Fostering a pet

[Anybodyhome]

We've fostered dogs for local rescues for many years, and I served on the board of a well-respected and established SPCA organization in Virginia. Although it's very rewarding, it has just as much potential to be heart-breaking. Couple of important guidelines we established so as to prevent us from owning everything we've fostered:

Establish a maximum amount of time you will keep the animal for the organization. This prevents the animal from getting too attached and prevents you from doing the same. 2 weeks is about tops for us. 

Use whatever name for the animal is provided by the organization. If you name it, you've made an emotional investment and it'll be difficult to give him up.

Do not be a foster and also be responsible for finding his new owners. You care for the animal and let the organization do the vetting of possible families.

Most fosters come from bad situations. Make sure he can sleep where he's comfortable- watch him to see where he tends to lay down and nap more often. It may be in the corner of a room, it may be behind something or near a door if they've been physically abused. If he's house trained and you feel like a crate or cage isn't necessary, don't use one just because it's convenient for you. 

Feed them healthy and feed them right. If they're emaciated, underweight or always seeming to be hungry, a little at a time a few times a day. Don't give them half a can and not expect them to get sick or develop diarrhea. 

Make sure your spouse, sig other or whomever is with you on this is on the same page as you are. The foster needs consistency, needs communication and needs to express their unconditional love. More than one person spending time with the foster is better socialization, will bring them out of their shell quicker and will allow them to trust again quicker.

Lastly, there is no way to easily move on. Whether it's been 2 days or 2 months, you've committed to giving this animal a better life in a short amount of time, which requires emotional vulnerability. You must always believe that your foster will live a much better life after having spent time with you and you must know that you made that happen. Be proud of what you've done, be happy for your foster and always keep the good memories.

Edited July 23, 2021 by Anybodyhome

[toldozer]

He was adopted out after being in our house for about 3 weeks. Fostering is not something we will do again,  at least not with our current pet dynamic. He was a sweet dog but caused a lot of stress for two of our dogs. Our three are a VERY tight unit and one got a bit jealous of him and one did not like his puppy like energy mixed with his size. Ultimately we found him a great home (the rescue seemed more concerned with finding every other dog a home so my wife had to do most of the work),  so I guess it was successful. We kept him from being put down but in the future I think we will support animal rescues financially but not with space in our home.