Foster Care for Dogs

Have you ever watched the sad commercials on television about abandoned pets and wished you could help? Donations to your local humane society are welcome and needed desperately but if you were looking for something a bit more hands on you might consider becoming a foster parent for dogs. This entails taking in abandoned pets and caring for them until a permanent home can be found. If this sounds interesting to you here are a few things, you should know.

Decide on Dog Size

Before you begin checking with local rescue organizations, you should determine what size dog you can handle. This is many time a personal preference situation but for some people a big dog is just out of the question due to the size of their home or yard. Look around your home and decide how big you can go and then stick to your guns.

Prepare Your Home or Yard

When you are planning to bring a new dog into your home and yard, you will want to take some time to prepare for your new addition, including getting essentials like dog beds, dog collars and leashes and cute dog bowls. Housedogs will require you to go around checking for potentially toxic substances, loose wiring and other hazards. If the dog will be spending most if not all their time outdoors, you should have a fenced in yard or an adequate dog pen. Check for openings where the dog could escape and cause problems for themselves or your neighbors.

Socializing

Your job as a dog foster parent is to socialize the animal for future adoption and free up space in the shelter. In a short amount of time, animal shelters become overwhelmed with homeless pets and they need all the help they can get to free up space. You must have enough time to spend playing with any dog you are fostering. Walks, playtime and even training are essential to being a good foster home.

Food

Most rescue organizations will provide food as they can, though sometimes donations are slow and they run low on feed themselves. You should be prepared to provide all the dog food your temporary guest will need. This way if you receive food from the shelter or rescue organization you will be ahead of the game.

Parting is Sweet Sorrow

After spending significant amounts of time with a dog it is natural to become attached, but you must keep in the forefront of your mind that these animals are temporary guests in your home. Be ready to cheerfully hand them off to their adoptive parents and when it becomes too much to handle take a break from fostering. Always remember that every time a dog leaves your home in the care of a new family another dog can be rescued.

Conclusion

Fostering dogs is a wonderfully selfless thing to do, but it should not be undertaken without forethought. You will have certain obligations to the animals while they are in your care and possibly added expense. If you think you have the time, temperament and room contact local shelters and rescue organizations today to begin fostering dogs who are in desperate need of care.