Thinking of fostering a dog?

Fosterers are expected to provide food, bedding and toys as you would for your own dog. All vets bills are paid for by the charity, all we ask is that you let us know in advance of vet treatments you feel the dog may need.

We would like you to provide some basic training as this helps prepare the dog for their future forever home. This will include some lead training, socialisation, teaching good manners and helping the dog adjust to a family life. Most dogs have never had this experience. Some dogs settle very quickly, some are less confident and need some time and patience to adjust to their new lives. Our team will discuss this with you, and help match you with the right dog.

Generally, our fosterers keep the dog until it finds a new home. In some cases this can be a matter of a few weeks, for others a few months or longer. This generally depends on how much rehabilitation the dog needs. You can let us know which would suit you best so we can match you with the right dog.

We have a private Facebook group which is very supportive. Fosterers share stories, experiences and ask questions within this group. We are also happy to offer help and advice over the telephone.

Most dogs will never have lived in a house before, so they will need to learn where it is ok to go to the toilet. However, in our experience most adult dogs are instinctively clean indoors and will follow the lead from the other dogs n the home. Puppies will need housetraining the same as any other dog of the same age.

If for some reason you are unable to temporarily look after your foster dog, our team will liase with you to arrange for your foster dog to be cared for until you are able to have them returned to you.

Your foster dog will be continually promoted on our website and on social media to find a forever home. We do ask that you provide us with regular photos and updates so that we can keep the information about your dog up to date and current. It is also helpful to take your dog out about to socialise and grow in confidence.

Yes you can. Our expert team can assess dogs before they come to you, so that you get a dog who will be ok with other members of your family and be a good match for your lifestyle. Unfortunately you will not be able to foster dogs if you work full time.

We have fosterers all over the UK, it does matter where you live!

In short, yes it can be quite sad saying goodbye to a foster dog as you have invested so much, both in time and emotionally. However finding them a new home is the ultimate ambition of a rescue organisation and means we can help more dogs who are living in often poor conditions, just waiting for a foster place.
Think of it as if you looking after the dog for their new owners, it’s just that we haven’t found them yet. New owners are often happy to stay in touch and seeing a dog settled and happy in their new family is just the most rewarding experience ever.