When you foster, you agree to take a homeless dog into your home and give him or her love, care and attention until the dog is adopted. The dog is expected to be part of the family and treated as such. There should be no difference from the foster dog than any other dog or member of the household.​

The length of time depends on each specific situation. Sometimes it can be as little as three weeks, or it can be a year or more. We try to keep dogs with their foster until the perfect forever home comes along and we can never quite know when that will happen. If it becomes necessary to relocate the foster dog due to unforeseen changes or problems in the foster home the coordinator will work with the foster home to make other arrangements for the foster dog.

Of course, we want to place a dog that is appropriate for your household, so we always consider what the living situation is, what dogs and other animals are currently in the home, etc. Rescue would NEVER place a dog in a foster home that it did not feel was a perfect fit for the dog. While every attempt is made to match the dog to the foster home, no guarantees can be made and any issues that might arise will need to be worked through with the coordinator. However, please note that MOST dogs that come into rescue are, unfortunately, “damaged” in some way and will require LOTS of love and time to repair that damage. Some dogs may require obedience classes, some may require veterinarian attention, and some may simply require love. The time each dog requires to become “whole” again varies, so please take this into consideration as well when thinking about fostering.

The time needed will vary greatly depending upon the dog. Sometimes we get owner surrenders that have nothing wrong with them other than their owners and need little to no time to act like dogs again. Other times, Rescue takes in abused, neglected dogs that are skittish, scared, not house trained, or obedience trained and will require quite a bit of time and of course, love, to act like dogs again. Rescue will not adopt out a dog until it is ready, so it may take a while for a dog to be ready to be adopted and then who knows how long until it is actually adopted as well

Foster homes are expected to provide the dogs daily basic needs which would include but may not be limited to high quality food, treats, grooming and toys.

In most cases the rescue will pay the vet directly at the time of service, however in some cases the foster will need to pay the bill and be reimbursed.

 Most Animal Hospitals / Veterinary Offices offer a rescue discount on services – please check with your local vet BEFORE taking the foster dog to the vet to see if they offer any type of rescue discount. If they do not please check with your regional coordinator to see if they know of a local vet that does. We prefer to patronize those offices that help us out but understand that it is not always possible. However, if there are none in your area, you can take the dog to the closest one to your house. To be reimbursed for any veterinary costs – the foster home must consult with their regional coordinator prior to any vet visits. Failure to consult with your regional coordinator prior to a vet visit, except in emergency situations, may result in not being reimbursed for those expenses.

You must mail/email ALL your receipts (proof of payment and procedure done is required) to your Regional Coordinator who will then forward them on to the treasurer. Once the treasurer has the required documents, a payment can be made using PayPal or a check is issued and mailed to the foster’s home address

 We first require ANY potential adopters to fill out an adoption application, which can be found on our website. Once the application has been processed and approved, the foster home will be contacted and informed there is a potential adopter for said dog. The adopter will then be put in contact with the foster home. At this point the foster home will start a dialogue with the potential adopter. If the adopter wants to proceed with meeting and potentially adopting said dog the foster home will plan for this to happen. If an applicant is going to adopt, we must have the Adoption Contract completed and signed by both the adopter and the foster (acting as representative for Rescue) and adoption fee collected. After we have this the dog can be released to its forever home.

To foster any dog, we require a volunteer application to be filled out so we can get to know you a little better. Also, in order for a dog to be adopted out, an adoption contract will have to be signed by the potential adopter and YOU – the foster as a representative of the Rescue – simply stating that the adopter understands all the rules and requirements with adopting and that the foster explained all this to them as well. You as the foster will be required to submit all paperwork to the Regional Coordinator in a timely manner as well, which will then be kept on file for Rescue reference as needed.