Fostering a pet

A vital part of our rescue is our foster program. Without foster homes, we could not help save and/or find homes for the many dogs that are sitting on death row in a shelter, are picked up as strays, or are abandoned, abused, or neglected.

Fostering is a very rewarding and fun process.

Since we do not have a “facility” in which to house the dogs we want to help, we depend entirely on the kindness and generosity of our fosters, who offer to give these innocent animals a temporary home until we can find them a forever home of their own.

The primary requirement for a foster is to have a genuine love of animals. We have a foster application that has to be completed, which can be found below. We ask that your own pets be up to date on vaccinations, and that your pet(s) are spayed/neutered, since most of the animals we take in are not spayed/neutered until we have it done at the SPOT clinic.

When you decide to foster, and we have an appropriate animal for you, arrangements are made to get the foster to you, along with other needed items. Each foster dog will have a Forever Yours ID tag on its collar. If a crate is loaned to a foster it will remain the property of Forever Yours and will need to be returned to us after the animal has been adopted or is no longer going to be living at your home. Of course, the collar and any ID tags will remain with the animal when adopted.

Forever Yours will be responsible for making the appointment for vetting of the foster animal. Vetting includes spaying/neutering, rabies vaccine (if the animal is at least 3 months of age), DHPP vaccine, deworming (which normally includes one month of heartworm preventive), application of tick/flea preventive (good for one month), and a heartworm/ehrlichia/lyme disease test for dogs (over the age of 6 months). If your foster animal does test positive for any of these diseases, Forever Yours will be responsible for the cost of the treatment. Vetting appointments can take anywhere from two days to two weeks to schedule.

If your foster becomes ill or needs medical attention, you are responsible for notifying the Foster Liaison as soon as possible so we can direct you on what to do or where to take the animal for treatment. Any unauthorized visits to a private veterinarian or emergency clinic are done at the foster’s expense.

We are also responsible for listing your foster on our Petfinder.com page and website after the animal is vetted, and for working to find him/her a suitable forever home. We mainly do this through e-mails, Facebook, Petfinder and at our adoption outreaches which are held on the 1st & 3rd Saturdays of the month at the PetsMart located in Moore, OK, off S 19th St and I-35, from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

As a foster, you have the option of either bringing your foster to an outreach and leaving him/her with us, and then returning at the end of the outreach to take the foster back home with you, provided he or she were not adopted. Or, you are more than welcome to remain at the outreach and personally visit with any potential adopters. If you feel a potential adopter is not a suitable match, you can let the team leader of the outreach know your reasons, and if they are legitimate, we will not do the adoption. We do require that any potential adopter complete an adoption application.

The foster’s responsibilities and obligations include:

1) Making sure that their own pets are up to date on vaccinations.

2) Agreeing to foster the animal until it is adopted or another foster can be found. If you need to go out of town or on vacation, we will work to find a temporary foster until you return.

3) Providing the animal with good and loving care, including but not limited to food, water, shelter, and medication if required.

4) Agreeing to not use any potentially harmful methods (e.g. shock) to train the animal.

5) Agreeing to keep the foster animal indoors when you are not at home or if weather conditions require it. When animal is outside, agreeing to keep the animal secure (either with a fenced yard or on a leash).

6) Bringing the animal or making arrangements to bring the animal, to adoption outreaches and retrieving said animal, if it is not adopted during the outreach.

7) Understanding that Forever Yours Dog Rescue is not responsible for any property damage and /or injuries that may occur as a result of fostering and that Forever Yours Dog Rescue is not responsible if any of your own pets become ill from a foster animal. Also, understanding that you are responsible for any veterinary expenses incurred for your own animals as a result of fostering.

8) Agreeing to return the foster animal to Forever Yours Dog Rescue if you can no longer take care of the animal.

9) Understanding that the foster animal is the property of Forever Yours Dog Rescue and that you cannot sell or give the pet to anyone else, under any circumstances. If you need to leave the pet with a friend or relative for a short amount of time, you must contact the Foster Liaison before you do it and you must have approval to do so.

10) You must also allow a representative of Forever Yours Dog Rescue to visit your home if desired.

If while you are fostering, you have any questions or issues that come up, you can always contact the Foster Liaison on their cell, and if there is not an answer right away, your call will be returned within the hour. Our aim is to never have you feel that you are “alone” when fostering. If the situation becomes too stressful, we will work with you to make it okay.

And, of course, you can always work on your own to find your foster a great home! We just ask that you keep us updated on any potential adopters you might have contacted or who have contacted you and any meetings you may plan with a potential adopter.  All potential adopters must fill out an application online.  We always use our own name, phone number, and e-mail when posting an animal for adoption unless you agree to have yourself listed as the contact person for your foster animal. You will not be responsible for answering e-mails or returning telephone calls about your foster, unless you choose to do so.

When a potential adopter wants to meet your foster, we will make arrangements to pick up the foster or meet you somewhere with your foster for the meeting.

Another question that comes up is “Can I adopt the animal that I am fostering for myself?” The answer is yes you can! Of course, we would like to keep you as a foster, but we definitely allow you to adopt a pet you are fostering.

We actually have fostering on a “foster to adopt” option.   This is only an option for our dogs that are in need of a foster.  You might not be interested in being a regular foster, but see a particular animal you are interested in adopting for yourself but you’re not quite certain that is what you want to do, for whatever reason. You can always foster the animal and see how it works out before you make the commitment to adopt.

When fostering-to-adopt, until you decide to adopt you are technically fostering the dog so all the above rules still apply until you finalize the adoption which would involve an adoption contract and adoption fee.

We want fostering for us to be a pleasant, enjoyable, and heart-warming experience!

Quick Links:

Foster Dogs Listings
Foster Application

Listings

Foster Dog Poem