LISLE, Ill. – On Sunday, pet owners came out to Lisle Community Park to raise money for West Suburban Humane Society in Downers Grove. 

A foster dog and a former foster, now a full-fledged member of the family, take the spotlight thanks to the no-kill shelter. 

What we know:

Far from your typical shelter dog, Belle was re-directed from the kennels at West Suburban in favor of a foster family due to a wide range of health issues. 

“She had massive ear infections, was missing half the fur on the lower half of her body; she has a large growth on her right foot; she had fungal and bacterial skin infections…she was in rough shape,” foster mom Kris Mezatis said.

She and her husband Steve, long-time volunteers at West Suburban Humane Society, took on the roles of foster parents knowing all too well that Belle’s best chance for quality of life while undergoing treatment after expensive treatment meant getting out of the shelter. 

“I’m gonna guess upwards of $10,000 between getting her spay; She had a mass cell tumor removal, she’s had some lumps and bumps biopsied, she had the dental, she swathe dermatologist three times a week, medicated baths to get the fungus under control and bacterial infection under control…it’s been a lot,” Mezatis admitted. 

Meanwhile, a turn at fostering soon became a life-long commitment for Laura Lashok after she agreed to welcome Buddy into her home — his owners tragically died, leaving him nowhere else to go. 

“We fostered him for a little bit and after that I fell in love with him, and I was having a really hard time giving him back,” Lashok said. 

For both dog and adoptive family, the transition to a happy home is almost always bumpy and always requires patience. 

“It’s really, really difficult for them because they don’t know their environment. They don’t know where they are, they are confused, they don’t know where their people are so you have to go really slow with them,” added Lashok. 

More often than not, that patience pays off: “He’s a completely different dog. He plays and shows excitement when I come home. He’s super calm on the couch and is just very, very relaxed,” Lashok insisted.