City Dogs Rescue

Foster Guidelines

Thank you for your interest in fostering a dog for City Dogs Rescue. Without support and help from volunteers like you, we could not save nearly as many dogs as we do each year.

Our fosters are IMPERATIVE to our success.

Let’s start at the beginning. Approximately half of the dogs in CDR’s program are given up by previous owners. The other half are “pulled” or transferred from local shelters that unfortunately have to euthanize due to overcrowding. CDR rents space for the dogs, but that rescue facility space fills up quickly. Foster homes allow us to save more lives by opening up more space for us to accept or pull dogs into our rescue program. The more foster homes we have, the more dogs we can save from unnecessary euthanasia.

City Dogs Rescue (CDR) has 2 types of fosters, hereby referred to as Full-Time/Permanent or Part-Time fosters.

Full-Time/Permanent fosters are homes that have a dog in their care from the time the dog enters into the CDR program until adopted.  Average time for a dog in permanent foster care is 3 weeks. Times vary with the age and breed of dog as well as the “advertisement” activity of the foster.

Part-Time fosters take a dog for a night, a weekend, or a set amount of time only. The dogs they take are residents of CDR rescue facility.

Full-Time fosters are used to provide more space for CDR to have more dogs available for adoption. Part-time fosters do not allow us to pull or accept more dogs, but can provide necessary “home training” for dogs staying in the rescue facility.

General Foster Requirements

1. Fosters must fill out a foster application, provide proof of home ownership or a copy of their lease and sign a foster contract before beginning to foster.

2. Fosters agree to provide food, water, indoor shelter, medical care*, training and love to their foster dogs.

3. Fosters agree to return interested adoption applicants’ emails within 24 hours

4. Fosters agree to be available within reason for interested adoption applicants to visit the foster.

5. Fosters agree to give their honest opinions of their foster dog’s personality and behavior to interested adoption applicants.

6. To foster a puppy (<8 months old), in most cases fosters must be available during the day.

7. Once an interested adoption applicant has visited with a dog, CDR will place the applicant in front of the foster for possible adoption. If a visit has not yet occurred, the foster may apply for adoption and be evaluated first.

What’s Provided and What’s Not Provided for Fosters?

City Dogs Rescue allows Full-Time fosters choice of their foster dog (within reason). We can choose an appropriate match for foster homes based on predetermined requests, or we can send pictures and descriptions of dogs needing rescue and allow the foster home to choose.

CDR will provide foster homes with a training crate, bed, food/water bowls and toys, as well as leash and collar. In most cases, we can provide food and other material needs as required/requested, although most fosters purchase food and treats on their own. At this time we do not reimburse foster homes for items purchased outside of CDR unless approved by a board member prior to purchase.

City Dogs Rescue works with City Paws Animal Hospital to provide necessary care for our dogs. The foster agrees to take the foster dog to City Paws for medical care and treatment as needed. Medical care is paid for by City Dogs Rescue as long as it is approved prior to treatment, and the care is provided by City Paws. Medical care provided by other facilities other than City Paws Animal Hospital that is NOT approved, will be the financial responsibility of the foster. The foster agrees to not provide medical care on their own, without the approval of CDR or a veterinarian (for example: giving de-worming medication, flea control/preventative, over the counter human medication, etc.).  Transportation costs associated with the care of a foster dog are not reimbursable by CDR.

Part-Time fosters are given limited supplies, based on the dog and length of time for the part-time fostering.  Part-Time fosters that foster many dogs or foster frequently will be provided with permanent materials (crate, etc.). Part-time fosters do not choose the dog they wish to foster in most cases. Part-time fosters are expected to provide visitations for interested adoption applicants on the days/nights they have foster dogs, if applicable. Part-time fosters may also be asked to provide home visits at interested adoption applicants homes in lieu of taking a foster dog home for a night, as needed.

Sign Me Up! Next Steps:

1. Fill out a foster application and email/fax it to us

2. Email or fax a copy of your driver’s license or state photo ID to us

3. Email or fax a copy of your lease or proof of home ownership (see how to adopt)

4. After receiving the above paperwork, we’ll email you a foster contract. Please fill out the foster contract, sign and email/fax it back.

5. Email us your requests for fosters dogs, such as breeds, training (housetrained? Leash trained? Etc?)

We’re happy to answer further questions you may have about our foster program. Please email us for more information!

THANK YOU FOR SAVING A LIFE!