In order to be successful in our mission and to save rescue dogs from high kill shelters, we depend on our foster families to provide safe, loving homes for our dogs until a furever home is found.  We could not survive without our amazing fosters and because of them we are able to rescue wonderful dogs that have not been given a chance at life, some of them are just hours or minutes away from being euthanized.  We are limited by the number of foster homes we have, meaning we can only rescue the number of dogs that we have homes for prior to transport.  Our goal is to place our dogs with families in loving homes which helps prepare them for a successful adoption and provides Tailwaggers 911 with information that helps us find these furever families.

Fostering is rewarding work.  Placing these “unwanted” dogs into a temporary foster homes with people who are willing to open their hearts and homes allows them the time that they did not have in the shelter to wait for the right family to adopt them. Tailwaggers 911 only places dogs in foster homes that are approved after submission of a foster application.  Tailwaggers 911 completes thorough checks on all volunteers to ensure that our fosters share the same philosophies and goals regarding rescue dogs.  We do our best to carefully match our foster dogs with foster families based on what works for your household and the dog.

It is important to keep in mind when considering fostering that transitioning from a high-kill shelter environment to a foster home can be stressful for many dogs.  In your home, they will have the chance to feel safe and secure, to feel loved, to be nurtured, exercised, and socialized.  Tailwaggers 911 works diligently to find the right home for our dogs from the moment we bring the dogs into our rescue.  Foster animals may stay in their temporary foster homes from a few days, to weeks, and sometimes even months until the right family is found.  We need foster families who can make this commitment.

What happens if you fall in love with your foster dog and want to adopt?  Well, we call this a “foster failure” J It happens, we understand as it has happened to many of us.  You can rest assured; we will work with you by following the same process that we follow for all of our adopters.  We will ask that you fill out an adoption application (found under the “How to Adopt” page of our website) and wait for approval before proceeding with the adoption process.

 
Foster Family Responsibilities

Care for your foster dog, including socialization, some basic training. If a dog has behavioral problems, we will work with you to help correct them before placing dog for adoption

Providing unconditional love and affection for you foster dog

Providing updates on their progress in your home in the form of detailed profile descriptions and pictures that will be posted on our website. We encourage our foster families to post as many details/photos on our Facebook page, too!

Attending Tailwaggers 911 adoption events/ meet & greets to help expose your foster dog to a number of potential adopters (we do require you to live within our foster area).

Understanding our Foster-to-Adopt (FTA) program for adopters which is a five-day trial period for adopters to take the dog into their home and see if it is a good fit. The FTA program will be reviewed with you by our foster coordinator, upon approval for fostering.

Updating the foster coordinator and President with any issues or concerns that arise while the dog is in your home. We want to know if you need help and will be there for you if you do!

 
Tailwaggers 911 Commitment to Our Fosters

We will work with you to help ensure the best possible match for your family and your new foster dog.

We will provide necessary supplies when you first receive your foster dog, including collar, Tailwagger’s 911 ID tag and dog food. We welcome any fosters who are able to provide these items at their own expense as we tend to have a need for these. However, it is not a requirement to foster.

We provide routine and pre-approved emergency medical care in cooperation with local veterinary clinics that are endorsed by Tailwaggers 911, at no cost to you. Routine medical care such as heartworm and flea/tick preventative will be arranged with you when records indicate the dog is due. All medical records are maintained by Tailwaggers 911.

We provide guidance and suggestions to help foster families work through any issues that arise.

We screen potential adopters prior to approval for the safety of our foster families and our dogs.

We hold adoption events each month to help find and increase exposure for our dogs to potential adopters and the community.