Live Life Team
Foster care volunteers provide temporary care for dogs on behalf of animal shelters. They donate their time, energy, and home to dogs in need. They also prepare animals for adoption through socialization. To become a foster parent you will usually have to be at least 18 years of age, fill out an application, and attend a foster parent training session. Foster parents are not responsible for expenses incurred by taking care of the foster dogs. The animal shelter will provide all necessary supplies and medicine and the veterinary staff will provide all necessary medical care ( HYPERLINK “http://www.sspca.org/Foster.html” http://www.sspca.org/Foster.html).
After a dog spends three to four weeks at an animal shelter without being adopted, the Humane Society will try to place in into a foster home for care. Medium to large size dogs are usually targeted because of lack of space, to escape being euthanized. The dogs are ready for adoption after they have been nursed back to health, evaluated, and trained. An extensive effort will be made to place the dog in a permanent home. Potential adopters will have an opportunity to observe the dog at the foster home, but the adoption usually takes place at the animal shelter ( HYPERLINK “http://fosterdogs.com/” http://fosterdogs.com/).
Some of the most common reasons why dogs are selected for foster care are they are too young for neutering. They are nursing puppies and need to be raised in a home environment where they can receive proper socialization. Or they have been treated for upper respiratory or kennel cough and require daily medication and care ( HYPERLINK “http://www.paws.org/cas/foster/” http://www.paws.org/cas/foster/).
