What exactly does fostering mean? It means bringing a rescue dog into your home, caring for them, providing them with affection and socialization, until a permanent family comes along who will love them forever.
We are a rescue group, not a shelter. Since we have no central facility, we rely solely on foster homes to determine how many dogs we can rescue. By welcoming a foster dog into your home you are making room for us to save another dog. YOU truly are helping us save lives.
Shelters and rescues often look to fosters for those dogs who may have endured a difficult past such as abuse, cruelty, neglect, under socialization, etc. As a foster, you have the chance and opportunity to gain a dog's trust, show them human touch and love perhaps for the first time, provide an environment for them to feel safe, and watch them transform before your eyes.
If you have existing pets, introducing a dog can be a great experience for them as an additional companion, additional socialization, and an additional playmate! Children can benefit from fostering as a way to introduce responsibility, selflessness, a way to educate about animals, and is also a great way to "test" the idea of a permanent dog in the home in the future.
You can work with the dog on leash training, house training, or other basic command training, that potential adopters will find attractive when looking for the perfect dog for their family. By socializing your foster dog out in public with an adopt me banner will give the dog a chance to be seen by people who may be interested in adding a dog to their family. Spreading the word through word of mouth and social media will help network your foster dog.
When the day comes that your foster finds that perfect home, the rewarding feeling you will experience is something very special. You will feel a sense of pride, in knowing what you helped that dog accomplish in his or her time with you. You will feel overjoyed, that he or she has found his forever family and the happy ending that all rescue dogs so desire. And while certainly, some goodbyes can be tough, knowing that a dog has found his happy ending and that another precious life awaits to be afforded your gifts, is as good of a feeling as there is!
