Helping Animals Since 1977

Frequently Asked Questions About Fostering

We believe that we have a duty to ensure that our dogs are placed in the homes best suited for them, with foster homes who believe in the philosophy of rescue and have the patience to work through the screening and fostering process. The application provides some of the details needed to make this determination.

Upon approval, we search the profiles of dogs coming into our care to see which one is the best fit for your home and experience. After all, there's no point in putting a rambunctious young dog in a home where he would cause a lot of hardship for the family members or put a quiet senior in a home full of athletic people. Once we have a suitable dog to fit your indicated preferences and one that fits your home- lifestyle- energy level and experience level... we will contact you to make arrangements for the dog to be picked up.

We cover costs related to health and food, including all veterinary care and food.

We receive food donations so may have different brands at different times . We strive to ensure that each dog has the food that they do well with . We ask that you provide as much time as possible for us to arrange food to be dropped off to you.

Surprises are no good for adoptive families or for the dog and are the number one reason pets are re-homed.

To see a dog in its most natural and normal state, it needs to be seen it in its normal environment. By visiting in your home, the family will see how the dog interacts with you, how it greets strangers, how it interacts with other pets in your home and the family's pet on its 'home turf'. When viewings happen away from the Foster home, the dog is distracted by the new sites and smells, may not interested in meeting new people and experience has proven that significant issues can arise from not meeting in the foster home.

The safety and security of foster families and pets is of paramount importance to us. We would NEVER ask someone to do something which makes them feel unsafe. In that we will make alternate arrangements.

All animals receive a veterinary exam, testing and vaccines. However, it is always a health risk to expose your animal to other animals, whether at the off-leash areas, the vet waiting room or other common animal areas. If your pets are current on their vaccinations, maintain healthy diets and lifestyles, and are not immune compromised, then the health risk should be minimal. If someone in your household is immune compromised, consult the doctor before fostering.

Please call us immediately. Unless it is an emergency, we will take care of all veterinary needs and have them take to the vets the rescue uses. Should a Foster home choose to take an animal to their own veterinarian without pre-approval by Rescue, all costs will be the responsibility of the Foster home and will not be reimbursed.

Beyond the items provided when you first pick up the animal, additional treats, toys dog bed are at your discretion and your expense.

As with many of the dogs we take in- their past history is an unknown ... and so must be treated as a clean slate and treated similarly like a puppy until their needs are known and confirmed. Some may be chewers, need house training and have accidents etc .

We 100% advise & recommend 100% supervision while transitioning and if unable to be supervised to be crated or contained in a safe area , to remove all temptations / things that they can access ,damage or destroy.

Rescue is non-profit and does not have the finances to repay for house /home contents that are damaged. Rescue will not be held liable for damages to a home / its contents as a result of lack of supervision, items left out /not removed or the pet being not being crated/ safely contained that results in the damage.

Your foster pet will typically already have a name given by the rescue or his or her previous owners. Please keep the same name! The pet may already know his or her name, all the rescue paperwork will be completed under that name and the dog will be listed on our Web site with that name. We want to avoid any confusion among rescue team members, foster families, potential adopters and the dog.

We provide foster relief as needed. We ask that you provide as much notice as possible to ensure we can find an excellent alternative home. Typically it takes a week to ten days to arrange alternative care and assistance with transportation relays.

There is no set amount of time and it is difficult to give an exact time frame, as each dog is different. There is also the fosters time commitments to consider. In some circumstances, Foster homes have a fixed amount of time that they are available to foster - seasonal (i.e. Snowbirds).

It can be anywhere from a couple months to 6 months or more. The fostering stage usually ends when one of two things happen: The dog is adopted by another family or if you decide the dog is a good fit and wish to adopt it.

Some dogs can be fostered and adopted within a month or two. Other foster dogs though all highly adoptable may take longer to place d/t size/ breed or just the interest they attract. We do not place a dog to the first app that comes in - It must fit.

We have no control in how fast a foster pet will get interest or even suitable interest to be approved and adopted. It can take a few months or much longer. Please consider this that the dog you foster may take some time to get the right home that meets its needs.

There is absolutely NO obligation or assumption for you to keep the dog we have placed with you for fostering. Whether you are fostering or adopting, the dog MUST be a good fit in your home and for your lifestyle. However, if you find that you can no longer foster the dog, we ask that you give us at least 2-3 weeks’ notice, in order for us find somewhere else for the dog to stay.

Surrendering a pet is a big decision.

Please visit our Surrender Your Petpage for more information on how Animalert might be able to help.