Fostering dogs from local rescues? Pros? Cons?

[Romany]

We’re in a position to be able to foster dogs for a local rescue, possibly, and we were curious to hear about other’s experiences, and what we might expect to have to deal with!

I get that the dogs are quite likely to have issues, and no doubt these would be discussed in some detail before we brought a dog into our home, but is there anything in particular we should consider, anticipate, avoid, or anything? Are we better going with a formal HS or SPCA vs a volunteer-run group?

We’re experienced dog owners, live on a fairly remote farm, with one middle-aged house cat who is very used to dogs, in fact rather enjoys their company, so long as they keep it civil and respect him as a god.

We’d like to adopt a rescued dog again eventually, but in the meantime I was thinking that this might be a way we can enjoy the company of dogs and “give back” a bit.

[bdj]

Don’t know if you’d categorize this as a “pro” or “con” but in my limited experience of 1… “foster failure”.

Yep, I fostered a dog for my county humane society last year for heartworm treatment, and after a couple of weeks, knew I wasn’t going to be able to give him back or let him go live with anybody else. I have no regrets at all, and it worked out great for him and me, but the downside is that I can’t foster again - there’s no room left at the inn!

[stahler]

Ditto what bdj said. Be prepared to either fall in love, or end up in a situation where you aren’t having any bites from potential adopters. It seems that once a dog is no longer on property at the rescue/shelter the organization becomes a little less concerned about finding a forever home for the foster.

This is secondhand experience, but I have had quite a few friends foster and they ended up either keeping the dog or doing a lot of leg work to find another home. I realize each rescue organization will be different.

[iberianfan]

My experience was that the rescue pulled in dogs about which they knew nothing, so the foster knows nothing. Great care must be taken in that situation. Two of the three I fostered were VERY cat aggressive, one was cat and dog aggressive, one was cat and dog and PEOPLE aggressive. One was a doll and found a lovely permanent home.

I’m not fostering any more - the liability scared me and I live by myself and work, so having a ton of time to rehab was not an option. I also don’t think you can save them all, which is opposite of many rescue orgs who seem to think euthanasia is NEVER an option.

I hope you have better experience. It does sound like you’ve got a better situation. I fostered for a breed rescue.

Good luck!!!

[HPFarmette]

The rescue would be lucky to have your help, you sound like ideal foster parents. A lot depends on how the rescue is run. I have lost count of how many I have fostered…but for a large, well-organized humane society.

[Doberpei]

I fostered one dog for a breed rescue - only had him a month and he was a doll, but I had no trouble handing him over to his adoptive family. They love him, and my dog was happy to have me all to herself. Because of my horse show schedule, and because the group I fostered for requires other members of the group to “vacation foster” (I couldn’t just hire a random pet sitter, or hand them off to a friend) I didn’t take another foster dog, but I probably will do it again in the future.

[LauraKY]

Protect yourself. Ask to see a copy of their most recent 990 (financial statement even better and a copy of the liability insurance policy that shows they have coverage for foster homes.

Ask them to go into detail how they arrange for and pay for vet services.

Google the heck out of their name. Check their facebook page.

Then join the army of fosters and save some dogs!

[In1]

I fostered for a local rescue for three years. Stopped when I no longer had the appropriate setup and time.

[QUOTE=Romany;7665499]

I get that the dogs are quite likely to have issues, and no doubt these would be discussed in some detail before we brought a dog into our home[/QUOTE]

False assumption. Depending on the rescue’s set up they may not know snitzle about the dog. They know what the owner told them - and (depending on the rescue) they know what they saw on the initial eval.

Cat aggression/prey instinct should be a concern of yours. Be prepared to have each Fluffy under a strict, strict eye for some time before you permit Fluffy to interact with Sir Cat.

I had a 70 pound St. BernardX foster for a very short time - owner said the neighbor’s cats would come lay around with the dog outside on the tie-out. Well. Fluffy arrived at my house and launched herself at my cat with such ferocity that it is nothing short of LUCKY that I did not lose cat. In addition, dog had never shown any signs of separation anxiety - but in a different environment (no longer tied outside) she launched herself through a glass window - TWICE - because her foster mother left.

So - in short - fostering is wonderful (sincerely) but you have to accept and enjoy the fact that you never know what you’ll get - or what he/she will turn to be.

“Foster failure” is real and can be problematic. They way I avoided it was to view my job as getting the dog the most prepared as possible to be an ideal canine in his/her future home. Solid placements (generally) mean homes for life. It wasn’t my job to fall in love with Fluffy - it was to be loving and make Fluffy into the ideal citizen.

With that said - it is tough. I had two for nine months - the transition period to their new home was a whirlwind of joyful and sad emotions.

Who pays for vet bills? Who pays for food? What if Fluffy requires an expensive, special diet?

[bits619]

I’ve probably written this out a few times before but here goes This will be long, sorry! But really there’s a LOT to consider before choosing a group.
Do your research on the rescue groups, they aren’t all the same.

1. 501c3 status is important, also in my state the rescue groups are inspected by the department of agriculture yearly and records have to be in order as well as proper conditions. It’s not the end-all factor, but something to consider, and a plus.
2. How do dogs come into the group for you to foster? Do fosters have any say in which ones they get? Some rescues pick the dogs for their fosters, some have some say, other groups let their foster homes pick on their own. There are pros and cons for all. Some fosters only do small dogs, others may only do puppies, some specialize in mamas and litters. Some only do temporary, short term fostering (usually for groups who do transports).
3. What costs are covered by the rescue group and what are the fosters responsible for? Food, collars, crates, leashes/collars, vet bills? What are their policies for dogs that require more medical care than typical- surgeries beyond spay/neuter, heartworm treatment, ongoing medication? (Some rescues heartworm test before they commit, some have even returned dogs to animal control or euthanized dogs for having heartworms or other treatable conditions. Make sure your ethics align with theirs on these things.)
4. how many adoption events do they hold, and are you expected to attend any/all of them? Some groups only do monthly events, most do weekly on the weekends, some groups do twice weekly. Some groups have physical locations/store front of their own and you might drop off the dog there for the day.
5. What are their policies on foster homes adopting their own fosters? Some have no hesitations, others are a lot more strict- they may require the dog to go to another foster home for X amount of time first, others may prohibit it. Whether or not the policy makes sense, don’t count on them changing it if it’s a problem for you (this holds for their vet bill limits, if any).
   6)If you can’t foster any more, what are your options? Likewise if a foster dog isn’t working out in your home, what do they do?
6. If a foster is adopted out and returned later, what is your responsibility, if any, to take that dog in again?
7. How much input does the foster home have when choosing adopters? Do they get final say?

With the group I volunteer with, fosters are given a LOT of freedom to pick both the dogs and their adoptive homes, but also a lot of responsibility in choosing the adopters, and moreso if a foster is returned, they are usually asked to take the dog back in to foster again. We personally live on a farm for the purpose of being large scale fosters, but also to take in those returned dogs that one original foster homes can’t taken back in.
Our group covers everything, food, vetting, equipment. They haven’t paid for the things that my fosters have destroyed mostly computer cords and shoes, some furniture… But I don’t mind, it’s kind of part of the territory (or an issue I didn’t prevent, as in not watching a teething puppy close enough).
My group has twice weekly events, and fosters are strongly encouraged to attend one per week. Even if they have work they can drop off (or if possible we’ll pick up and drop off) the dog for the event. Being able to get your foster to as many events as possible decreases the time they’ll be in rescue, and if you’re there able to answer specific questions, all the better. These are usually weekend events, so availability to get the dog to a few a month is something to consider.

Oh also, if the dogs aren’t vetted before you get them you might have to be responsible for scheduling and transporting to vet appointments. Find out, if so, how far away those vets they use are and if any other volunteers could help if you can’t get them there.

Ok… That might be all the big things. Maybe. Hehe.

[Romany]

Those are wonderfully helpful thoughts, ideas, and stories: thank you!

We’re in Canada, and I’ve spent the day avoiding bills and reading up on all the local rescue groups: there are a TON of them here (Ottawa has a VERY fancyschmancy Humane Society, so what gives, I dunno: they are one of the ones who refuse to allow you to adopt a pet you foster, iirc - I don’t know why though).

We “test-rode” a dog from another local HS recently, who was out on foster, and I did talk to the fosterers about their experience, and it was generally positive. They did a really good job of presenting the dog, we thought, and had done a very good job of rearing it as well, and brought it to our farm, which was a bonus. We decided not to keep it, not its fault, and I suspect we’re not quite ready for a new family member, which is why I was thinking more about the fostering idea.

Quite a few of the local groups, even some of the more “official” ones with “SPCA” in their title, have let their charitable status lapse, which surprised me. And some have photos of the same dog happily homed again and again…with different names…whatever that might indicate!

Lots to think about, and thanks again.

[JBD]

The group I volunteer and foster for has adoption events every Sat and Sun. It’s a little easier to not be a foster failure when your foster is seen. They also are on adoption websites as well as the rescue has a Facebook page and a website. Beware of groups that have a lot more intake than adoption.

But I think the real success factor is that our rescue coordinator works very closely to match us with the type of dog that we want. And we have a big dog, a small dog a very old male small dog and cats. We usually try for smallish females of certain breed types or puppies. And we’re not pit people but our last foster was an 8 week old pit type with hacked off ears (one completely gone) and a case of mange so bad, she looked like a burn victim. She was the BEST puppy and got a fantastic home.
Someone mentioned dogs that are adopted out multiple times. It’s sad but people return pets and our rescue lets them know up front that we want the dog/cat to come back to us if they give it up. Yes, most return reasons are shallow and avoidable but better to take them back than to have them dumped.

[bits619]

[QUOTE=Romany;7666547]
(Ottawa has a VERY fancyschmancy Humane Society, so what gives, I dunno: they are one of the ones who refuse to allow you to adopt a pet you foster, iirc - I don’t know why though).
(snip)
Quite a few of the local groups, even some of the more “official” ones with “SPCA” in their title, have let their charitable status lapse, which surprised me. And some have photos of the same dog happily homed again and again…with different names…whatever that might indicate!

Lots to think about, and thanks again. :)[/QUOTE]

I think some groups prohibit the adoption of one’s own foster dog because they are afraid of losing would-be foster homes due to adopting them I don’t agree with the policy, and if we ever move and are foster parents for another rescue (without/before getting our own license, which will probably happen), it’d be a deal breaker for me. I think I’ll always acquire my new dogs through fostering first. Even though mrb is AWESOME at reading dogs quickly, I think it’s the best way to really see how they might fit in.
Some other groups won’t let you adopt your first (or second or third) foster, just because it DOES get easier to adopt them out, and as foster caretakers it’s important to keep what your goal/purpose is in mind: saving dogs. It’s hard to keep saving dogs if you just keep the fosters you have!
Our group doesn’t typically bring new foster homes in if they contact us saying there is a particular dog they want to save from the pound but would like to foster it. We’ve found that 90% of the time we end up paying for all the vetting, feed, and medication for a dog who never goes to events for months, and whose fosters sheepishly tell us two months later that they want to keep/adopt the dog themselves. Well duh. Our foster homes typically start out with a dog that is already in our care and known to be easy. That way if they decide not to do it, it’s no new dog on our payroll. Then they will come with us to animal control and choose their next few fosters with our help. After they’ve fostered a handful of dogs they are given more say in what ones they want to pull. Cuts down on the ‘one and done’ foster homes.

About the returned dogs… It happens. Some rescues/volunteers may not be strict/thorough enough in their choosing of adopters, lifestyles change legitimately, and also, many people just suck. People you’d think would be AWESOME forever homes turn out to be awesome at lying. We’ve taken in a few returns too that we’ve changed their names, or the adopter has changed the name and maybe even had some vetting done under that name, so it’s easier for records to continue with that one. We have a current recently returned dog who is a pit mix. His original name when adopted as a puppy was Boss, because his original foster adopted him to her boss (and obviously lined up the adoption early on when the puppies were young and nameless). Now though, as a 9 month old large pit boxer something mix, the name Boss sounds like too much of a description. He ISN’T Bossy with dogs and we don’t want to turn people away because of a suggestive name. So now Boss is Bosley we’ve also had to change a returned dog’s name because it had the same name from foster home A as a similar looking dog in our, foster B’s, care at the time (we try not to repeat names for similar looking dogs just for our own sake/memory, but it happens).
So yeah there could be some poor choices in adopters, or really low standards for what dogs they adopt out (or when they decide a dog is ‘ready’, perhaps too soon), but it’s hard to say without knowing more.

[khall]

I have been fostering for a specific rescue (3 actually) now for almost two years. Prior to that when I would find dogs dumped I would “foster” them, vet them and then contact a rescue to let me hang with them to get the dogs exposure (did it with cats too).

There are many pros and cons in fostering. You usually will not have any idea on temperament of the dogs you get. Most likely (at least in my case) they are pulled directly from a kill shelter and you have no idea what a dog is truly like coming from that situation. Puppies are usually easier, except for the parvo concerns. They can and do contract parvo in the shelter and then can break with it while in your care. NO fun. I specialize in adults with issues (former bait dog pit bull, shut down mastiff mix, young adult with no manners doggie or human, HW +) or litters. Biggest litter was 9 hound mixes. I love having puppies, they are just so much fun. My last litter of 2 just was adopted last weekend within days of each other, I still have mom here with me. I like getting the puppies young, two of the litters they were under a week old when they came to me. I like working with dogs with issues. My bait dog and the mastiff mix have been my favorite fosters ever. I even considered keeping the mastiff mix, he just fit so well here at my farm. It is so rewarding to see the dogs change and understand and learn. They are just so thankful for a chance and understand that you have saved them. My bait dog foster found a home where her new family say that she is the best dog they ever had and my mastiff X went to a $600,000 home with young college student who adores him and his family.

The only way that I can foster though is because I have a barn and they live in my barn. I could not have foster dogs in and out of my house, it just would not work. But I have been able to save countless dogs (kittens do stay in the house) over the years and yes I have fostered failed. 3 of my 4 dogs are foster failures for different reasons. One would jump a chain link fence, one is scared of new people especially men and one my DH decided to keep for our son. They all are fabulous farm dogs.

Fostering saves lives and while we cannot save them all we can make a difference in individual dogs lives. Some fosters do take a piece of your heart with them when they go, but oh it is just so rewarding when they find the perfect home. I have had one come back and it was very sad. He was one of my litters, pit bull that I pulled when they were 3 1/2 weeks old. He was adopted out at 3-4 months old and stupid person let him roam not neutered and he got hit by a car. He had radial nerve paralysis, tried acupuncture but did not work so he had to have the leg amputated. He has since been adopted into a pit bull loving home, great dog with no issues. We all just loved him.

My vote is to foster, be clear with the rescue you choose the ins and outs and don’t hesitate to move to another rescue who might fit you better. I just switched rescues and took my fosters from original rescue with me. Be prepared for some very passionate people who think with their heart more than their heads most times.

[Romany]

I’m curious to know how these foster groups are able to pull dogs from (high) kill shelters? I keep reading that this is what happens, just wondering how the system works on “that” side of the fence (as opposed to “my” side, as an adopter/fosterer).

I’m quite surprised, too, at how invasive some of the questions on the foster-groups’ application forms are. I understand completely that they need to know as much about potential adopters as possible, but, for instance, my age??? For starters, not sure that it’s legal to ask in Canada! Not as if they couldn’t work it out within seconds of the “meet & greet,” lol.

[LauraKY]

[QUOTE=Romany;7669792]
I’m curious to know how these foster groups are able to pull dogs from (high) kill shelters? I keep reading that this is what happens, just wondering how the system works on “that” side of the fence (as opposed to “my” side, as an adopter/fosterer).

I’m quite surprised, too, at how invasive some of the questions on the foster-groups’ application forms are. I understand completely that they need to know as much about potential adopters as possible, but, for instance, my age??? For starters, not sure that it’s legal to ask in Canada! Not as if they couldn’t work it out within seconds of the “meet & greet,” lol.[/QUOTE]

I’ve pulled dogs from shelters. Usually a manager from the rescue contacts the shelter, most shelters require a copy of the 501©3 declaration.

Once it’s arranged, a volunteer picks them up. Depending on their health and condition they are further transported for vetting or are immediately vetted. I’ve done both.

Then they are placed with a foster. Depending on the foster’s experience, they may be the destination that sees to vetting. The rescues I work with don’t take dogs unless they have a foster spot open.

I used to be the foster/volunteer chair for a rescue and I did pretty in depth interviews. Be prepared to answer a lot of questions, it’s necessary. I preferred to just let the prospective foster talk…you find out a lot that way. Your vet will be contacted for a reference and to make sure that all your pets are up on their vaccinations.

[khall]

Here in the deep south where strays, owner surrenders and the unwanted pet population is out of control, the high kill shelters allows approved rescues (don’t have to be 501c here) to pull at no cost most dogs from the shelter. Court cases and some bite cases are the exception. Some dogs are only allowed to be rescued pulled and not adopted to the general public (i.e., tiny pups/kittens under 8 weeks old, some do that with pit bulls, aggressive or very fearful dogs). The rescue is on file with the shelter and then when an animal needs to be pulled the rescue contacts shelter with name of voluteer who is pulling the animal. I have been that volunteer before. Some shelters do not work well with rescues and have been known to PTS the animal even though it was supposedly understood that that particular animal had a place to go. Some shelters just do not care enough to get the animals out and gas chambers are still in use here in US. Read Little Boy Blue if you want a better understanding on rescue here in the south. Interesting read, sad read.

[independentlyawesome]

Our city shelter has volunteer staff dedicated to placing the intake animals in rescues. They’ll call the Maltese rescue if a Maltese mix comes in, etc. I think the rescues pay a nominal fee to take them, but the rescue’s adoption fees tend to be mindbogglingly high so they still get lots of profit.

I would love to foster, but I currently live in a cardboard box under a bridge (not quite, but pretty close).

I think fostering litters is a great service, and by the time they get to be old enough to be adopted you’re ready for them to be out of your hair! Orphaned puppies are not the easiest to raise, although the litters do sometimes come with the bitch.

[Romany]

Sooo…it’s pretty much done on a who-you-know and word-of-mouth basis, then? That’s what we figured, and we were just curious, really. That takes an amazing amount of hard work and determination and focus and alacrity, I should think.

The numbers of unwanted pets is gob-smackingly staggering, isn’t it. Anything positive that anyone does must be just a drop in the bucket, but for that dog, it’s a chance to live, not a death sentence.

I wish there was some way of fully funding spay/neuter programs right across the continent, and I WISH more people were responsible and got it done. Met a lovely young woman yesterday with an expen$ive but patently badly-bred (but he came from a good breeder!) French Bulldog - all sorts of conformation oddities, still has his nuts at 10mo, and VERY studdy around me: WHAT is she thinking??? She was complaining about the anticipated $1,000 vet bill for fixing his cherry eye, poor misbegotten creature. All the pure-bred dogs we know, come to think of it, have various congenital issues - conformation, temperament, etc - so one assumes there must be a ton of second-rate breeders out there churning out a ton of not-quites. Nooooo, not doing it for the money, noooo, of course not. :rolleyes:

[hasahorse]

I have fostered for two different organizations, with two very different outcomes. I fostered for many years for a Corgi rescue, which I loved. Had great dogs that in turn went to great families. I usually got the young ones who had never had any rules in their life. I got very proficient at the “Nothing in life is free” method and clicker training. I received nothing but positive reviews from the new parents about how lovely and obedient their new family members were. I stopped fostering for them when there was a change in the leadership, and my particular skill was no longer wanted (still can’t figure that one out. the previous ex dir thought I was great, the new leadership team made me into parhia out to damage their organization).
The second group I fostered for was a local humane society type organization. We had requested a dog no larger than 40 lbs and cat friendly. Introduced everyone, seemed to have no problems, everyone was well behaved. The foster dog killed one of our cats because I gave her the benefit of the doubt and trusted her too much. It was completely my fault that it happened. I took the foster dog back to the organization immediately and had since completely stopped fostering. My heart isn’t in it anymore. I still carry a tremendous amount of guilt over losing our cat and that I didn’t set the foster dog up for success.
Good luck to you. The world needs more foster parents (for all species).

[adelmo95]

I fostered once for a greyhound rescue in Canada and although all ended up working out alright I can’t say I would necessarily feel comfortable fostering again when I also own my own dog. The rescue I worked with was wonderful in the sense that they knew the dogs history and temperaments well so knowing I had my own dog who is a very submissive border collie mix in the house they were careful to make sure that my foster dog had no aggression issues.

The dog had also received a vet check etc to be able to cross the border and I had felt confident that I was not bringing a dog into the house that might affect the health of my dog. The thing which hadn’t been tested for was whether she had worms and based on a suspicion I had after a couple of weeks I brought a sample to my vet clinic for testing and it turned out that she had hook worms which can be extremely difficult to treat, but quite easy to transmit.

Thankfully my dog is extremely neurotic about cleanliness and will not go anywhere near dog poop, and I am slightly neurotic about cleanliness so immediately clean up after my dogs so my dog did not get hook worms. The rescue also covered the costs of treatment for the greyhound and preventative treatment on my dog, however I have not fostered since and subsequently adopted a second dog (Australian Stumpy Tail Cattle Dog) as a companion for my other dog so would hesitate to increase my numbers beyond that…