Providing foster care for dogs involves taking care of a pet for a determined amount of time. Many pet shelters offer foster care programs, as the number of homeless pets is on the rise and placing the pets in the facilities is not possible, so foster care can help a lot. The foster care programs may involve taking care of a pet that is injured or recovering from an illness and needs special care or pets that cannot be given for adoption yet. If you are considering foster care, you must a few factors and decide if this is a suitable option.
Foster Care
Giving pets to foster families for a period of time is a common practice that helps animal shelters and humane societies cope with the increasing number of pets that can’t find a home.
The pets that are given to foster families may have an illness and require special help (which may be more difficult to provide in a facility with hundreds of other pets).
Other pets are given in foster care, as they are not old enough for adoption or they require vaccination and training prior to adoption.
However, even healthy dogs may be given for temporary foster care.
How to Choose a Pet for Foster Care
When you choose a pet for foster care, you should be aware that this will be only a temporary arrangement. However, if you want to, you will be able to adopt the pet after the foster program is over. Many foster parents end up adopting the foster dog, as they grew fond of the pet.
When choosing a dog to care for, you need to establish a few things such as:
- The time you have to spend with the pet (some dogs that require special care may need you almost 24/7, so you should be ready to offer this type of help)
- The personality of the dog
- The level of energy of the dog
- The age of the dog
- Your family (i.e. if you have children and whether the dog can be suitable for children of that age)
- What other pets you have and whether they can adapt to the foster dog
If you have experience with dogs, you can get puppies and even start the training program. You may also get a dog that is adult, but has some behavioral problems that need to be corrected.
If you are inexperienced with dogs, you can get a puppy or an adult that has no behavior issues.
You should be ready to offer care and affection, as these pets will need it.
Typically, you can decide the length of time you keep the dog for.
What Shelters Offer
When you decide to enroll in a foster care program, you should know that the veterinary bills will be paid by the shelter or the humane society and in some cases, you may also receive money for the food or cans of food and toys.