How to Foster Rescued Pets

Fostering a rescue pet is fun and you can have a huge impact on many lives. When you foster a homeless pet, you free up its kennel for another needy pet, give the foster pet a temporary, loving home, and you can have a lot of fun preparing the pet to go into a great new home!

To be a pet foster parent, you typically work with a local animal shelter or adoption group. These animal groups are always in need of more foster parents to provide warm, safe temporary homes for dogs, cats, and other animals until they are adopted.

Lots of rescued pets need foster homes for a variety of reasons. Sometimes the shelter doesn't have enough room. Sometimes a puppy needs a little training before getting adopted. Sometimes a cat needs to recover from a surgery. And other times, the rescued pet is just overwhelmed with shelter life and needs a little break in a normal home with a slower, quieter routine. Pets can be shy just like us!

Regardless of why the dog or cat needs a foster home, you can be a great foster parent by providing some basic care with food, water, and a cozy bed at night. With dogs, you'll also likely get some direction in teaching them (or maintaining) some basic commands. If you have any other pets in your home, you'll want to make sure that they all get along and all their vaccines are up-to-date. Shelters and adoption groups all have their own guidelines about how much responsibility foster parents are required to take.

To help with the foster's adoption process, you may need to bring your foster pet to adoption events or have potential adopters over to your home to meet the foster pet. It's good to remember that you can always talk to the adoption group about how long you feel comfortable fostering the pet. Plan ahead and think about any vacations coming up, out-of-town visitors, busy work times, etc.

Sound pretty simple? Well, it is. And, it's such a great experience! While there may be a couple shifts to your routine with a new pet in the house, the life you're saving is significant. And you're probably going to be walking home to a lot more snuggles and playtime, as soon as the rescued foster gets adjusted and sees just how much fun your home is! Those are just some of the rewards of becoming a foster parent...

Oona Rokyta, of Healthy Paws Pet Insurance & Foundation, is based in the Seattle area and has been on the Homeward Pet Adoption Center Board as well as involved with veterinary hospitals over the years.

Healthy Paws Pet Insurance & Foundation (http://www.healthypawspetinsurance.com) is a top-rated pet health insurance company that pays 90% of actual vet bills associated with injuries, illnesses, accidents, and hereditary and congenital conditions. With one low monthly premium, pet parents get a lifetime of coverage at any licensed veterinarian. And, helping care for insured pet is just part of the Healthy Paws story. Healthy Paws directly helps animal rescue groups and shelters across the country grow and find thousands of new homes for rescue pets.

Foster to Find Out If Owning a Pet is Right For You

How do you know if owning a pet is right for you? You've read the pamphlets on how to prepare for a dog or cat -- you might even have bought all the supplies you'll need -- and you think it's going to be fun and rewarding to walk the dog or have a cat purring in your lap every day.

Pets do, indeed, provide us with these and other expected rewards; however, there can be some surprises once you get the little guys home. How you deal with these can tell you if you're really suited to having a pet. There is probably no such thing as a completely surprise-free pet.

Possibly the best way to determine if you are really pet-owner material is to "test the waters" by becoming a foster home. Given the desperate need for homes, overburdened shelters are usually very happy to find willing foster homes. And it gives you a perfect opportunity to find out if you will be able to handle the variety of problems that can arise.

These are the most common reasons pets may be returned to a shelter or abandoned by frustrated owners:

Behavior issues often top the list, especially anything related to the animal's need to eliminate. Cats might urinate in all the wrong places, and sometimes even an adult dog will need to be house trained. Suddenly, you're scrambling to figure out what's wrong and how to fix it, not to mention being on your hands and knees cleaning up things you didn't expect.

Time can turn into a larger problem than expected, too. Do you have time to walk a dog? Do you have time to work with a cat? Do you have time to keep their areas clean? If not, you can't expect good behavior from them. Bored pets can sometimes do the most damage.

Finances can turn into a larger responsibility than was planned, too. Not only can pets get into something that might require a costly trip to the vet, but they can damage things in your home, leading to untimely repairs or replacement. Preventing these things takes some preparation, such as restricting a pet's access to your possessions. Setting up a separate area for them in your home often solves this one. Be sure you have the room to do this.

Fortunately, most fostering arrangements include financial help if the pet needs veterinary care. After all, it's still their animal. However, you will be expected to buy food, litter and most incidentals, as a rule. But if you get in a bind, most shelters will provide food, too. Although, if you find you aren't able to handle the expenses, perhaps pet ownership is not for you after all.

It's also essential to keep the animal safe (cats inside, dogs in a secure yard or the house) to avoid the potential hazards of being outdoors, such as poisoning, injury and theft. (Yes, there are people who snatch pets from yards.) While it might break your heart to lose your special companion, you need to ask the shelter what the consequences are for losing their animal.

Another problem that crops up is the issue of family agreement. It's amazing how many pets are returned because a family member doesn't like animals, or wasn't expecting one. Never give anyone a pet as a gift, unless you know for sure they are truly ready for one. Bringing an animal into the home is a family affair, so be sure everyone is going to be happy about it. Fostering a pet can help those who are not sure about it to discover how they will get along with one.

Finally, becoming a permanent foster home can have some great advantages: You get to work with many animals over time (provides variety, so you can decide which kind of animal suits you best), and you will be helping the shelter socialize the animals to make them suitable for adoption (plus helping the mental well-being of a pet who might go crazy in a cage). Also, it gives you the freedom to leave home without kenneling or finding a pet sitter, since you can take them back to the shelter for a few days or weeks. Just be sure to let them know so they can prepare a space.

Check with a local shelter or humane organization to explore this great way to test your desire to become a pet parent. And who knows? If everything goes well, you may find yourself adopting that animal yourself.

Visit Dr. Peters at http://www.theproblemcat.com for more articles and information about pets.

Foster to Find Out If Owning a Pet is Right For You

How do you know if owning a pet is right for you? You've read the pamphlets on how to prepare for a dog or cat -- you might even have bought all the supplies you'll need -- and you think it's going to be fun and rewarding to walk the dog or have a cat purring in your lap every day.

Pets do, indeed, provide us with these and other expected rewards; however, there can be some surprises once you get the little guys home. How you deal with these can tell you if you're really suited to having a pet. There is probably no such thing as a completely surprise-free pet.

Possibly the best way to determine if you are really pet-owner material is to "test the waters" by becoming a foster home. Given the desperate need for homes, overburdened shelters are usually very happy to find willing foster homes. And it gives you a perfect opportunity to find out if you will be able to handle the variety of problems that can arise.

These are the most common reasons pets may be returned to a shelter or abandoned by frustrated owners:

Behavior issues often top the list, especially anything related to the animal's need to eliminate. Cats might urinate in all the wrong places, and sometimes even an adult dog will need to be house trained. Suddenly, you're scrambling to figure out what's wrong and how to fix it, not to mention being on your hands and knees cleaning up things you didn't expect.

Time can turn into a larger problem than expected, too. Do you have time to walk a dog? Do you have time to work with a cat? Do you have time to keep their areas clean? If not, you can't expect good behavior from them. Bored pets can sometimes do the most damage.

Finances can turn into a larger responsibility than was planned, too. Not only can pets get into something that might require a costly trip to the vet, but they can damage things in your home, leading to untimely repairs or replacement. Preventing these things takes some preparation, such as restricting a pet's access to your possessions. Setting up a separate area for them in your home often solves this one. Be sure you have the room to do this.

Fortunately, most fostering arrangements include financial help if the pet needs veterinary care. After all, it's still their animal. However, you will be expected to buy food, litter and most incidentals, as a rule. But if you get in a bind, most shelters will provide food, too. Although, if you find you aren't able to handle the expenses, perhaps pet ownership is not for you after all.

It's also essential to keep the animal safe (cats inside, dogs in a secure yard or the house) to avoid the potential hazards of being outdoors, such as poisoning, injury and theft. (Yes, there are people who snatch pets from yards.) While it might break your heart to lose your special companion, you need to ask the shelter what the consequences are for losing their animal.

Another problem that crops up is the issue of family agreement. It's amazing how many pets are returned because a family member doesn't like animals, or wasn't expecting one. Never give anyone a pet as a gift, unless you know for sure they are truly ready for one. Bringing an animal into the home is a family affair, so be sure everyone is going to be happy about it. Fostering a pet can help those who are not sure about it to discover how they will get along with one.

Finally, becoming a permanent foster home can have some great advantages: You get to work with many animals over time (provides variety, so you can decide which kind of animal suits you best), and you will be helping the shelter socialize the animals to make them suitable for adoption (plus helping the mental well-being of a pet who might go crazy in a cage). Also, it gives you the freedom to leave home without kenneling or finding a pet sitter, since you can take them back to the shelter for a few days or weeks. Just be sure to let them know so they can prepare a space.

Check with a local shelter or humane organization to explore this great way to test your desire to become a pet parent. And who knows? If everything goes well, you may find yourself adopting that animal yourself.

Visit Dr. Peters at http://www.theproblemcat.com for more articles and information about pets.