Becoming a foster parent is such an enjoyable and rewarding experience. Even if you have a pet at home, you might be able to fit in a temporary visitor to help make the transition from kennel life to family life. There is no perfect profile of a foster family. If you are thinking about becoming a foster, you should consider the time commitment. We may ask you to foster a dog from two weeks to two months, depending on circumstances. Fosters do not need to be home 24 hours a day, but you may have to postpone a weekend away during the foster period. We will ask you to continue with some basic training. We try very hard to instill good habits in our rescue pups. We ask our foster families to continue this training by asking the dog to sit before exiting or entering the door, executing sit or down before receiving a treat, etc.
You will need to make a few changes at home, such as not leaving shoes, clothes, or other important items around that could be chewed or destroyed. Those changes will go a long way toward a successful foster experience. Of course, should you fall in love, that would be an added bonus.
Just keep in mind that fostering is a temporary situation. If you simply cannot let go of your foster dog, we totally understand, it is very difficult for us to let them go as well. Foster families are incredibly important to the work that we do. Foster families help to get dogs out of the kennel environment and teach them how to live as part of a family and become a good citizen in their community.
Have A Heart, Inc. 