Fostering.... tell me more.

LunaBrown · Posted: Thu May 08, 2008 9:34 am Post subject: Fostering.... tell me more.

I'm not even sure where to start with this... I'm sorry if it seems all over the place!

I want very badly for Luna to have a companion - she has a terrible time home all day when we're at work. She is crated all day, but we cannot put anything besides a nylabone or kong in her crate, or it will inevitably be destroyed. The longest a bed has made it was 2.5 weeks! Now that we sprung for a web cam, I know she throws tantrums intermittently throughout the day... when she's not sleeping she just sits there and looks SO sad. Just the past few days I've noticed her chewing on the bars of the crate during her tantrums!

We are on a list for a puppy, and if all goes well we will have him by the end of next summer... which as far as having a 2nd dog goes, makes complete sense... Luna will be 2 by then, hopefully well on her way to being mostly trained (both obedience and hunting)... Hubby will NOT back down and allow me to have 3rd dog (I tried... I want to rescue...)

So I was wondering if maybe signing up to foster would be a good fit for us for the next year...

Here are some details about our life:
-Luna will be 1 on 5/29 and she LOVES other dogs, and for the most part has good manners Wink

-Luna is Crated for approximately 9 hours during the day while we are at work - weather permitting we go to the dog park when Mom gets home from work, and a bonus walk after supper or fetch/chase in the yard
-We have a large fenced back yard(4' chain link) in the suburbs of Minneapolis
-We are active NAHVDA members, working on field training about 2 weekends each month during the summer (we are however, novices, and are still learning ALOT ourselves)
-Luna is our side kick - anywhere we can bring her, we do!

Is it feasible for it to work for us? How on earth do you foster a dog and then give it up when they find a forever home? (this is my husbands worst concern) I assume you just bring them into your home and involve them with every part of your life for the time you're caring for them?

I do not want to take this lightly... I would hate to go in with some false ideas about how it really works and then not have it work out... Confused

Welches · Posted: Thu May 08, 2008 9:47 am Post subject: Re: Fostering.... tell me more.

weimdawgs · Posted: Thu May 08, 2008 9:55 am Post subject:

The hardest part about fostering is giving them up. I have not been able to do it yet....hence #4, Jake. Although I am pretty sure that keeping him was Jake's only chance.

I do think fostering would be great for Luna....you have to be very specific in the type of dog you want to foster.

weimdogmom · Posted: Thu May 08, 2008 12:04 pm Post subject:

I think fostering would be a great idea for you and for Luna.

As already has mentioned, giving the foster to their new family is the most difficult part. I have had more than one person who has fostered many times say they cry every time one of the dogs finds their forever home.

With some if not all rescues, you have the opportunity to say what dogs you can/will foster: general age, sex, personality, etc. And, if Luna and the foster did not get along (the rescue I volunteer with does not want a foster in a home where either the foster dog or any one in the home would be in at risk) the foster could be moved to another home.

A foster could be good company and a learning experience for Luna. You would have the opportunity to see how Luna acts having another dog in her home -- which could be very different from her interactions with other dogs on more neutral ground.

You would be helping to rescue and save a Weim. Possibly you would be doing some very basic training and socialization. Helping to evaluate the foster and what type of family might be the best match. Possibly even having a say if a family is the right one to adopt your foster or not.

It varies from rescue to rescue -- some will provide/pay for food, treats, toys, crate, medical expenses.

anne · Posted: Thu May 08, 2008 1:41 pm Post subject:

I think fostering is a great idea. You'll have a sense of what it is like to have 2 dogs. Fostering dogs to me is kind of like babysitting other people's dogs, I like them, but I don't get attached. I have the mindset that it is not my dog. For my own dogs, I think it's actually kind of a good thing, they are so used to various dogs in and out of my house, they just kind of go with the flow.

WeiMe · Posted: Mon May 12, 2008 2:01 am Post subject:

I think it is a good idea! It is hard to let them go but if you are picky and find the right family where you know the dog will be happy you end up feeling really good that you saved a dog!

LunaBrown · Posted: Mon May 12, 2008 1:39 pm Post subject:

Well we are going to try it... If we take one in, and for whatever reason it does not work out for us, at the very least we can then say we tried!

I have 2 e-mails out, one is to a gal who works with the Northstar Weimaraner Club (who I am supposed to call later today), and a 2nd to the family of this little guy:

http://minneapolis.craigslist.org/pet/677651195.html

I will keep you all posted when I learn more... now that I've taken steps, I'm feeling a bit anxious/nervous! Confused

waitingonmyweim · Posted: Mon May 12, 2008 2:41 pm Post subject:

sterlingsmom · Posted: Tue May 13, 2008 7:54 am Post subject:

except that he says he needs to be by your side whenever possible...hopefully he doesn't have horrible separation anxiety, but at least the owner is willing to take him back if it doesn't work. Good luck, Mindy. I think what you're doing is great. I have never felt a greater satisfaction than when I rescued my boy. I love Sterling to death, but there's something that feels SO good about saving a weim. You'll see Wink

andreab27944 · Posted: Wed May 14, 2008 10:26 pm Post subject: fostering

I just placed a wonderful weim that I fostered for 11 months. When I got her, she was in really bad shape. She had been bred and bred and bred and when the doc spayed her, he almost lost her due to a badly infected uterus. Her skin was in terribly bad shape, she was a mess! I nursed her back to health and fell in love with her. It broke my heart to give her up, really broke my heart, but how could I not? Stay at home mom, beautiful home, two little kids who are in love with her, she gets to ride in the car every day, she goes to the dog park, has two little beagle brothers to play with--and, the real reason that I had to give her up is that I own the weim from hell who is so jealous, and Anna Banana deserved better than having Sophie be mean to her every day. And, Anna lives close to me--only an hour--and I get to see her whenever I want. It is hard, but fostering is the best thing that you can do. Anna B was my third foster and it was really hard to let her go...but now I have room to foster another one. Weims are showing up in shelters in record number and all the rescues are full and having to board dogs. This is the best thing that you can do and helps so many dogs. It makes you a better person, too. a b