[ SECRET POST #2195 ]

[case]

⌈ Secret Post #2195 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

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Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 04 pages, 076 secrets from Secret Submission Post #314.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Comments

Fostering pets

[(Anonymous)]

Does anyone foster? I'm thinking about fostering a small dog from my local shelter, and they made it sound like a simple deal (they provide food, medicine, collar, leash, crate), but I'm curious if there's a hidden catch somewhere.

Re: Fostering pets

[(Anonymous)]

The one catch I'm aware of is you might fall in love with the animal and want to adopt it, which is inconvenient if you aren't in a position to take on a pet long-term. (I sort of know a woman who fostered dogs for a while and ended up adopting both of them and now she doesn't foster anymore.) It's also possible the pets most in need of foster homes also have medical and/or behavioral problems, so that's something more to consider. I don't know anything more about the process, although I think it's a very noble thing to do.

Re: Fostering pets

[(Anonymous)]

This is the hidden catch: you will fall in love with dog and want to keep it forever and always.

Other then that, I'd check with the shelter, and see what all it entails (like, they pay for meds, but what about an emergency vet visit?), maybe see if you can talk to others who've fostered through this shelter as well?

Re: Fostering pets

[(Anonymous)]

A lot of them can potentially have wacky behavioral issues. Not like they're mean but they're overly clingy or if you have other pets might be snippy or food guard-y with them.

Any other thing is probably something you'll have to take up with them.

Re: Fostering pets

[(Anonymous)]

I've done some fostering for some local groups, as well as have done animal rescue.

The hidden catch: Being in a new place (or, out of a kennel in general) may bring out bad habits that are completely unexpected, such as now the dog urinates or defecates in your house, chews up stuff, etc.

Also, if you don't have a fenced in yard, be prepared to do some walking. In fact, if it's a young dog, be prepared to do walking anyway, no matter what the weather. One of the dogs I kept was a long-distance trekker, and I walked about five miles a day with her, and she could've gone on for much, much farther, while my own dogs were like, "Seriously? Can we go back home yet?"

Your foster may only have the most rudimentary of training (if that), and may have never lived in a house before. You may need to train to keep the dog off the table/counter, to not steal food, to stay out of the fridge (I've known some dogs who can open a refrigerator and would graze right out of it), etc.

If you're sent home a kennel with the dog (advised, particularly if you're not going to be home), be prepared for a crying dog. And if you have neighbors, warn them ahead of time that you're going to be fostering a dog (particularly if you're an apartment dweller), and the dog may cry, etc.

Three of my fosterlings have been 'failed' fosters - i.e., I wound up keeping them. Two were miniature Schnauzers, the other a little black mutt. About fifteen of them have hopefully been rehomed. It can be a hard thing to do, taking care of them, as well as letting them go when a home is found, but it's also an amazing thing. If I had more time and was better set up for it, I'd be doing more fostering now, but one of my failed fosterlings is now fifteen, and she really, really hates change, so I try not to put her through it.

I don't know if you have an LJ account, but the comm Allthingsdog is very good for this sort of thing.

Good luck, and happy fostering!

Re: Fostering pets

[(Anonymous)]

This, though a word of warning on lj dog comms: They are notorious for being very very bad if you don't live up to their [often ridiculous] ideals of what the perfect way to take care of a dog is.