Milestone Foster Friends

Animal shelters and rescue groups throughout Wisconsin are always looking for more people to foster dogs and cats. The Milestone Plumbing team wanted to help, so we created the Milestone Foster-a-Pup Program to give back to the community in a new way. It’s a team effort, and a rewarding one!

According to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, approx­i­mately 4.1 million shelter animals are adopted each year (2 million dogs and 2.1 million cats) — and that doesn’t include the many volunteer groups that arrange adoptions. Fostering pets is a way to keep shelters from overcrowding and to prepare the animals for living with adopted families. 

“Our goal is that by raising awareness this can have a ripple effect in the community, helping people understand the importance of rescuing a dog,” said Jessie Cannizzaro, who in addition to being Milestone’s founder and owner is a lifelong animal lover. ​“Maybe a family will see our social media posts about our foster pups and decide to get a dog. Or a client will tell another client. If the word can spread, it can have a huge impact.”

Here’s how it works

• We partner with local rescue groups, who let us know when they have an abandoned dog for us to foster. The groups work to find a good match for us.

• The pup stays with Jessie and her family nights and weekends or with others on the Milestone team when she’s away.

• On weekdays, the pup comes to work at the Milestone facility, where everyone helps with walks.

• As each pup interacts with Jessie’s young children at home and the Milestone team at work, they become socialized and more prepared for life with their new adopted family.

• We post updates about our foster friends on our Facebook page and encourage everyone to raise awareness about each dog by sharing our posts.

• Anyone who is interested in being a forever family can contact the rescue agency, who conducts an assessment to make sure it’s a good match.

• Once a match is found (hooray!) we get a little sad about parting with our friend, but only for a while. We’re thrilled when another foster pup finds a home.

Meet our Rescue Partner, Tailwaggers911