FOSTERING: Every day we receive requests to rehome beagles. These requests come from families who cannot keep their dogs anymore, from caring people who have found a beagle on the roadside, and, overwhelmingly, from shelters throughout North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and states even more distant. Many of these dogs die by injection or in gas chambers because we simply do not have enough foster homes for them. We can't afford to board many dogs (although we do in emegency circumstances) nor is boarding conducive to finding a home for a dog, so we have a constant desperate need for reliable, caring homes for our dogs to go to until they are ready to be adopted. A dog coming from a shelter typically needs a great deal of love, medical care, and attention before it is ready to be adopted into a family. We rely on our foster families to provide this care.
We are actively recruiting foster homes, advertising dogs from shelters throughout North Carolina, and raising money to treat and (if absolutely neccessary) board dogs whose time is up at North Carolina shelters. Despite these efforts, many beagles die each day in North Carolina simply for lack of time. We need foster homes to give a dog the TIME he needs to find his forever family.
WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP: Long-term fostering (1-3 months) is our greatest need. Short-term fostering (1 day - 2 weeks) is also a great need. Many people find it rewarding to be a 'quarantine home' for a new dog, or an 'evaluator' for dogs we have just met. We also need help with transportation--helping take dogs between the vet and their foster homes, picking up dogs for adoption days, or picking up dogs from shelters. Recruit other foster homes and volunteers. Ask your friends if they would like to foster a beagle!
YOUR ROLE AS A FOSTER: Provide a safe and nurturing environment for your foster dog. Provide food and routine care (bath, ear cleaning, brushing, etc.) for your foster dog. Attend adoption events with your foster dog when possible (often other volunteers can help with this). Communicate with the foster and adoption coordinators about your foster dog to help facilitate adoptions and medical care. Many fosters choose to meet prospective adoptors while others prefer not to. Fosters always have the final say as to whether an adoption can proceed. We know you know the dog best, and have the most love and care invested in it, and we respect that! Many foster families provide toys and treats for their foster dog(s), but these can also be provided by the rescue.
THE SUPPORT YOU AND YOUR FOSTER DOG RECEIVE FROM BEAGLE RESCUE: All medical treatments and care. Routine flea and heartworm preventative medications. Information and support. Backup fostering or boarding for vacations, family emergencies, and other situations. Transport to and from the vet and adoption days if neccessary.
HOW TO BECOME A FOSTER: Fill out the Foster/Adoption Application form. On the form, indicate that you are interested specifically in fostering. A TBRofNC representative will contact you to arrange an interview and homevisit. If approved, we will immediately begin working on finding a suitable foster dog for your household. You will be asked to sign our Foster Home Agreementoutlining the foster responsibilities and procedures.
WHAT IF YOU FALL IN LOVE WITH YOUR FOSTER DOG AND CAN'T BEAR TO GIVE HIM UP? One of the greatest joys of fostering is the day when your foster dog goes to his forever home. There is nothing to match the feeling of getting your first Christmas card from a family who adopted one of 'your' babies - with the dog in the center of the family photograph. But sometimes after you have fostered a dog for a while, you come to realize that he has already found his forever home - and that it is your home! While we love to see foster dogs move into new homes, we know that sometimes a dog never leaves his foster home - it has happened to us all at one time or another. Since as a foster you have been accepted as an adopter (the application and the approval process are the same) we are delighted to know that another of our dogs has found a wonderful home.
DO YOU GET TO CHOOSE YOUR FOSTER DOG? We will work with you to place a foster suitable to your home and family situation. We will guide you through introducing the new dog to your family and your present pets. If there is a problem, we are there to back you up. If a problem with a foster dog can't be resolved, we can try again with another dog or try again at some later date.
HOW LONG DOES A DOG STAY IN A FOSTER HOME? The length of the foster period varies greatly. Some dogs stay in foster care for only a week or so before they are ready to be adopted into a family. Some dogs need more time and attention either physically or psychologically or both, and some dogs just take a while to 'click' with the perfect adopter. The typical foster period is 1-3 months. You are never required to complete a single foster period, however - if you find your availability to foster is growing short, we will find another foster home.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Settling even the most equable of dogs into a new home takes time, patience, and a structured environment. Our foster homes all rely on crate training (kenneling the dog in a indoor kennel, often called a 'crate') to provide their dogs with essential 'quiet time' and to make housetraining easier. We have found that our dogs settle into their new homes much easier if they continue to have the security of a crate or kennel. We therefore now REQUIRE that all fosters have a kennel or crate in the home when their new beagle arrives. WE WILL PROVIDE YOU WITH A CRATE as well as advice on housetraining and crate training. Questions about fostering? E-mail our foster coordinators at fosterme@tribeagles.org.
