Our most acute need is for more foster homes – we have a lot of adopters waiting for a dog and no end to the number of dogs who need our assistance. Our critically short supply of foster homes is our limiting factor. If you cruise around the internet looking at websites for rescues and shelters, on almost every site you’ll see “Foster Homes Desperately Needed” in flashing neon lights (sometimes the need is ‘urgent’ instead of ‘desperate’). Most groups, however, do an inadequate job of explaining what fostering is and why it’s needed, so let's start from the beginning.
Almost all DLRR dogs are rescued from situations where we are their only hope: the euthanasia lists at animal shelters, owners who abandon them during a move in the middle of summer, an owner who serves our country in the armed forces and is being deployed abroad, the Lab in a situation where there is suspected abuse or neglect, or the owner who passes away without any provisions for the Lab’s care. These are dogs that don’t have the luxury of waiting around while we find an adopter or someone to care for it until an adopter is found. In order to save the dog’s life, we need to get it out of its current situation ASAP.
When we make the decision to intake a dog, we have three places to temporarily home the dog:
- a run at a commercial boarding kennel,
- in veterinary quarantine if the dog needs to be spayed/neutered or has been exposed to illness, or
- fostered in a volunteer’s home.
- to help it recover from the stress and anxiety of being in a shelter environment
- to get an accurate read on what its personality traits and energy levels are so we can make the best possible fit when matching a family to the dog
- to ease the transition into the adoptive home
- to allow the dog to put its best foot forward when meeting a potential adopter (since dogs are never at their best when kenneled.)
If you’ve ‘dog sat’ for a friend or family member's pet, you have experience as a foster home! All of our adoptable dogs are carefully screened for aggression toward people, other dogs, and cats. A DLRR volunteer will bring the foster dog to your house and help you with introductions into your home to make sure that it gets along with your pets and to answer any questions you have before leaving a foster dog in your care. All veterinary work such as shots, flea & tick treatment, spay/neuter, and any treatment for injury or illness is done before the dog is eligible for foster care. If the need for medical treatment does arise, DLRR will pay for all veterinary costs. If the dog is in need of further training, we will provide guidance and connect you with an experienced trainer or behaviorist as necessary, all at DLRR’s cost. You will always be able to contact a DLRR coordinator or board member if you have any questions at all.
All you need to provide is dog food, some toys, and a lot of love!!! You will also have final say on the family to whom your foster dog is adopted. Some foster families are very involved in the adoption process, while others leave the matchmaking to the foster home coordinator, adoption coordinator, and/or other DLRR volunteers – either way is fine with us. Most dogs are adopted within two weeks of being placed with a foster family. If we think a dog will take longer to place, we will tell you in advance so you can make a decision on whether to accept that foster dog.
As it currently stands, we have to turn away a lot of dogs due to lack of foster home space. On average, DLRR receives between 50-75 inquiries a month from owners who are no longer able to keep their Lab for one reason or another. Additionally, we are asked by shelters, pounds, and animal control agencies throughout Arizona (as well as parts of Utah, New Mexico, and Nevada) to intake dogs from their facilities. Due to the foster home space constraints, we are forced to turn many of these dogs away.
If ten people reading this would be willing to take five foster dogs over the course of a year (less than one every two months) it would alleviate our current state of congestion. If 20 people were willing to accept this challenge, it would go a long way towards our not having to turn away a dog due to lack of space. If 50 people respond, chances are that we won’t even ask you to foster five dogs in a year. Will you consider fostering even one dog? Click here to reach our Volunteer Coordinator directly who is a foster mom herself and adopter of two DLRR dogs. The two of you can communicate directly and you can get a feel for fostering first-hand.
After you have made your decision to foster a dog, you'll simply need to become a member of our organization, and then fill out our Foster Home Application. We can then keep an eye out for your paperwork and as soon as it's received, get you started on your new journey! If you have additional questions about fostering, we'd love to answer them! Please contact our Foster Home Coordinator.
No matter how much or how little you have to give, your help will be greatly appreciated by the Labs that benefit from it!