Real talk about fostering

[StMarysKettle]

I have a 2 year old spayed small breed bitch that came from a street dog background. We are toying with the idea of getting a second dog but actually ive always thought that I would like to foster - I like the idea of helping a dog along its journey to a better life.

Are there any pitfalls to be aware of?

We had a great experience fostering and then adopting our dog. The only problem we had was drama amongst the (small, local) rescue itself with volunteers joining and leaving and then slagging each other off on social media. To the extent we didn’t really know who we were supposed to deal with in the end! But if you use a more reliable one you’ll probably be fine.

Some won’t home dogs with uncertain histories into homes with resident dogs, so that may limit your options. I also found some placements were very short notice (literally a phone call to say we need somewhere to place a dog for a few hours while we sort out a long term solution) which was fine as I was WFH but if you’re working out of the home might be disruptive. But otherwise it was great and we have ended up with an absolutely lovely family pet at the end of it.

Oh, maybe one other thing. All the ones near us are clear they cover vet fees, food etc, but you might want to check where their vet is as it might be some distance away, so if you have a dog that needs treatment or spaying etc then you’d need to be prepared to travel.

I foster puppies for the small rescue that my own dogs came from. The amount of notice varies from an hour to a few weeks, and they may stay anything from a day to a couple of months. Some are super easy, and others are frankly a nightmare. Its incredibly rewarding, especially as many people keep in touch. But you do need to be able to access support when you need it and be supported to be able to say no at times. Also be very clear as to what you can manage. We only do puppies as they stay a shorter time and I have cats, chickens and a child.