Consider if you should foster a dog for the holidays. Here are my thoughts on why it’s a good thing.
The holidays are hard for dogs....
...and animal shelters
An influx of stray dogs and owner surrendered pets crowd animal shelters during this time of year, placing a strain on shelter space, staff duties, foster homes, and the budgets/donor dollars that are needed to vet, house, feed, and medicate the homeless animals during the holidays. Euthanasia rates often increase during the holidays, simply because there is no more room.
You can provide support to your local municipal shelter by choosing to foster a dog for the holidays.
...and foster homes
Foster homes have been hard at work all year long volunteering family, home, time, and skill – need a well-deserved respite as they travel for the holidays, meaning some of those foster dogs need a temporary place to stay. It also goes without saying – these same foster homes are heeding the call to make more room for the homeless animals mentioned above.
Helping foster homes by agreeing to foster a dog for the holidays means that dogs don’t have to end up in boarding should the dog’s regular foster home need to travel.
...and non-profit agencies
The non-profit agencies which have brick-and-mortar kennels often need extra assistance for their housed animals during the holidays – volunteers are less available, which means the animals don’t get the usual one-on-one attention or time to participate in play or enrichment activities. Sometimes, adoptions are down as families seeking to add a pet to the family during the holidays may be shopping for puppies rather than considering the adoption of rescued and sheltered animals.
Many non-profit agencies stop intake because it is too hard to bring in dogs without the safety net of foster homes. Even if you only foster dogs during the holidays, you support non-profits and help them continue their good work.
You Can Foster A Dog For The Holidays Using Your Expertise and Talents.
Give your expertise - help a special needs dog!
Do you have experience caring for a dog with a chronic illness or condition? There are many dogs in rescue with conditions like blindness, diabetes, epilepsy, wound care, congestive heart failure, feeding issues, severe arthritis (just to name a few!) which require extra care and attention.
If you have experience with a particular special need, your service can be a real gift to a rescue agency or foster home. Many of these chronically ill dogs remain in foster care for months and months – sometimes years – foster parents welcome and need skilled respite care, both during the holidays and for other times during the year.
Help a litter of puppies!
Sometimes, shelters want young puppies out of the building quickly – the shelter is not a safe place for puppies to stay. Offering to care for 2-3 puppies for a weekend or a couple of weeks is a great idea – it offers puppies more opportunities to socialize and experience the world, and hopefully helps lay a foundation where puppies can grow up to be well-adjusted adult dogs.
If it’s a mama dog and her litter – well, you need to help with all. Mama usually does most of the work; all you have to do is help keep the puppies safely contained and give Mama a hand by providing some clean bedding and a little break from her babies. She’d like some love, too.
Some advice: you should have experience with puppies, or have an agency that can provide you with guidance on the experiences and protection they want their puppies to receive while in your care. I also highly recommend that all rescue agencies use a puppy enrichment program such as Puppy Culture.
Help a senior dog!
Bring home a gray-faced foster dog for the holidays. Typically, an older dog is easier to integrate into your home and requires less training. Older dogs are grateful for a soft bed, a space on your sofa, and some love. Often, they are already house-trained and crate trained and have long since destroyed furniture or shoes.
Help your foster dog find a home for the holidays!
While you are fostering a dog for the holidays, you can provide that dog extra exposure to your community – get that dog out and about! Go on walks, visit your local home improvement store, you’ll get attention – I guarantee!
Spruce up that foster dog’s portfolio and biography! You know someone with exceptional photography skills who can take kickin’ pics of the dog. Give them a call! Spruce up the biography listed on the agency’s website, adding details about personality characteristics you’ve discovered. Provide extra exposure of this dog on your personal social media accounts. Don’t forget to reference the agency – you want to make it easy for someone to submit an application.
YES! You are going to do this! What now?
Reach out! The first thing you want to do in order to get started fostering a dog for the holidays is to choose your agency.
Call your area shelter and ask if they are in need of holiday seasonal fosters. If they do not have a foster program, ask them to provide you with a list of area rescue organizations and private agencies that have a foster program.
Do your homework – I’ve outlined a list of questions in How To Choose A Dog Rescue Agency that will help you choose where to volunteer your services. You want fostering a dog for the holidays to be a great experience. I want you to have a great experience!
Ask around – talk to friends and acquaintances about their knowledge and experience. Someone in your social circle knows something or someone who fosters.
To My Fellow Foster Parents
The holidays are hard for foster dogs. And for agencies. You may ask for someone to foster a dog for the holidays – your foster dog – and you may not get the help. It is a reality in rescue.
If your foster dog can stay with you or travel with you for the holidays, it’s a huge gift, both to the dog and the agency. If you are traveling and boarding your personal pets, could your foster dog go too? Might your pet sitter offer you a slight “rescue” discount on services if your foster dog stayed in place?
Is it possible that you can partner up with another foster home – you sit their foster dog for one holiday in exchange for them sitting your foster dog for a different holiday?
I offer the above suggestions only as ideas – you know your foster dog. You know your holiday activities. You know your personal pets. If you think your foster dog will have the least stressful holiday season by staying with the familiar – see if it’s at all possible if you can make that happen.
Please check with your homeowners insurance , as not all breeds are covered.
That is very good advice! Also, be aware of your municipal ordinances and HOAs regarding number/type of pets allowed.
I would love to foster an animal dogs only
Hi Michelle! I’m so excited to read of your interest in fostering! I have a couple of great articles to get you started:
https://poochonacouch.com/choose-a-dog-rescue-agency/
https://poochonacouch.com/guide-to-fostering-dogs/
I always recommend a new foster choose a rescue agency that is local to your area so that you aren’t so far away if you need support. Good luck, and let us know how it goes!