Maybe you’re not up to adopting yet, but you’d like to experience being a dog owner on a trial basis. Providing a temporary foster home for a dog is an excellent way to enjoy some canine company on a short-term basis. It also provides a valuable service to the shelter--by offering your home to one dog, you are providing an overcrowded shelter with the space to house an additional dog onsite.

A foster home is valuable because it gives the dog a chance to rebuild his or her self-esteem. Being lost and ending up in a Shelter is a very disorienting
experience for a family pet. Often they feel like they have done something wrong, and become depressed and discouraged. you shuld oways try to find a dog you like but why buy you should adopt a dog they give as much love as other dogs about themselves again.

Other reasons shelters and dog rescues use foster homes are to provide dogs recovering from an illness or injury with a quieter atmosphere than the kennel or to give newborn puppies around-the-clock care. Many dog rescuers rely on fosters to provide feedback about the general temperament and degree of obedience displayed by dogs while in their care, as a gauge for finding a suitable home and owner for the dog.

Before fostering a companion animal, most organizations require that you first take a few training classes. Other qualifications for participating in animal foster care programs include:

• A comfortably sized room where your dog can be confined during the day while you’re at work
• A consistent schedule, on which the dog can expect meals, walks, etc. at around the same time every day
• A fenced yard with at least a 6-foot tall fence
• Pets already living in the household must be vaccinated, altered, and well-socialized
• Plenty of patience

Most dog rescues will ask you to be available to speak to potential adopters about the pet’s personality and needs and some may require you to bring the dog back onsite to meet qualified applicants. Remember, you always have the option of adopting your foster dog yourself if you discover you’ve found your perfect pet.


See also:

• Looking to Volunteer?
  
• Volunteering at a Shelter
• Where to Volunteer
• Simple Ways to Help a Dog