Some background
information:
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Our shelters are overcrowded with
stray and owner surrender pets. The reasons are to numerous to
discuss here, but suffice to say, for reasons that are not the dog's
fault, they end up in shelters and humane organizations.
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There are not enough homes for all
of these pets waiting for adoption.
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Shelters and humane organizations
are overcrowded with more pets arriving nearly every day
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With so many pets in need of homes,
shelters and humane organizations simply cannot keep them all.
Room must be made for new arrivals. Those pets that have been
there the longest or have serious issues like aggression, illness or
advanced age are at risk of being euthanized. It is a sad reality
--
dogs and cats are euthanized by the thousands in the United States every
day simply because there are not enough homes for them.
Why become a foster
home?
Foster Homes Save Lives!
When a dog (or other pet) has become a shelter pet, they
normally have so much time to be adopted. Some shelters can keep
any given animal for as long as the administration chooses.
However, shelters with open door admissions such a most all municipal
shelters and most other humane organizations, must make room for
incoming animals. Those that have been there the longest or that are the
least likely to be adopted when there is no place for them to go, some
must be euthanized.
Any shelter, rescue, or humane organization with a
network of foster homes is able to give many of the otherwise more
difficult to adopt animals another chance of not only living, but
a chance of being adopted and having a second chance for a good, happy life.
What do foster
homes do?
Foster parents welcome a foster dog into their homes and
lives just as if the pet were their own. They give him or her all
the love, attention, and training one would expect any responsible pet
owner to provide their own pets.
Ahimsa Rescue
Foundation provides the necessary
medical attention and medications. The foster provides food and
shelter, love, treats, toys, and training. The foster also takes
their foster dog to the vet when necessary.
Foster
families also observe their foster dog for any difficulties and report
them to their Ahimsa Foster Coordinator.
However, if
at any time Ahimsa Rescue Foundation asks that the foster dog be
returned, for any reason, the dog must be returned immediately.
What do foster
homes have to have available for their foster pets?
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Foster homes must
have a stable home environment, preferably with at least one adult at
home most of the time.
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The physical space in
their home and yard to provide their foster dog with needed space.
This includes the indoor space to not only participate in family
activities, but to have a safe "get-away-from-it-all cubby". Just
as people sometimes need a bit of alone time, so do many dogs.
This can be accomplished with an appropriately sized crate with the door
left open, away from the main traffic patterns in the home or even a
"cubby" that is already formed by the furniture arrangement.
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A securely fenced
yard (electronic or electric perimeter fencing is not considered as
secure) is normally essential. Some dogs can be securely contained
with 4-foot fencing, others require 6-foot fencing to prevent fence
climbing. The fence is to protect the dog from getting loose as
well as protect the dog from other intruders, human and animal alike.
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The heart and
dedication to love a dog that will only live with you for "just a
season". The ability to take your foster dog into your home, life
and heart knowing that, hopefully, soon, he or she will be going on to a
forever family.
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The ability to
transport their foster dog to and from the veterinarian as well as to
a "meet-and-greet" with potential adoptive families.
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Willingness to
communicate and work with their Foster Coordinator as frequently as
necessary.
What if a foster
home decides that they just have to adopt their foster dog?
Should a
foster family decide that they want to adopt a particular foster dog,
the normal adoption process must be followed. The foster
family will of course, normally, have first option to adopt their foster
dog.
How long will a
foster dog be in a foster home?
The reason
for the dog needing foster care will normally give an indication as to
how long foster care will be needed. Some dogs will only need a
couple weeks of observation and stabilization time before they can be
adopted. Others will need longer to overcome an injury or illness.
Some dogs with long term special needs or older, especially mixed breed
dogs may need more time in foster to allow a good forever home to be
identified.
The expected
length of foster care is normally discussed on a case by case basis
between a potential foster home and the Ahimsa Foster Coordinator.
How does someone
become a foster home, parent, or family?
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First of all, anyone
interested in becoming a foster home should contact the Ahimsa Foster
Coordinator by phone
at 918-427-5087 or by
e-mail.
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A Foster Home
Application must be filled out, signed and submitted. Everyone in
the household must be in agreement to becoming a foster home.
Click here to fill out our Foster Home
Application.
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Interviews will then
be conducted with all household members.
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If everyone is still
in agreement to becoming a foster home, an in-home-visit will be
conducted with all family members present. This is to assure that
everyone is in agreement and capable of the proper care and treatment of
foster dogs and that the home and fencing is appropriate for the type or
types of dog or dogs being considered for fostering. This is not a
"white glove inspection" of the home, but rather an informal on site
interview. It gives the foster applicant as well as the Ahimsa
Foster Coordinator the chance to interact and assure all involved of
reasonable expectations as to the foster process.
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Once the foster
application process is completed, a Foster Home Contract must be signed
by all adult household members and the Ahimsa Foster Coordinator.
The contract specifies what the foster home is responsible for, what
Ahimsa Rescue Foundation is responsible for as well as the disposition of any
fostered dogs.
