Mid City Times

Booker T. Thomas, a Marine and district director for Councilmember Charlie Lauersdorf, has always had a soft spot for underdogs, particularly those of the four-legged variety. Growing up in an animal-loving household, Thomas was surrounded by dogs of various breeds. "Growing up, we always had dogs and we always had big dogs, like pit bulls and Rottweilers," said Thomas, who joined the City of Fort Worth in 2023. "But they were always extremely sweet and gentle and really just terribly overgrown lapdogs."

Thomas's fondness for dogs is a family trait inherited from his father. "It runs in the family," he noted.

When Thomas came across a Facebook post about a litter of puppies at Fort Worth Animal Care & Control (FWACC) needing urgent fostering, he felt compelled to act. "I sent the post to my wife, Sara. We had experience bottle-feeding puppies," Thomas said. The couple previously fostered a shepherd-basenji mix and a Rottweiler. "I told Chris [McAllister, FWACC assistant director] we’d take one. Chris said, ‘Dude, they do better in pairs,’ hint-hint, nudge-nudge. So we took two."

The couple named the sibling puppies Athena and Grench. Born on April 8 at the Silcox Shelter as shepherd mixes, their eyes and ears were still sealed shut when they arrived at the Thomases' home.

"We bottle-fed them every two hours for about three weeks," Thomas recalled. Despite initially planning to be temporary caregivers, it quickly became clear that Athena and Grench had found their permanent home with the Thomases.

"The original plan was to foster," Thomas explained. "But they were so cute and so cool. And when they opened their eyes and saw me it was as if they said, ‘Look, there’s Dad right there!’ After that I was like, they’re mine."

After being spayed and neutered on July 18, Athena and Grench were officially adopted by Thomas and his wife.

While fostering presented challenges such as sleep deprivation, the Thomases wouldn't change their experience for anything. His stepdaughter Camila also adores her new canine siblings.

"We were newly married [in February], so Sara and I got the experience of bottle-feeding twins essentially," Thomas said.

He added: "Fostering is hard, especially with bottle babies. But for us, we can’t not have these dogs... They would search for each other when they were newborns... They still sleep on top of each other all the time... But they’re just so cool, and we love them so much."

Thomas remains humble about his actions: "I think dogs know when humans are good and when they’re not... And we’ve got these two now who love us, so I take that as a compliment."

For more information on fostering a Fort Worth Animal Shelter pet, email fwaccfoster@fortworthtexas.gov or visit FWACC’s webpage.