What does it mean to foster a dog? Fostering involves inviting a dog into your home on a temporary basis until a permanent home can be found.
Does it cost money to foster a dog? Pekes and Pals pays for the medical needs of each dog. The fosterer is responsible only for the food and the love and care that the dog receives.
Are there any risks associated with fostering? Yes. The biggest one is falling in love with your foster dog and not wanting to give him (or her) up! All family dogs must be vaccinated and immunologically sound (and of course spayed or neutered). It's best not to foster if you have a young puppy or an elderly dog. We also don't recommend fostering if you have very young children since we can't guarantee the activity level, training or temperament of the dogs we take in. We do our best to place in foster homes healthy, even-tempered dogs, but there can be surprises.
Is the foster family responsible for finding a home for their foster dog? No. Adoptions always occur through the Pekes and Pals and Petfinder websites.
What are my responsibilities as a fosterer? Caring for the dog is your main responsibility. Aside from attending to the basic needs of food, water and shelter, the dog should receive some training. We can not guarantee perfectly behaved dogs, but we would like them to be house-trained, know basic commands such as sit, and have acceptable house manners. We also want the dogs to be well socialized, so taking them out on walks and exposing them to different situations is always good. The more you work with them, the easier it is to adopt them. Above all, we want these dogs to be loved. Bringing the dog to adoption events will also be necessary. We would like the fosterer to attend since they will be able to give interested families the most information on the dogs, but we understand that this isn't always possible. We do expect all fosterers to supply a personality description of their dog for use at adoption events as well as for the website. The fosterer may also need to be available (or have the dog available) to attend meetings with prospective adopters outside of adoption events. Many of our adoptions occur through our website and we schedule meetings at Pekes and Pals. The fosterer can be involved in this as much as they want. We encourage them to meet with the interested individuals and to express their opinion on the suitability of the applicant.
How long will I have the foster dog? The length of time your foster dog stays will vary, but it is a minimum of 1 week and can be as long as several months. The average time is about 5 weeks.
What qualifications must I have to foster? Time, patience and love. You must have a secure fence appropriate to the size of dog you foster.
Do fosterers get to choose the dog they take in? In most circumstances a Pekes and Pals representative will work with the new foster family in selecting the dog they wish to take into their home.
What happens if my foster dog is not the dog I imagined? If the dog is creating too much stress in your home, we will do our best to place him in another home. However, the foster family needs to understand that there is an adjustment period for the entire household when a new dog arrives. Some of the dogs have been through quite a lot already and will require some time and understanding to get used to their new surroundings.
