Thank you for your interest in helping Massachusetts’ dogs who find themselves homeless. Our foster homes, many of which have been with us from the beginning of our program, experience great joy and deep satisfaction when they see that through their efforts an abandoned or neglected dog gets a second chance at life and a new opportunity to share his or her unconditional love with people who care. Not only do foster homes have the joy of seeing their foster dog placed into a new, great, forever home, but also there is the additional joy of seeing the happiness of the new family. Many of these homes need the dog as much as the dog needs them.

Unfortunately, many wonderful dogs are put to sleep every day because they there are not lucky enough to be placed in a foster program or adopted from shelters. Four million dogs are abandoned every year in the United States. Two million of those dogs are put down. Overall, an estimated 5 million cats and dogs are killed in shelters each year. That’s one about every six and a half seconds. According to the Humane Society of the United States, the public acquires only 14% of pets from shelters.  Many dogs only have a chance of being adopted if they are taken in by a rescue organization.

All Dog Rescue gets calls every day from shelters, Animal Control Officers and individuals who cannot keep their dogs anymore. We desperately need more foster homes in order to save these wonderful dogs. Please consider joining our team by offering your home as a temporary safe haven for an unfortunate dog that is in desperate need of help. Apply to become an All Dog Rescue Foster home now!

What is Foster Care?

Being a foster home means sharing your home with a rescued dog: providing food, shelter, toys, walks and lots of attention, as if the dog were your own, until a permanent home for the dog is found. We count on our foster homes to observe behaviors in a variety of situations, and we welcome those updates so we can enhance the description on Petfinder and the web site. Positive reinforcement training is encouraged. We also need to set limits for dogs that are new to our homes. You can always get more lenient, but it’s important to start out strict. Dogs will be more comfortable if they know what rules are, too. Most foster care situations require 2 weeks to a month of residential foster care, and in some cases where the dog is older, several months.

Who can foster?

The most important requirements are time and attention. You must be willing to include the dog in family activities, allow the dog to live as a house dog with much human companionship, and provide some daily one-on-one time with your rescue, including cuddles, play, and walks on leash.Crates are an invaluable piece of equipment for rescue people. We will loan foster homes a crate, if you don’t have one you can use. The dog may not be completely house-trained, in which case you can use the crate and take the dog out on leash, giving praise and treat rewards when the dog is successful.

Apartment or condo homes can also be excellent foster homes, with proper attention to providing several leash-walks daily for the dog or off-leash exercise in a safe area like a fenced yard. If you live in an apartment, you must get permission from your landlord before applying to become a foster for All Dog Rescue.

If you are unable to accept the long-term commitment of giving a dog a permanent home, but miss the companionship of a dog, then fostering may be for you!liv

Apply to become an All Dog Rescue Foster home now!

How we decide to take a dog into our program:

	First, we try to get as much information as possible about the dog.
	If the dog sounds like a good candidate for our program (friendly to people and dogs, no resource guarding, no awful behavior problems, etc.), and if we have a foster home open, we will schedule a temperament evaluation. Several of our volunteers are evaluators.
	If the dog passes the evaluation, the evaluator sends an email to our group, describing the dog’s size, behavior, etc.
	If someone feels this is a dog they can take in, they will arrange to get the dog.
	Dogs taken into our program are given a tag with an ADR #. The dog’s digital photo and a written description are put on Petfinder.com.  The dog will be put on our web site too.

Fostering with All Dog Rescue:

	New fosters are assigned a foster mentor, someone to answer questions, give advice, etc.
	We also maintain an active Google Groups’ email list where fosters can exchange information or ask for help.
	Foster homes are reimbursed for expenses like special food, medical supplies, etc. when you submit a reimbursement form to the treasurer.  We have donations of toys, leashes, food, etc., so it’s better to ask the group (by email) if we need anything before going out and buying it.
	Whenvener we can, we have a backup foster home available, in case of emergency.
	If the dog needs to be spayed or neutered the foster will take the dog to a vet recommended by the group. All Dog Rescue is billed directly by the vet in many cases. If not, the foster will be reimbursed for all medical expenses.
	The foster will review the adoption applications with the help of their foster mentor. For further information on the adoption process, please go to our “How to Adopt” page.
	The foster will make 1-2 follow-up contacts with the adopter after they’ve adopted to check in, see if there are any problems/good things happening, offer support/information /encouragement. Very often wonderful new friendships are formed between the adopter and foster.
	We encourage our adopters to continue to use All Dog Rescue as an information resource and are happy to help with any dog-related questions. If we do not have the answer, we have many resources in the dog behavior and other training fields we can ask.

What to do next:

If you would like to foster for All Dog Rescue, please fill out the Foster Home Information form which you will find on our website: http://www.alldogrescue.org/ and fax or email it to us. If you would like more information, please email: foster@alldogrescue.org.

Ann Burford, Pinnacle Realtor, Accredited Buyers Representative

Cell: 781.910.1419

Office: 781.237.5000

aburford@PinnacleHouses.com