Have you ever fostered a dog?

pinkpinot · October 2010

Has anyone fostered a dog before? Any advice or tips you want to give me? I do have 3 dogs of my own right now but we've done a couple meet & greets with Corky and my dog army - so far so good. Once he puts on some weight and finishes a series of shots he is free to come live & recuperate at my house while we search for his forever home (the shelter may wait until after my wedding/honeymoon, not sure just yet). I am happy but scared to take him on, I know he needs a lot of work and when I went to visit him for the first time last week, he could barely walk and he pressed his head against my stomach and it felt like he was asking me to save him. He even mustered
up enough strength to wag that tail of his...

You know, animal cruelty makes me sick and the person(s) who did this to Corky will never be found or prosecuted since he was abandoned and left to starve to death. I hope karma comes back around.

[Deleted User] · October 2010

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_ever-fostered-dog?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:9Discussion:b84cc486-ee3d-4e3d-9157-d3dda140a012Post:697f95cf-42c3-4a4c-9bd5-650ad8ad3dea">Have you ever fostered a dog?</a>:
[QUOTE]when I went to visit him for the first time last week, he could barely walk and he pressed his head against my stomach and it felt like he was asking me to save him.
Posted by pinkpinot[/QUOTE]
this isn't helpful advice but i really hope you do. this is heart-wrenching.

it makes me sick that people are so cruel.

waltzingmatilda13 · October 2010

I don't have any advice, but I just want to say what a great thing it is you're doing for this dog. He didn't deserve to be treated that way and abandoned and I really hope you can get him to being a happy go-lucky dog again.

emilyinchile · October 2010

Oh that's awful. And I live in a city with hundreds of thousands of stray dogs, but most of them don't look that bad.

We fostered a dog for about 10 days a couple months ago before finding someone to adopt him. Our dog had started playing with him in the street, so she was ok with him coming into her space - she actually even let him take her toys and go in her bed, which is unusual for her. If they've all gotten along so far, I think you'd be ok to introduce him in your home as well.

pinkpinot · October 2010

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_ever-fostered-dog?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:9Discussion:b84cc486-ee3d-4e3d-9157-d3dda140a012Post:354f673b-2ed1-465c-b334-c07267e0aadc">Re: Have you ever fostered a dog?</a>:
[QUOTE]In Response to Have you ever fostered a dog? : this isn't helpful advice but i really hope you do. this is heart-wrenching. it makes me sick that people are so cruel.
Posted by daffodil_jill[/QUOTE]

I am going to do everything I can to save him. FI has his own business and a portion of what he does is installing security cameras and he is donating his time & equipment to provide the shelter with cameras so we can catch the disgusting people who abandon dogs at the shelter and make sure they are prosecuted.

FutureMrsFezz · October 2010

No advice, but I admire you! I'm having a hard time just looking at that picture. It makes me sick.

If I fostered any animal I would get too attached and want to keep them.

emilyinchile · October 2010

Ok, obviously I don't think anyone should be abandoning dogs at all, but if you're going to do it, isn't abandoning them at the shelter kind of the ideal? It just seems like if people get in trouble for doing that, they wouldn't necessarily be more likely to do things properly, they'd just decide to abandon them elsewhere, farther from help.

arv266 · October 2010

I hope you can foster this dog because the only thing that can possibly offset such cruelty are caring people like you.

I haven't fostered a dog, but we recently adopted a dog from the shelter. She was in no way as physically tortured, but she definitely needs to gain some weight. Adopting her was one of the best things we've ever done. She's super well behaved, but you can just tell that she's had a rough life.

What are your concerns? Aggression? Destructive behavior?

L-Bride · October 2010

Yes I have fostered many dogs and I love doing it. A lot of people steer clear of fostering animals because they think they're going to get attached to the animal and I have found this to be not true at all. At first I thought that was going to happen to me but it really doesn't turn out like that. Many of the dogs I have taken in to foster are skin and bones and needed to be brought back to health. It's so honoring being a part of the process of bringing them back to health and placing them in good homes. There's something very satisfying about the adoption process.
I hope you do it since there is such a shortage of people to foster in the US. Good luck!

xyrius · October 2010

No advice - I just think your AWESOME for saving this dog. Kudos to you!

pinkpinot · October 2010

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_ever-fostered-dog?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:9Discussion:b84cc486-ee3d-4e3d-9157-d3dda140a012Post:a2f97be8-e7b0-4175-ab86-87d959b9ad05">Re: Have you ever fostered a dog?</a>:
[QUOTE]Holy mother! Who in the eff could do that to a dog?! i get seriously angry about shite like that! I've never fostered but I did volunteer for one of our local shelters and know several people that did foster...<strong>I'm already over our dog limit so fostering isn't an option. But seriously god bless people who can and do. You're on the right track</strong> so far with doing the meet & greets. I would just make sure you give all of the dogs equal love & attention so there are no jealousy issues while nursing this sad but beautiful dog back to health. And I would make sure that the dogs aren't food or toy possessive too....so as to avoid those conflicts. And give it some time...even if the dogs don't get along initially, that doesn't mean they won't grow accustomed to one another. I had a situation where a gal adopted a dog and even though they had a meet & greet with her existing dogs, when she got Lola home, the dogs fought a bit at first...she was kind of freaked but stuck it out...two days later, everything was fine & now the two dogs are best buds. Takes some time to establish who's going to get to be the alpha. I would bet Corky is going to be fine with someone else being the alpha given his weak state. Good luck and best wishes! Hooray for you!!
Posted by jcbsjr[/QUOTE]

I was pretty sure I was over my dog limit and now I'm adding a fourth! All this dog needs is love, a warm place to sleep and a yard to play in. I have all of that and we may not have the biggest house ever and I'm sure it will be mass chaos for awhile but whatever I can provide him is 100% better than where he came from. I'm just concerned that my dogs will adjust, I want everything to be easy for them to.

JanoBean75 · October 2010

I have a friend who is fostering a dog. It does take time, patience, and lots of love. I wish you the best of luck. You're pretty awesome to do this. That picture brought tears to my eyes.

I wish we could do this, but we rent an apartment and the pet fee alone is a $500 deposit and $50 per month thereafter. We simply can't afford that.

arv266 · October 2010

I'm just concerned that my dogs will adjust, I want everything to be easy for them to.

Your dogs will adjust, but it won't happen over night. As PP stated, give everyone equal amounts of love and care, and watch out for jealousy issues.

pinkpinot · October 2010

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_ever-fostered-dog?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:9Discussion:b84cc486-ee3d-4e3d-9157-d3dda140a012Post:115e7d8b-6b2d-465f-a7a4-bd707d4a66da">Re: Have you ever fostered a dog?</a>:
[QUOTE]Ok, obviously I don't think anyone should be abandoning dogs at all, but if you're going to do it, isn't abandoning them at the shelter kind of the ideal? It just seems like if people get in trouble for doing that, they wouldn't necessarily be more likely to do things properly, they'd just decide to abandon them elsewhere, farther from help.
Posted by emilyinchile[/QUOTE]

It's against the law to abandon an animal at the shelter and most people willingly turn their animals over, tell us about them so we can help place the animal in the proper home. If you are going to abandon a dog that is a skeleton, I'd like to know who you are and see you charged with animal cruelty.

pinkpinot · October 2010

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_ever-fostered-dog?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:9Discussion:b84cc486-ee3d-4e3d-9157-d3dda140a012Post:270cb752-7628-4684-9045-1d5aa57665ce">Re: Have you ever fostered a dog?</a>:
[QUOTE]I hope you can foster this dog because the only thing that can possibly offset such cruelty are caring people like you. I haven't fostered a dog, but we recently adopted a dog from the shelter. She was in no way as physically tortured, but she definitely needs to gain some weight. Adopting her was one of the best things we've ever done. She's super well behaved, but you can just tell that she's had a rough life. <strong>What are your concerns? Aggression? Destructive behavior?
</strong>Posted by arv266[/QUOTE]

I'm more concerned with my German Shepherd than Corky. She is the dominate dog in our house and she is used to bossing around my twosausage dogs. I don't want her to be aggressive with Corky, so far she has been fine but I don't want to add more stress on him. I have my fingers crossed that her maternal side may kick in and she will sense that he is NOT a threat at all (he can barely walk).

emilyinchile · October 2010

I agree that if people are abandoning dogs that have already been neglected, they should be prosecuted. I wasn't really thinking about that to be honest because I assumed that if you're neglecting your dog, you wouldn't care enough about it to actually take it to the shelter (albeit outside the shelter).

I was thinking of people who for whatever reason - shame, fear that properly handing the dog in could still get them in some kind of trouble - leave animals at the shelter door before anything's wrong with them, when they first realize they can't properly care for them. And I do think that in a case like that, prosecution could encourage people to just leave the dog wherever. Even if it's illegal, I'd rather see a healthy dog left at a shelter than find a malnourished dog wandering around somewhere weeks later.

Liberty27 · October 2010

I have fostered 2 puppy-mill dogs. I guess one isn't technically a foster because he never left. Anyways, Gigi was 16 when we started fostering her and she had no teeth. She ended up not being adopted and moving to a doggy retirement home. It basically consists of an elderly couple who take in older dogs and they spend their days sun-bathing and livin' the retired life. Aldo was 2 when we got him and he was soooo skinny his body was eating his own muscle mass so he could barely walk around/ stand-up, do all the things a normal dog does. We ended up adopting him, and now he makes up for the food he didn't get at the mill

.

My best advice is just to be patient. Remember that it takes a lot longer for an abused animal to overcome behavioral problems then even a puppy because a lot of times those dogs have loss all the trust they had for humans. It is a great experience and although the first few weeks and months are tough, and trust me they can be trying, in the end it is so rewarding to see them running around and playing and acting just so happy. Good luck!

arv266 · October 2010

We have a high maintenance malti-poo and found it next to impossible to find a dog should could tolerate. The girls had a rough patch -- our new dog (a hound) snapped at her over a piece of ham -- but they are getting along very well now. My only advice is to not push it. For the first few weeks we'd only have them together with supervision. And if things got yappy, we'd alternate crating one, and spending time with the other. Its been a month and they finally eat in the same room with supervision. Dogs have an amazing sense of empathy, and I think your shepard will understand she is definitely not a threat.

BEST OF LUCK. You will definitely make a difference in this animals life, and help it to learn to trust and love, and find its permanent home.

pinkpinot · October 2010

Thank you for all the advice! I have a feeling that if all goes well, Corky may not be leaving my house :-)

AliGirl11 · October 2010

I just wanted to add that the Pets board over on TN is a great resource. Lots of those girls have been fostering for years and are very knowledgable.

I'm not able to foster yet, but I definitely will in the future. I'm so grateful for the foster mom that took in our little shelter girl before we found her. You guys are awesome

pinkpinot · October 2010

Oh Ali I completely forgot about the Pets board on TN! Thanks, I'm going to repost this over there.

pinkpinot · October 2010

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_ever-fostered-dog?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:9Discussion:b84cc486-ee3d-4e3d-9157-d3dda140a012Post:818cf97e-932d-4051-8252-676bd9545b9a">Re: Have you ever fostered a dog?</a>:
[QUOTE]I agree that if people are abandoning dogs that have already been neglected, they should be prosecuted. I wasn't really thinking about that to be honest because I assumed that if you're neglecting your dog, you wouldn't care enough about it to actually take it to the shelter (albeit outside the shelter). I was thinking of people who for whatever reason - shame, fear that properly handing the dog in could still get them in some kind of trouble - leave animals at the shelter door before anything's wrong with them, when they first realize they can't properly care for them. And I do think that in a case like that, prosecution could encourage people to just leave the dog wherever. Even if it's illegal, I'd rather see a healthy dog left at a shelter than find a malnourished dog wandering around somewhere weeks later.
Posted by emilyinchile[/QUOTE]

I understand what you're saying and I know people feel shameful but I still think abandoning them is worse than saying, "hey I made a mistake, I can't provide the right care for this animal." People need to put their grownup pants on and take responsibility instead of doing a dump & run which is easier. It's also nice to know if the animals have any issues with kids or other animals, do they have shots etc. It makes placing them much easier when we can talk to the owners and know what we are dealing with.

brittjoy84 · October 2010

I have fostered dozens of dogs and everyone else is spot on, it takes patience, love and a period of adjusment for the whole family. For the first few weeks, I would feed everyone in their crates and never leave them alone unsupervised.

If you have one dominant dog in the house, carefully watch how the new guy responds to her direction. If he seems fine with her dominance, then it shouldn't be a problem. Keep in mind though, as the new dog gets more healthy, has energy, and starts feeling adjusted it's personality might change.

Keep a squirt bottle with water to use for disipline in case anybody gets in a spat. A squirt to the face is enough to startle my dogs if they start going at it, then I can redirect their attenton or crate them to cool down.

Good luck!

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