Fostering

[Bettythree]

Wondered if anyone has experience of fostering for a rescue that they could share with me?
We lost our elderly dog last year and now have just a collie/lurcher x and a couple of cats. We are a bit undecided about getting another dog so thought fostering for a while might help us make our minds up. My boy is very easy going, loves other dogs and is happy to share. He was a rescue so has never lived on his own before. Our DCs are all 11+ and I am not working till Sept so this feels like an ideal time.
What do I need to think about? Will the rescue pay for food/vets etc or does the fosterer usually cover this? I am not overly keen on crates but I know lots of people are, will a rescue want me to crate train a dog?
I'm also unsure which rescues to approach. For various reasons we don't want to go back to the slightly scary rescue we got our boy from. Any recommendations?

Why are you scared of the rescue you got yours from?
I suppose if you are experience with collies/pitchers maybe either breed specific rescues as plenty end up in there?

I'm not scared of them, just not sure that they are somewhere that I could work with. And they are slightly unusual people......

All people who work in rescue are unusual

Hi Bettythree,

I am a fosterer for Many Tears Animal Rescue. I have 3 young children so I only foster puppies however there are lots of dogs (6 week old puppies up to 12 years plus, yorkies up to dobermans) that need fostering. Many Tears provide all the food and medications that the pup/dog needs and there is a 24 emergency number you can call if the dog needs urgent veterinary care (thank goodness I have never needed to use the emergency number). I do try and start toilet training my pups - Many Tears do not insist on crate training, they leave it up to the fosterer to decide if/how to train the pup or dog.

The Rescue is based in South Wales but there are loads of fosterers all over the UK. Every Sunday the foster/tranport van travels down the M4 motorway as far as Reading Service Station. The foster van stops at all the service stations along the M4 and that is where the fosterers collect the dogs from. In many areas there are several fosterers living fairly close together so, in my case, I tend to travel to Reading about once every couple of months and I collect a few dogs and then I deliver them to the fosterers local to me. And vice versa so this saves petrol money and time.

I think that there are other foster runs on different days - I think there is one that travels down the M5 and another one that travels up to the North of England but I am not sure about this.

Have a think about it, make a list of all your questions, fill out the form attached and then have a good chat with Many Tears to see if it feels right for you :-)

www.manytearsrescue.org/foster_for_mtar.php

www.manytearsrescue.org/dogslookingforhomes.php

I have two long term foster dogs from the Cinnamon Trust. They cover all vets apart from vaccinations and we pay for food etc. when they did the home check she asked where the dogs would sleep at night, no mention of crates but I think it would depend on what the particular dog was used to. I think they are a great organisation to foster for .

Cinnamon Trust looks like a great organisation - just that they never seem to need help in my area!

I fostered for Action Aid for Animals last year. I made it clear that I was not an experienced owner, looked on their website until I found a dog that didn't seem too "complicated" - checked with her rescuer abroad about the dog's character so I was as sure as I could be, esp as I have daughter at home and my DH wasn't very keen on the idea.

It went very well. The rescue would have paid for food, vet's bills etc (but I decided not to claim back). I only had to pay for pet insurance which was about £20/month (although I could have got cheaper but wanted plenty of cover. I just cancelled insurance when foster dog went to her forever home.

I have fostered for a small independent rescue. I think the key is to find a rescue you have faith in - when it comes to rehoming your foster you need to have confidence the dog is going to the best possible home. You also need to know you will have support if something goes wrong.
I think as ladyturmoil says you need to be upfront about what you can and cannot do (fwiw I have never used a crate but am happy enough to put up with house training and chewing ), and also find a rescue which will do the same.
The fact that you know your dog is friendly and accepting is huge plus point for you.
I haven't worked with them but I did see that Irish Retriever Rescue were desperate for fosterers. I would definitely suggest looking at border collie rescues as well.

Thanks everyone. Waiting for calls back from one of your suggestions and another rescue which looks good. Will keep you posted!