NEED TO KNOW

• Tracy Fosterling is no stranger to fostering and managing a busy household full of animals

• The 34-year-old, who has seven pets of her own, has opened her door to nearly 60 other animals in need

• In April 2025, she took on one of her biggest challenges yet: fostering a feral dog desperate for a loving owner

Since 2018, Tracy Fosterling has opened her home and heart to animals in need – fostering close to 60 animals while also caring for her own five dogs and two cats.

“It’s chaotic, not going to sugarcoat it,” Fosterling tells PEOPLE exclusively. “But it’s also really fun, so much unconditional love in every corner you look! Having a large pack isn’t for the weak, but we make it work!”

Over the years, the 34-year-old from Jacksonville, Fla., has faced countless challenges that come with fostering and adopting, yet her dedication has never wavered.

In April 2025, Fosterling decided to take on one of her most difficult cases yet – a feral dog named Blossom who was in desperate need of human connection.

Afraid to let anyone touch her and shaking from nervousness, the Jack Russell hound mix, assumed to be just over 1 year old, had to be carried from Fur Sisters Rescue to Fosterling’s home in a crate.

“She stayed in her crate for a while, didn’t make eye contact, growled at me, and didn’t want to come near me at all,” Forsterling recalls. “It was very sad to see a dog in her condition.”

Despite having fostered a feral dog before, she admits that Blossom was in a far worse state than she had ever imagined.

Given that Blossom was born and raised outdoors, Fosterling had to quickly come to terms with the fact that the process of domestication wouldn’t be an easy one.

“Once I understood that, I could move forward and not be so hard on myself when she wasn’t hitting milestones that ‘normal’ dogs would hit,” she says.

Over six months, Fosterling shared Blossom’s transformation on TikTok, openly documenting the tedious but deeply rewarding journey of helping a dog learn to trust.

During that time, she received numerous comments questioning why she would choose to invest so much time and effort in a feral dog rather than one more easily adoptable. To that, Fosterling’s response was simple: no dog should ever be “written off.”

“Blossom ended up at the shelter due to absolutely no fault of her own, so why doesn’t she deserve a chance?” she questioned, highlighting that since shelters and rescues often cover fostering costs, the process isn’t as difficult as many believe.

“You just need to provide a safe place and endless love,” Fosterling emphasizes. “When things get hard emotionally, you have to remember the bigger picture of why you’re doing this: to keep this dog alive and make sure that they find their forever home.”

With that mindset, Fosterling set up Blossom’s crate in her office and spent hours every day sitting on the floor with the feral dog, making little to no movements, and holding treats in her hand in hopes that Blossom would come to her.

It took eight days for Blossom to finally gain the courage to leave her crate and wander into different parts of the house. Although she kept her distance from Fosterling and her husband, Blossom enjoyed spending time with the other dogs.

Getting a leash on Blossom proved to be one of the biggest challenges, with each attempt sending the dog into a panic.

After a week of trying, nearly four times a day for 15 to 30 minutes at a time, Fosterling finally got a leash latched onto Blossom. However, teaching her how to walk with it on was an entirely different hurdle.

Nevertheless, through patience and countless treats, Fosterling gradually earned Blossom’s trust, and by July, she was finally able to take Blossom outside for her first walk since being rescued.

“Of course, she’s still a little bit hesitant with humans, and probably always will be, but she’s a completely different dog than when I first got her,” Fosterling shares.

Unfortunately, in October, Fosterling learned that one of her own dogs required major surgery and would need eight weeks of recovery.

Faced with weighing her responsibilities, she decided to transfer Blossom into the temporary care of the woman who runs Fur Sisters, but tells PEOPLE that she is still making great progress.

In a recent update video, Fosterling shared that Blossom now enjoys more freedom in her new foster home and has begun actively seeking affection from her caregiver and family.

Viewing herself as a stepping stone in each foster animal’s journey, Fosterling emphasizes the importance of understanding that caregivers are only a chapter in the animal’s story – not their forever home, no matter how long they stay.

“I have five of my own resident dogs, and the biggest reason I can’t keep her is that I want to continue fostering dogs. As a rescuer, it’s very important to understand your boundaries and what you can handle,” she explains.

“If you don’t take care of your dogs, yourself and your mental health, then you won’t be a good advocate or foster, and I know my limit is five of my own dogs (plus two rescue cats), and so keeping another dog would likely lead to me no longer being able to foster.”

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At the time of publication, Blossom is still on her search for a permanent home in the Jacksonville area – one that will recognize her worth and shower her with the love she deserves.

“Just because a dog is in a shelter doesn’t mean they’re damaged goods,” Fosterling says. “Amazing dogs are sitting in shelters across the U.S. So please don’t assume they’re there because they are ‘bad dogs’ because that’s not the case.”

Read the original article on People