Dog fostering

In my experience, the foster families screen, or at least participate in the screening.  This was true for both of my dogs and some other rescues I looked into. 

It all depends on the rescue you work with.  The first one I did when we moved up here I got pups at about 5 weeks of age and while they paid for a few things, they left me stuck with all those pups for MONTHS.  I had to scream and holler and raise holy heck to get them altered because it was THAT many months and I had visions of three females all going into heat at the same time and me having an unholy number of pups to deal with.  I've never fostered for that rescue again.  I finally gave them two weeks to start sending pups to homes or I would find them homes, sans adoption fees.  Yep, I had to find the homes.

I worked on the sly with the HS and fostered a pregnant momma and her litter.  They did the initial screening and then I got the final call on folks.  MaryNH's Molly is one of those pups.

I take a lot of short term dogs from a local group.  And I get some shepherds from down state.  For some reason I've gotten the reputation as a person who can quickly do some basic obedience and manners training so they send me the dogs that need some "polishing" to be adopted.

I won't take pregnant mommas any more.  The situation we dealt with with Mom's health and the uncertainty of what actual time I had to spend made it too difficult.  And, not fair to pups.  And I won't take a long term placement.  My fosters are typically in and out within a month.  That first group of pups stayed far too long and became too much a part of our family.

Vet care with the local group is at the local vet so I pay nothing.  With the other group, I pay and am reimbursed.  Food, I'm pretty much on my own with that, and I always send a new collar, leash and some toys to the new home, so that's out of my pocket as well.

It really depends on who you foster for.  My group pays for all vetting, they screen all potential adopters & arrange for home visits.  Since Snickers is only my second foster with this group I have yet to test whether I have ultimate say in whether the dog goes home with the potential new family.  We report to the adoption coordinator on a regular basis with updates on our dogs.  That has it's pluses & minuses.

After my first experience, I insisted on final say with the pups.  Some of the folks that the first rescue sent were totally unsuitable and a couple got really unpleasant.  Why wouldn't I send a pup home to live in the shed??  They'd bought a nice long chain for the pup.......

sheesh. Well yeah, no wonder!

I read the website of the shelter I'm thinking of fostering for and they have an in house vet. So vet stuff should all be covered. They also say that they supply collar, leash, food bowl, etc but I would have to buy the food. Not a big deal there.

I may check in to this further..... 

 The group I'm hoping to foster for soon, pays for vetting and some food.  I say some food because they told me they would pay for a midgrade food like Iams or something and since that will never come into my house, I'll just use the money they give me towards the food that I would normally feed.  They said that was fine, but I would need to show receipts.  I would get to meet any potential adopters and while the rescue gets the final say, I can tell them which ones I found appropriate and they will pick from them.

When I talked to them they were ecstatic that I wanted big dogs.  Most people are willing to foster little dogs, but the bigger ones have a harder time.  And when I mentioned a pregnant bitch, the woman on the phone paused and then said,"REALLY!!!!"  Apparently thats a rarity too. 

I know that it varies by organization.  The organization that I have worked with in the past pays for routine vetting, spay/neuter, & heartworm treatment.  They do offer to provide food for the dogs as well.  My fosters eat the same food as my dogs eat, because it's much easier on me.

 Because I want to insure that my foster is totally healthy before I send him/her into their new home, I pay for thyroid testing, von Willebrand 's screening, & anything else that I deem necessary, out of pocket. 

I get final say in who adopts my foster.  The rescue may send a potential adopter to me, but I decide who the dog goes home with. I have had great luck placing my fosters with people who I know or have met at dog events.  ie. pet festivals, dog park, obedience class...

I have been thinking about fostering too, now that my fence is going up. Since I found a home for Penny, I have an "opening" in my home, but I'm not ready to take on a third dog again permanently. The group I looked into pays for vet care at a certain vet they use, and flea/hw preventative, but that's it. My fear is getting stuck long term with a dog that is less than adoptable, but I guess the group shopuld be able to tell me their turnover rate for the dogs....I also have some pretty specific requests, and I don't know if the group would be able to honor them. Things like size, b/c I am hoping to be able to use the extra crates I already have, plus my yard is small, and the dog would have to be already known to be ok with kids, cats, and other dogs...I'm not willing to use my family/animals as testers to see if the dog is ok with those things, and I don't have a set up where I could keep a dog seperated long term. So maybe it wouldn't work out, but I'm thinking about it...

No one has mentioned this ... so I'm gonna mention it just so you keep it in the back of your mind.

We love to foster, BUT be cautious.  It ***CAN*** affect your pack.  Be sensitive to what's going on ... At one time I had an old guy and at first he was great.  then he kind of fell in love with one long term foster we had and it was tough on Mike when we placed Tucker.  After that Mike got really grumpy -- and I think he decided he just wasn't gonna get 'attached' any more! NO WAY. 

And we actually stopped fostering while Mike lived simply because it wasn't worth upsetting him.

Also -- set some STRICT guidelines for yourself.  One of mine is NEVER EVER **EVER** bring a dog into the house you haven't taken for a fecal FIRST.  **YOU** do it.  don't just 'trust' someone -- in fact, I lost Mike that way exactly.

We took a foster "on an emergency" basis during a hurricane.  "Only for a few days til after the storm".  yeah ... well not only was he the foster from h-e-double-toothpicks (what a ratty disposition that dog had -- he was THE most unpleasant dog I ever fostered) .. but gosh darn it, the gal told me he was 'clean' and he wasn't.  He had hooks and whips and within 3 weeks Mike collapsed at my feet. 

He was old and immune-compromised and those parasites just ripped him up ... the other two had them, but I lost Old Mike.  It hit him fast and hard -- it was a hot summer and I thot he was just feeling the heat ... WRONG ...he was lethargic and anemic and I didn't see it fast enough.  And I lost him.

So I'm only saying -- make a list of things you think are good 'rules and stick to them.

C'mon folks -- help her out.  What rules do YOU have for foster? 

Mine are:

1.  Never let a foster in my house without a fecal first.

2.  Fosters are pack OMEGAS.  They eat last, get petted/greeted last, etc. 

3.  Fosters stay ON THE FLOOR.  All the time.  I never mind my animals on the furniture *but* some people don't like it.  So I don't want a foster learning something at my house that is going to get him bounced from a forever home.

4.  I try never to 'bond' with a foster.  It makes it too hard on THEM to leave and it makes it hard on my pack as well.  I keep an invisible barrier up -- like this is NOT your 'forever' home so YOU stay on the floor. 

5.  Always control the 'meeting' of your dogs and a new foster in whatever way YOU want to.  Neutral place?  Wait til someone can go with you to hold that extra leash?  Whatever you think YOU need to be comfy, do it. 

A group should be GLAD to have a new foster parent ... they oughta treat you well and cooperate with you.  Don't let them bulldoze you into doing something you're not comfy with.  "But I need him to come to your house TONIGHT -- these are nice people he's probably just fine -- you can get the fecal this weekend!"

NO.  Whatever rules you make -- stick to them.  You're doing them a service -- but the potential danger to your own pack can be great.  So being picky is FINE.

Those are great things to consider Callie.  And some of them, I would have never thought of.  Is it ok to demand that I want the final say in the home that the dog goes to?  It would be heartbreaking to see a dog go to a home that I knew wasn't a good match.  And do most rescues give you the option to keep the dog if it happens to fit so nicely into your pack that you really hate to give it up? 

I really wanted to foster and we signed up with a golden retriever group to do it. Our first experience really didn't turn out well. You can read it here. http://community.dog.com/forums/t/67533.aspx

This experience really wasn't good for my dog. He was fearful of other dogs and people at night for awhile after this though we have worked it out now since we knew what was causing the fear right away.

The foster also brought in fleas in the short time he was here so we had the extra expense of an exterminator. All of my pets are on preventative, but one of my cats has really bad flea dermatitis so even with the preventative it flared up and he chewed a lot of the hair off his body. The vet told me that he probably only got bit once before the flea died, but that was enough to do it.

I'm not saying don't foster. I would love to do it again, but be more prepared then I was. If I had some of the rules that callie had I wouldn't have had such a bad experience. Because our experience was so bad, my husband wont try again right now. He said maybe a little while down the road we will try with a different rescue, but he doesn't want to do it again right now. I can't blame him, it was really my thing anyway.

Another thing I can see that might give you some heartburn is the situation of the foster or rescue group that adopted a dog to Ellen Degeneres. All the right things were in place and who doesn't like Ellen?

And she re-homed the dog to a family that had not been interviewed. No matter how well-intentioned the family is the group wants to make sure that this dog and this family are the right fit. And that the home is a forever home, to at least minimize trauma to the dog.

I know it can't be easy and I admire those of you who do it.

When fostering, you will sign an agreement.  Read the agreement closely as to who pays for what and your obligations for "showing" the dog.  In my experience, making the dog available is the hardest thing for the fosterer to do.  There are foster dog showings events, there are rescue organization events, and people don't realize that the placing part of fostering is the big effort. 

Always pick up the dog from the vet office and review the medical records.  Any medical care questions you have, you are in the right place to ask them. 

When helping to place the dog, you will come across potential adopters who want the perfect dog.  There is no such thing as a perfect dog so accept that upfront before considering fostering.  Plan on housebreaking and other behavior problems, plan on worms....they always have worms, plan on the dog changing its behavior in a month or so as the dog gets acclimated and comfortable in its new surrounding.  Plan on dog fights.

Examine your commitment to fostering.  A foster can be placed as soon as a month or as long as over a year.  Plan ahead about boarding the dog if you need to be away from overnights. 

I have a lot of experience in fostering and because my organization thinks I am experienced with dogs, I seem to get the worse cases for rehab.  Each foster gives me more back than I give.  It breaks my heart to let a foster go but it is not the end.  At this time of year, during the holidays, my former fosters and their families seek me out for a reunion at the foster dog showing.  Getting their christmas cards and pictures is just as emotional.   

Wow!  Good for you wanting to foster.  I don't know if I could do it!  I would just end up keeping the dog, I'm sure!  Then my hubby, would probably make me sleep in the crates with the dogs!  LOL  Good Luck!