and sophomore Brayson Christopher, foster animals that are about to be euthanized or those that are strays.

“I am on an email list and sometimes I get urgent emails to pick up animals,” Shanna said. “Sometimes they send pictures in the emails and they get to me.”

Shanna started fostering animals started in 2001 with a Chihuahua named Chico.

“We had Chico and my great-grandmother was looking for an animal,” Lindsey said. “We are a little bit different from most foster homes; we are kept on the down low. Usually it is family of friends that we contact to see if they know anybody who would be willing to adopt or if they are looking for a specific type of animal.”

According to Lindsey, the animals that they foster are family-sponsored and paid for out of their own pocket.

“The amount of time that they are here really depends on the animal,” Lindsey said. “We had two cats that were recently adopted and we had them for four years.”

With fostering animals, there are many good and bad aspects.

“I think foster animals are the most appreciative of what you do,” Shanna said. “I think they love you so much more because you saved them. I personally think they can tell when they are saved.”