How does one go about being a foster wotsit for rescue dogs?

[ShinyAndNew]

And what makes a person suitable?

I have been considering getting another dog after X-mas We have a lot of people in and out of the house and any routine we have goes out of the window for at least a week near x-mas time, so after x-mas would be best. Plus it would give my dog time to complete his obedience training.

The dog I have now is around two years old and a previous rescue. He is fairly well behaved but is very jumpy and has no recall, hence the training. He wasn't well socialised with other dogs when I first got him, but I have been working on that with him. He is still not indifferent to the presence of dogs, but no longer dives all over them. He will introduce himself calmly, by sniffing (as they do).

And unless another dog is straining at the lead growling and barking then he can just walk past them with a bit of distraction from me.

My friend has brought her dog into our house and he was fine. Playful and chasing each other, but there was no aggression.

I also have a very dog-wise cat and two very well trained children aged 3 and 6. dd1 will be 7 after x-mas. They know how to behave around dogs.

I have no garden, but I do have a large, secure yard and live opposite a park.

I work p/t but only for 2.5 hours, two afternoons a week. On the two evenings I work Dh is usually home about an hour after I leave the house.

Would I be suitable to foster? How do I go about registering interest and with who?

ring the dogs trust?

mt fosters information

I'm no where near any of those places. My dog is neutered. I'm in Teesside, so probably too far away for that particular place?

The size of the dog is not really an issue, providing it's not as massive as Great Dane as I think my house would be too small for the dog.

Is the lack of garden going to be a problem then? The yard is as big as a small garden and we have the option of fencing off the 'round the corner bit' so the bins aren't in reach of larger dogs. My dad's a builder so we could do this quickly and cheaply.

It doesn't matter that you don't live near the main centre. I live in Hants and foster for MT. I just get the dogs that are local to me and need fostering locally. (got a little jack russel staying for a while to house train and then he is off for adoption!)

I do think however that lack of garden will be an issue.

Oh dear. Thanks for the link. I will try them anyway after x-mas. Is the yard/garden going to be an issue with all places?

The park is literally seconds away and my dog is walked over there a few times a day to empty his bladder/bowels. As well as his main walk which is often through a few parks/fields that are all pretty much linked together.

Depends on the yard Shiny, hard to say without seeing it tbh. I don't think, from the impression I get, that it will be an issue to most - are you talking of what's effectively a paved/concreted garden iyswim? A space private to your household that is outside and secure and of reasonable size?

Knowing what you're like with dogs from our conversations here I think a rescue would be a fool to turn you down. :)

Just a thought... have you ever considered a Greyhound (a cat and small dog friendly one of course, they DO exist!). You'd be much wanted, particularly in the NE if so. I've a Greyhound rescuer and campaigner acquaintance whom I've met a couple of times and who really knows her stuff. She's in the Durham area and could give some sound advice if so. In fact she could probably point you towards local rescues and even homecheck you on their behalf if they needed her to. (She'll love me for volunteering her!). :o

As Minimu says, Many Tears are another to contact. They are super according to all those who foster for them. I nearly did so myself but then I was asked to take on the hearthrug that is Fish the GSD.

You could post about this here www.dogpages.org.uk/forums/index.php?showforum=6 as there may be some rescues close to you posting on this board (it's very busy).

A reputable rescue would want to homecheck you (much the same as for your previous rescue), and would support you throughout the fostering process. Make sure you ask about how food and veterinary bills would be handled. Many fosterers choose to feed the foster out of their own pocket, but a rescue would hate to lose a good foster place if someone felt they couldn't afford this, and so they are likely to offer to cover food bills. If it's a local rescue, they may have an arrangement with a local vet that they pay the bills directly. Alternatively, some rescues will ask you to pay the vet and will then reimburse you.

The other thing to mention is not to get disheartened - if a rescue doesn't respond to your offer, do chase them. Most are staffed by volunteers and whilst they do a great job with the dogs, may not be as well organised with admin as you'd hope!

best of luck - I'd love to foster but it's not the right time for us.

Shiny!!

come join our site www.forum.animallifelineuk.org.

We're desperate for fosterers and don't worry we will find the right dog to suit your circumstances.

See you there

Oh thank you all. I will look into the links tonight. I am off to take our wildest animal aka dd2 to Cinema for the first time very shortly (wish me luck) so cannot look now. But they are both sleeping out tonight so I can have a proper look.

Yes the yard is pretty much a paved garden with 10ft walls surrounding it.

Shiny, the fact you have a cat and some children makes you gold dust in the foster world! We do greyhound fostering for our local greyhound charity and there is always a waiting list for cat friendly greys. One of the bottlenecks is that not many fosters have cats to do the testing with. Greyhound fostering is usually quite straightforward. Most reputable charities will come and visit you for a chat first, then will carefully match the foster dog to your circumstances, just as much as when we do adoptions. The only thing I would warn you about is that it is a terrible wrench when they go, and many fosters inevitably end up cracking at some point and make a foster a permanent addition (our third grey is like this!) Fortunately, we have made friends with some of the forever homes who adopted our fosters, and it is immensely satisfying to see a dog who you remember as a terrified bag of bones looking happy, healthy and loved. Good charities will always be on the end of the phone with lots of advice and support and if it doesn't work out that is not a problem. The Retired Greyhound Trust and Greyhound Gap are national charities or you can just google "greyhound rescue Your ARea" and that will bring up your local charity. You will be doing such a wonderful thing, and will get to meet some fabulous people so hope it works out for you. Please feel free to ask any questions. Also, the charity will ensure you are recompensed for food, vets bills, equipment, and usually any mileage for picking up and so on.

I agree with scuttlebutter.

Although it will be hard to find the perfect foster dog for you straight off it's great to have people with kids/cats/other dogs/small furries etc etc as it means they can be tested in all sorts of scenarios.

cinnamon trust

Okay I've read all the links and info. I won't be approaching anyone until either after x-mas or very close to x-mas (with a view to fostering after x-mas). I would love to foster another dog now, but it just wouldn't be fair to the dog, especially a dog who maybe troubled, as we still have a lot to do wrt to work on the house, so we would be having strangers in and out of the house a lot and routines might be interrupted. And like I said x-mas week here is like living in a mad house.

I have spoke to DH (who is always less keen on new pets than me) and that went alarmingly well. I was expecting at least a little resistance, but he is happy to agree to it. I suspect he has been reading some of the links himself. He may say he doesn't like pets much, but he is a big softy at heart and doesn't like seeing animals suffer.

Do I just approach one place or can I approach a few?

Val I will consider the greyhounds. Although we all know that Staffies are where my heart is. Greyhounds are beautiful dogs and the few I have met recently seem to be really placid, friendly dogs, even the one who chased my cat up tree

You can approach as many as you like. Whilst one may have nothing suitable or, say, not foster out to those with young children another rescue will be completely different.

Oh, and have a word with Bob. He's really lovely, very friendly and helpful... I think you'll like what he does. :)

I shall definitely be contacting Bob .

If staffies are where your heart lies then go for it.

You may use as many as you like.

Ie: on our site (and DP as well) you register what you have at your home (ie: other dogs/cats/kids etc) and we do a homecheck then if ANY dogs appear that would suit your home we match them up regardless of the rescue it is from.

it's also worth noting that alot of rescues have alot of staffies in so you'll become goldust! lol