FOSTERING

Foster homes are our rescue's most valuable resource. Without our network of foster familes, we could not rescue and rehome dogs! At TDBCR, we firmly believe that to really get to know a dog, it has to live in your house with you and become a member of the family, which is why we don't warehouse our dogs in a kennel atmosphere. We want to know as much as possible about the day to day lives, needs and activities of our foster dogs in order to place them in homes that most suit their needs. We also take many dogs from shelters where the kennel atmosphere has left them distressed, nervous or depressed, and we find that after a few weeks with the dog their real personalities come out. Behaviour problems can be sorted out in foster homes, training issues addressed, and by the time the dog is ready to go to its new home, we know a lot about the dog ... which is a bonus to the new adopter, who has a wealthy of knowledge about their new pal available when they need it!

Fostering is a wonderfully satisfying experience. The pleasure of seeing your foster dog makes leaps and strides in improvement is immeasurable, and helping to place him in a forever home is really the best reward of all.

What does fostering involve?

Fostering a dog mainly requires your time, attention and patience. When we place a rescue dog in a foster home, we try to make the best match possible between dog and home. So a busy foster family with kids, for example, would not get a dog that had not been tested with children and found to be safe. A foster home that worked outside the home would not be given very young puppies. Someone without a fenced yard would not be given a dog that has a tendancy to bolt or wander. Etc. It's important for us to know as much about you as possible, so we can find you the right foster dog.

When you foster a dog for us, the only thing you need to supply is your time and the basic neccessities, like food. Many of our foster homes feed a raw diet, but we have no objection to quality kibble. We will generally be able to provide collars, leashes, crates and of course, we reimburse our foster homes for all veterinary costs* that have been authorized by us**.

As a foster "parent" your job is to get to know your foster dog as well as you can, and also to make the dog in your care as adoptable as possible. This means if the dogs needs some basic training, you'll be spending some time teaching him the ropes - housebreaking him, acclimating him to a kennel, teaching him to walk nicely on a lead, getting him to stop jumping on strangers he finds friendly ... just the basics. We don't expect our foster homes to produce obedience trial champions, just nicely mannered companions.

Some of our foster dogs need a little more, though. Some have been badly abused or neglected in their previous lives and need a little extra work and committment from their foster home. These dogs may need excessive socialization, or long sessions of trust building. We try to put these dogs in experienced foster homes with trainers or experienced handlers, but we have no objection to letting a foster home try their hand at a dog like this if they feel they can turn him around. Of course, TDBCR has resident trainers who can assist you with a dog if you are having problems.

A foster dog can be with you for as little as a couple of weeks (the minimum amount of time they spend in our rescue) or as long as several months, depending on the dog. We can never predict how long a dog will stay in foster care until he is adopted. On average, most dogs seem to stay about a month, but some have stayed with us for a few months, before we find them the right home.

What you need to do if you want to foster.

If you think fostering is for you, we want to hear from you! We are always being asked to take on dogs that we have nowhere to foster, and we are always looking for quality foster homes for our rescues. The more foster homes we have, the more dogs we can save. It's simple math.

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If you would like to foster a border collie for TDBCR, please copy and paste the following questionnaire, with your answers, into an email and send it to us.

Your name and contact information (please includes email address, mailing address and telephone number(s)

Do you own or rent your home? Are pets permitted? Can you provide proof from your landlord?

Please tell us about your family, and please list all human and animal members of your family. Please be sure to tell us the ages of your children!

Have you fostered an aimal before, and if so, for what organization? Can we contact them for a reference?

Are you willing to take: puppies / Seniors / Adults / Mixed breeds / Special needs dogs (ie, deaf, blind, lame etc) / dog-aggressive dog / cat aggressive dog (circle all that apply)

Are you employed full time? How many hours each day will the dog spend alone?

Where will the foster dog spend the majority of his time?

What experience do you have with border collies?

What experience do you have training dogs?

Is/are your current dog(s) neutered/spayed?

Are you available and able to transport your foster dog to a veterinarian if he needs veterinary care (ie, neutering, microchipping, vaccines etc)?

Do you have a fenced yard? How high is the fence?

Are you willing to crate train a dog?

Can we contact your veterinarian for a reference?

Are you willing to sign a Fostering Agreement and abide by the stipulations therein?

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A couple of things to keep in mind before you offer to foster:

Fostering and "trying a dog on for size" are not the same thing. Of course, sometimes our foster homes "fail Fostering 101" and end up adding their foster dog as a permanent member of their family. This is usually a wonderful thing! But fostering is really about making your foster dog adoptable for someone else. We don't encourage you to foster a border collie just to test drive him - adopting a dog is a big committment, and fostering should never be viewed as a trial period with a dog.

As previously mentioned, fostering a dog can sometimes be a fairly long-term committment. If you don't feel that you can keep a dog for up to several months, you might like to reconsider fostering a dog. Of course, we are always willing to move a foster dog if it is not working out in your family, but whenever possible the fewer moves for the dog, the better and ideally we would like the dog to stay with you until his forever home is found. Please be certain you can provide long term care for a foster dog before you volunteer your time, as we like to make our foster dogs' lives as stress free as possible.

Can't foster, but still want to help?

Even if you can't foster a dog, we can always use help in other ways.

Transport: We often need people who can transport dogs for us, from shelters to their foster homes, or from foster homes to veterinary appointments. Have a car and willing to put it to use? Please email us!

Shelter Checkers: We need volunteers to check their local shelters for border collies. Sometimes we don't see them until they are being advertised on line, and many times we could have helped that dog already. If you can stop by your local shelter once a week and scan it for border collies, please email us!

Home Visits: Before we adopt a dog to someone, we like to have a volunteer visit their home and make sure it appears dog-friendly. If you can volunteer some time to visit with a potential applicant, please email us. We particularly need home visit volunteers outside of the Lower Mainland.

Artists and creative sorts: If you can draw, or photograph, we need you! We are in the process of designing some fundraiser items and need someone who can help us design them. Please email us if you can help.

We're looking forward to meeting you and we're hoping you can help! But more importantly, the dogs are hoping you can help. If you would like to volunteer your services for TDBCR, please don't hesitate to email us!

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FOSTER DOGS THAT NEVER MADE IT OUT OF FOSTER CARE ...

ALSO KNOWN AS "FAILING FOSTERING 101"

Hey, we aren't perfect either...sometimes a dog comes to stay and you just can't part with her! Here are a few TDBCR dogs that never left their foster homes.

Piper, an unclaimed stray at the Burnaby SPCA. Owned by Sheena.	Maggie, an owner turn in at the Vancouver SPCA. Owned by Ruedi and Nobu.
Emerald, from Pasco, WA, rescued from neglect. Owned by Ritchie.	Ruger, from Central Valley WA, rescued from abuse . Owned by Cheryl
Willow, from Alberta CA, transferred from an all-breed rescue. Owned by Sarah.	Daisy, an owner surrender to TDBCR. Owned by Daphne
Tempus, an owner surrender to TDBCR. Owned by Fiona	Jinx, abandoned in a cardboard box outside of a kill shelter with her siblings. Owned by Betti and Rob

 

*"Veterinary costs" refers to any normal, veterinary requirements of a foster dog, and includes extraordinary costs as a result of pre-existing conditions and/or some specific events or circumstances, but does not include costs for which a foster home would be liable, such as but not limited to, damage to the dog as a result of the handler's existing family members, acquaintances or pets, or negligence on the part of the handler or said family members, friends or pets.

In short, if a foster home is directly responsible for injury to the animal, we would hope they would not burden rescue with the costs and take responsibility for their own misconduct, be it deliberate or accidental. We are happy to discuss this in further detail!

**"Authorized by us" means that TDBCR must be informed of any veterinary care required and must approve said care before action is taken, in order for a foster home to be reimbursed for that care. This refers to things such as, but not limited to, dental work or bloodwork or otherveterinary procedures that a foster home might feel the dog requires; TDBCR must approve or deny these requests before veterinary carecan be sought. In the event of an emergency, this clause may be waived.