OT Fostering Animals

[Eyes On The Prize]

I'm graduating college in a month and applying to jobs a couple hours away from my hometown which means if I land a job there, I will be moving out. I love animals, I'm the type of person who wants to pet every single dog I see.

I reallyreallyreally want (slash need) a four legged friend after I move and get settled in. I know the responsibility that comes with animals, I've grown up with dogs. As much as I'd love to adopt a brand new puppy once I'm out of the house, that doesn't look like a good option for me. I was thinking about fostering instead. I've been reading a bunch of websites about fostering animals but there's still a ton of unanswered questions. If anyone has fostered any animals, would you share your experience? How long did you foster the animal? Did you get an older animal or a younger one? Why was it fostered? How did it behave? Any problems with the animal or organization you're fostering through? Who pays medical bills if the animal needs attention, you or them? I know answers may vary depending on the animal and the organization but I'm trying to find out as much as I can before I make a decision. Thanks!

 

[EricaElite]

I never fostered a dog, but one of my coworkers did. since I worked at a dog kennel, we were able to bring our dogs to work. She had fostered a pit, and she already had 6 dogs. I think he was around 3 or so, but he was really sweet with people and got along with all her dogs. She had him about a month, but that will vary. I think she said the dog was in an abusive home. I know I'm not much help, but you could even call a local dog kennel and ask if any of their workers had fostered an animal and see if you can ask them some questions

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[CheerRehab]

My parents fostered dogs when I was growing up. I looked into fostering with them while i'm living at home for school recently, and there are a lot of different qualifications that go into being a foster pet parent. The first thing they're going to ask you is about your living situation. Really, if you're looking to sign up to foster through an organization, I would highly suggest getting on some dog forums.

There's always the craigslist & other type of foster. Yes, just by saying the word craigslist, there's the wigged out feeling like going on a roller coaster after watching final destination 3. You'll have to double check you're sources and make sure the people you're corresponding with are legit, which is what you would do with an organization anyway. Basically, I've been seeing posts on craigslist for people who need temporary fosters. one I saw a little while back broke my heart. it was something like 30 year old guy with 2 well behaved small dogs. he got a new job and was trying to find a new place to live. he was couch hopping with friends and needs to find a temporary foster for as little as 3 weeks but could realistically be up to 2 months. he said the dogs were well behaved, came when called, and were fine being crated if you had a busy schedule. he just needed to get set up and it would kill him to have to give them up to a shelter. This post broke my heart and if I had the means to help I would have in a heart beat.

What I'm saying is there are many ways to get involved.

 

[Cheerspectator101]

I'm graduating college in a month and applying to jobs a couple hours away from my hometown which means if I land a job there, I will be moving out. I love animals, I'm the type of person who wants to pet every single dog I see.

I reallyreallyreally want (slash need) a four legged friend after I move and get settled in. I know the responsibility that comes with animals, I've grown up with dogs. As much as I'd love to adopt a brand new puppy once I'm out of the house, that doesn't look like a good option for me. I was thinking about fostering instead. I've been reading a bunch of websites about fostering animals but there's still a ton of unanswered questions. If anyone has fostered any animals, would you share your experience? How long did you foster the animal? Did you get an older animal or a younger one? Why was it fostered? How did it behave? Any problems with the animal or organization you're fostering through? Who pays medical bills if the animal needs attention, you or them? I know answers may vary depending on the animal and the organization but I'm trying to find out as much as I can before I make a decision. Thanks!

I volunteer with an animal rescue and how it works for us is that you fill out an application to foster. They read it and make sure that your living situation is congruent to keeping a foster dog, like making sure that you aren't out of the house 12 hours a day and leaving the dog alone. I don't personally foster because my mom doesn't like animals, but my best friend does, and the experience could be very rewarding but it can also be very difficult. These dogs are usually pulled from shelters or given up by their owners, so they may be scared, but not always; dogs know how to make the best out of any situation.

For the rescue I work with you foster until the dog is adopted out. If you have any medical issues with the dog, they will pay for it. The age of the dog depends on who they have/what you can handle. They would never give you a dog that was aggressive or had bad behavior , but the shelter dogs are usually untrained.

I hope this makes sense ! This is just from my experience with my little rescue.



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[ashscott41]

My freshman year one of my roommates fostered two kittens. They were very young, and while they were cute, they were still untrained kittens who got into EVERYTHING. One morning I was getting some cereal and turned around to grab the milk, turned back to pour it, and found one of them had climbed onto the counter and was sitting in my bowl helping herself to some Cheerios. Never could bring myself to eat cereal out of that bowl again. It was my first time ever living with cats and I'd definitely never have kittens again. Just a personal preference though. I believe they were fostered just because the original owner couldn't keep the whole litter. We had one for only 2-3 weeks and the other one for maybe 3 months? It can be a really rewarding experience, but I wasn't a massive fan of having such young and adventurous critters.

 

[Sillybilly114]

I foster mainly cats with my housemate as we live in a smaller house with 2 dogs already so not much room for more! But we've had many cats/kittens come & go. Some are only here short term others we've had for a year or more so you might have to be prepared for that. Plus there's always the ones that become failed fosters as well, like my cat. She was 1 of a litter of 5 we had but I became attached to her & couldn't give her up! Most have been ok except for wrecking things, not being fully house/litter trained, sometimes they fight when they get cranky with each other. It's quite rewarding to know that we've saved a cat from being put to sleep & to see them go to their new forever homes. Still costs a bit though coz you end up buying treats, blankets, yummy food for them etc


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[Klynn641]

I have fostered many animals. There have been dogs, cats, hamsters and birds. One time I agreed to foster seven sickly kittens that were a few weeks old (three different litters). It was only for one weekend so the owners of the cat rescue could have a day or two away. Besides bottle feeding the rascals, they all had different medications and special needs etc. The weekend passed and they hadn't picked up the kittens. They weren't answering my calls. Time marched on until one day I learned that the rescue closed down. The owner's still could not be reached. I lived in California and soon was getting married in Oregon. But, I couldn't abandon the kittens so myself, two stepchildren and seven sickly kittens drove to Oregon for my wedding. That was over sixteen years ago. The last of those kittens passed away four years ago. Yes, I kept every one of the kittens.


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