Foster
Fostering
As a death row rescue, the majority of dogs in our care arrive after being abandoned. Others may have been rescued from a welfare situation. Although we do our best to make life in kennels as comfortable as possible, kennel life is no substitute for being part of a real family.
Foster carers provide temporary homes and lots of one-to-one attention to dogs while they wait for their forever home to come along.
Fostering is incredibly rewarding but requires a lot of time, emotional commitment and patience. Dogs may be in a foster home for several months before they go onto a permanent home. Depending on the breed and age, you will need to be able to exercise them for up to two hours a day. Some dogs will arrive with a good grounding in doggie manners, while others will need some basic training.
Why Foster?
Fosterers provide valuable insights into the characters of dogs in their care, allowing us to get to know a dog far better than we could in a kennel environment. This information is hugely helpful in enabling us to match the right dog to the right home.
Crucially, fostering will free up a kennel for another death row dog to come into our care. By fostering a dog, you help us to save two lives: the dog you look after, and the one who takes over their kennel.
Who can foster?
We look for fosterers in the following areas: London, Essex, Hertfordshire, N. Kent, Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire and Surrey, who can offer a temporary home until the dog finds its permanent one.
We ask that foster homes are CAT FREE (unless otherwise stated) as we cannot effectively cat test in kennels.
CHILDREN MUST BE AGED 10+ as we cannot effectively assess dogs around children in the kennel environment.
Someone must to be at home for at least part of the working day. The maximum time we will allow dogs to be left alone is four hours.
Resident dogs need to be neutered and up to date with their vaccinations.
Your garden needs to be fully enclosed and secure (6ft fences unless otherwise stated) with no gaps, broken panels etc.
We cannot use commercial/public premises (pubs, shops etc) as foster homes, nor can we send dogs to ‘working homes’ (e.g. as security dogs, hunting dogs etc).
For rented homes only: we require WRITTEN evidence of the landlord’s consent to keep dog(s) on the premises.
Potential fosterers will first be visited at home by a rescue representative, who will need to meet all members of the family (known as a "home check").
We will ask you to visit our kennels (along with any resident dogs) to meet your foster dog and allow us to assess their compatibility with resident dogs.
What else do I need to know?
We can provide food, bedding, toys and all other equipment needed at our expense, however as a charity we welcome and appreciate any help towards these provisions from Foster Carers.
We cover all veterinary expenses, provided permission is granted by our Foster Coordinator and our designated vet is used.
From time to time things may not work out in the foster home. This may be a result of inaccurate information given by the previous owner, the animal displaying new behaviour in the home environment that we had not experienced in kennels, or the foster carer realising that they cannot cope with what they had signed up for (particularly in the case of behavioural issues). On these occasions we will always work with you to arrange to bring the dog back into our care as soon as possible.
Many Foster Carers will go on to permanently adopt the animal they have on foster. Please do not underestimate the emotional attachment you are likely to form with your foster dog. Please DO NOT apply to foster simply to try an animal out before deciding whether to keep them. Note that as a Foster Carer you are not treated as a priority for permanent ownership and have no automatic right to adopt. Your application to adopt will be treated in the same way as any other we receive. Contracts and adoption fees will still apply.
Please note that in most cases, we will begin advertising a dog for a new home 2-3 weeks after arrival in foster; should you wish to adopt your foster dog, you will therefore need to notify us as soon as possible. You will then be required to complete all paperwork and pay the specified adoption fee (usually £150) within eight weeks of the dog's arrival.
Foster carers will need to be comfortable with prospective adopters visiting your home to meet the animal. Visitors to your home will have already been vetted by Safe and Sound (application form and home visit), who will be considered as suitable potential owners for the dog.
If you feel that you would like to be a Foster Carer, complete our application form below email us to ask any questions.
For more information, download our fostering policy and fostering contract at the bottom of the page