Outside of her day job at Penn’s Institutional Review Board, Candace Adams works with different organizations in Philadelphia to give temporary shelter and care to cats and dogs.
Candace Adams with Black Pearl, one of her foster cats.
(Image: Courtesy of Candace Adams)
About a year and a half ago, Candace Adams found a kitten in an alleyway near her home in North Philadelphia’s Olney neighborhood. Having grown up in Philly with cats and dogs, she was drawn to help the cat, whom she named Tux. She called different foster organizations, looking for someone to take care of the kitten and his medical needs, and heard back from Kitten Snatchers.
She ended up fostering Tux for a month. That decision set Adams on a journey of fostering cats and dogs through different Philly organizations.
She can sometimes be found with a cat sitting on her shoulder or lying on the keyboard as she works at home. For the past eight years, Adams has worked as an analyst and administrator at Penn’s Institutional Review Board, which provides oversight to ensure that research involving human participants meets governmental and ethical requirements. Adams says of the students she helps, “I advocate for them, try to work with them.”
Outside of work, she advocates for animals. In addition to her own two cats and chihuahua, foster pets come in and out of Adams’ home until they find their forever home.
Her current fosters include Kensey, a talkative tabby with plenty of attitude, and a cat named Black Pearl. The first dog she fostered was Russell, a brindle mix who had been left at a PetSmart. Then there was Pepper, a chihuahua who was adopted quickly, and Ford, an anxious and energetic dachshundmix. She says the foster pets love her 9-year-old son.
Adams and Black Pearl, one of the cats she currently fosters, along with a tabby named Kensey and her own two cats and chihuahua.
(Image: Courtesy of Candace Adams)
Adams has also fostered through ACCT Philly, Philadelphia Animal Welfare Society, and Philly Bully Team. Fostering involves filling out an application and going through a vetting process, she says, which varies: An organization may or may not call references, and one required a video visit of her home. In addition to feeding, walking, and playing with the animals, Adams says she takes her foster pets to veterinary appointments if needed and to fostering events, and also arranges meetings with prospective adopters.
Adams encourages people who may be interested in fostering to dip their toe in by volunteering, whether that’s transporting food or helping at events.
“When you join a rescue, you become part of the rescue community,” she says. “You meet people, connect with other foster people, you learn the lingo, you learn the ins and outs of the animal shelter and rescue world. What I like about fostering is that I am helping humans too. The people who run the rescues do a lot. I get satisfaction knowing that I am integral in helping them fulfill their mission.”
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