Fostering
With
Saints Sled Dog Rescue
Foster parents play a CRITICAL role in the rehabilitation of sled dogs in our care. Foster dogs can come from backgrounds of neglect, abuse or abandonment. ALL dogs that come into our care have MUST assessed for a minimum of 2 weeks before rehoming and being matched to an adoptive home.
Foster homes are required to offer dogs a safe place where they can decompress and adjust to their new environment, learn how to trust new humans, learn how to play, sometimes even how to walk on a lead and most definitely how to socialise with new humans AND dogs.
Offering a foster dog a place in your home requires dedication, patience and understanding to help them gain trust and grow.
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PLEASE NOTE: The SSDR team work to match dogs to homes based on fostering experience, each individual applications criteria and also the urgency of a dog needing a foster home. We do not select foster dogs based on looks alone.
FAQ ON FOSTERING WITH SSDR
Q. HOW LONG WOULD I NEED TO FOSTER ANY ONE DOG FOR?
Unfortunately, we cannot guarantee how long a dog will be in foster care. We ask that fosters are ready and willing to be able to take a dog in for ANY length of time, this is mainly as we are very short on the ground on foster homes and moving dogs around from place to place can have negative impact on their mental health.
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Q. WHAT KIND OF SUPPORT DO SSDR OFFER?
The SSDR Coordinating team offer 24 hour online support for their foster families and are there every step of the journey. Although they rely on you as foster parents to do the leg work with the dogs, they are always on hand to give you help and advice. Collectively they have YEARS of hands on experience with sled dogs and if they haven't dealt with something in the past they are SURE to know someone who has, find out more about the SSDR team here!
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Q. WHAT ARE THE COSTS INVOLVED WITH FOSTERING?
SSDR cover all essential care for our dogs, from food to medical bills we cut NO corners when taking care of our dogs. We rely heavily on donations to help us keep up with the continued rise in costs, some foster homes will happily donate towards the food costs of their foster dogs which is HUGELY appreciated.
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Q. DO I NEED TO HAVE PRIOR FOSTERING EXPERIENCE TO FOSTER WITH SSDR?
Everyone starts somewhere! We do accept foster families who have never fostered before, we are confident that our coordinating team can help make sure your foster experience is a great one and that they will be on hand 24 hours a day to support you with your first foster dog. We will match dogs to foster homes according to experience.
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Q. CAN I ADOPT IF I FALL IN LOVE WITH MY FOSTER DOG?
After the initial foster period we give our foster families first refusal to adopt their foster dog!
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Q. WHAT CAN I EXPECT FROM FOSTERING A SLED DOG?
Fostering a sled dog initially needs time, patience and endurance. When a rescue dog comes into foster care they show signs of stress, fear and anxiety; this particularly shows in the form of growling/barking, separation anxiety, destruction or toileting especially in sled dog breeds. The first week of fostering can be stressful for both the foster dog, the foster family and other animals in the house hold.
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BUT, given the time and space to settle into their new environment, time to learn your routine and with the introduction of basic training over the course of 2 weeks you will experience the foster dogs love, affection and most amazingly PROGRESSION to becoming a confident, happy dog ready to find his or her forever family.
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Q. WHAT DOES A HOME CHECK INVOLVE?
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At SSDR we carry out thorough our home assessments to ensure we can match the right dogs to the right homes. Our routine assessment involves a member of our volunteer team to come out and visit you and your family to get to know you, your family and even your pets!
It is nothing to be worried about we are a friendly team and are on hand to answer any questions you might have before arranging your assessment.
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