How to Foster a Dog: A Beginner’s Guide

Looking for a fulfilling job that doesn’t require a fancy resume and comes with lots of perks? Consider becoming a dog foster parent!

Scroll through pet adoption websites or the social media feeds of shelters and rescue groups, and you’ll see a vast array of dogs looking for furever homes. What you don’t usually see is the foster team that quietly works behind the scenes at the adoption center to help make sure these forever homes are found.

Dog foster parents provide a temporary home — and any special care needed — for homeless animals until they’re adopted. A dog may be in a foster home for a few weeks or a few months, depending on when they become adopted by their forever family.

How Much Does It Cost to Foster a Dog?

While the details of a foster program vary from shelter to shelter, most rescue operations go above and beyond to make fostering appealing. Donated supplies such as food, bowls, bedding and toys are often made available for foster parents. Shelters will typically cover veterinary costs as well.

Your time, attention and commitment are typically the only “costs” associated with fostering a dog. As well as their daily care at home, you will likely be asked to bring them to adoption events so they can meet potential adopters and find their permanent home. You’ll also need to make sure they are socialized well and take them to any veterinary appointments they may have.

The shelter may also ask you to send photos or videos of their cute or silly antics so they can show potential adopters what they’re like at home. Often, a dog acts differently in a quiet and calm home compared to the overstimulating and noisy shelter environment. However, sometimes, even after being placed in a foster home, shelter dogs are found to be “unadoptable.” The good news is there are programs suited for these unadoptable dogs.

Why Is Fostering Dogs Important?

There are many reasons why foster caregivers are needed for homeless dogs. Some rescue organizations don’t have brick-and-mortar buildings to house homeless pets and rely entirely on the kindness of foster families. For shelters that do have housing, they can become overcrowded, and placing some pets in foster care helps reduce the burden on the shelter. Additionally, dogs that have been in a shelter environment for a long time may need more personal interaction than they’ve had in their kennel, and foster parents can provide an enriching home environment for them.

Some dogs come from situations that did not provide proper socialization, and they may be fearful. By staying with nurturing foster parents, they can learn to trust and be calm around people and other dogs and cats. Similarly, some dogs may have behavior issues like separation anxiety, and they need a calm and patient support person to help them overcome their fears. Occasionally, dogs who underwent medical care may need a place to recover from injury or surgeries such as spays or neuters. Foster families also provide a place to raise newborn puppies until they’re ready for adoption.

Do You Get Paid to Foster Dogs?

No, being a pet foster is usually an unpaid, volunteer position. However, many foster volunteers are provided with all the supplies and resources needed to care for a dog (e.g., food, toys, bowls and bedding). The cost of veterinary care is typically covered by the shelter or rescue organization as well.

Even though you don’t get paid, there are many other reasons to become a foster parent for shelter animals. Here are just a few:

• If you can’t commit to the responsibility of having a pet long-term, fostering gives you a “pet fix” when you need it.
• It’s rewarding to know that the simple act of opening your home and providing a loving environment could save a dog’s life.
• Helping a fearful or shy dog transform into a trusting, calm and loving pet is incredibly fulfilling.
• What’s not to like about raising a litter of puppies (or kittens — cats need fosters, too!)?
• If you have kids, fostering can teach them how to be respectful and responsible with pets.
• Your other pets may like the companionship of a new playmate.
• Foster pets can chase away loneliness (conveniently, that works both ways).

How Does Fostering a Dog Work?

If you have an open heart, patience and the time to commit to fostering a dog, why not look into pet rescues or shelters in your area? These organizations are happy to explain the rules of their foster programs. In most cases, it doesn’t require any special training, just a foster application and a commitment from you. The shelter will ask you lots of questions about your home, your schedule, any other pets that you might have, and much more. Once everything is approved, you can go home with your new foster dog.

A Foster Home Can Become a Dog’s Forever Home

When you bring a foster animal into your home, the goal is to provide them with a happy and safe space until they are adopted. But sometimes heartstrings get pulled and a dog’s foster journey doesn’t end that way. “Foster failure” is the name given to people who fall in love with their foster dog and just can’t let go. And that’s perfectly OK.