What exactly does fostering mean? It means bringing a dog into your home, caring for them, providing them with affection and socialization, until a permanent family comes along who will love them forever.
The benefits of fostering are numerous, and not only a wonderful thing for the Golden and our rescue, but it can also be beneficial to the one doing the fostering in so many ways!
Note: Foster families may not adopt their foster dog. If you might be interested in adopting, please read Thinking About Adopting?
As an ethical rescue organization, GRR is committed to being truthful in disclosing any behavioral or medical problems our dogs may have to potential adopters. Our foster homes help us find these. This policy is also practical - we want adopters to make an informed choice about the dogs so that the adoption can be a permanent and happy one. The observations and recommendations during the foster period are crucial to the continued success of the GRR organization in placing rescue Goldens.
Gold Ribbon Rescue relies solely on foster homes to determine how many Goldens we are able to pull from shelters bring into our care. Fostering is one of the most rewarding and important volunteer opportunities available at Gold Ribbon Rescue.
We have foster opportunities to fit all types of families and lifestyles. You can offer short-term respite or longer-term foster care as we find a dog its forever home or serve as a permanent foster for one of our senior or hospice dogs.
Once your family has decided, together, to foster a Golden Retriever, please fill out our Foster Application. You should hear back from a volunteer within two weeks. If you have any questions before filling out the application, please call our hotline, at 512-659-4653, and we'd be very happy to discuss fostering with you. Thank you!
While it is best for the dog to stay in one home while in foster care, we realize that plans sometimes change unexpectedly. GRR will work with you to find another foster home to take the dog.
You may certainly set limits on the kinds of dogs you foster. If you are asked to foster a dog that doesn't seem right to you, you can decline. If a foster dog you have accepted proves too difficult to handle, they can be placed elsewhere.
Usually, but when you meet the people who will provide a permanent home for the dog you have helped rescue, you will feel the satisfaction of seeing him move to a new and better life. You will feel a sense of pride, in knowing that what you helped that dog accomplish in his time with you. You will feel overjoyed, that he has found his forever family and his happy ending that all homeless dogs so desire. And while certainly, some goodbyes can be tough, knowing that a dog has found his happy ending and that another precious life awaits to be afforded your gifts, is as good of a feeling as there is!
| Note: | GRR fosters may not adopt their GRR foster dog. |
No, however, It Is not recommended that you are gone eight straight hours as there are many unknowns about a foster dog. If you are gone all day, perhaps you can arrange your schedule to come home mid-day or have a friend, neighbor, or family member drop by mid-day. This should be thoroughly discussed during the approval process. Our first concern is safety: for you, your family, your own dog(s), and the rescue dog. Therefore, we suggest that any time you are unable to directly supervise the foster Golden, that they are confined In a secure area. You can crate, baby-gate into one or two rooms, or leave loose in the house - depending on what works best for you and the dog. Separation does not have to mean segregation.
Yes, a fenced yard is required. Read the GRR Fence policy below for more information.
Fence policy: GRR requires a fenced yard. Apartment dog parks do not qualify as fenced yards. Foster Goldens must NEVER be off leash and allowed to run free in an unfenced area. GRR will consider placing a dog age 8 or older in a residence without a fence. If GRR makes this exception, you must live on the ground floor or have access to an elevator for the dog. GRR does not accept an invisible fence as an appropriate fence.
Foster homes are responsible for the daily care of the foster dog, including:
If healthy, a Golden Retriever normally stays in foster care from three weeks to two months. Occasionally, we have dogs that need longer-term care.
Gold Ribbon Rescue has a team of knowledgeable volunteers that will help guide you through the experience, give ideas, answer any questions. All foster homes receive GRR's Welcome To Our Foster Family Letter, which provides guidance on routines and special aspects of fostering. Your assigned Foster, Medical and Training Coordinators are available for telephone consultation on problems not covered in the manual. GRR members are organized around the cause of helping this truly exceptional breed of companion dog and they will help you too!
Lack of funds should not prevent you from fostering, but you will have expenses for:
DEAR FOSTER MOM:
There I sat, alone and afraid,
You got a call and came right to my aid.
You bundled me up with blankets and love,
And, when I needed it most, you gave me a hug.
I learned that the world was not all that scary and cold,
That sometimes there is someone to have and to hold.
You taught me what love is, you helped me to mend,
You loved me and healed me and became my first friend.
And just when I thought you'd done all you do,
There came along not one new lesson, but two.
First you said, "Sweetheart, you're ready to go,
I've done all I can, and you've learned all I know."
Then you bundled me up with a blanket and kiss,
Along came a new family, they even have kids!
They took me to their home, forever to stay,
At first I thought you sent me away.
Then that second lesson became perfectly clear,
No matter how far, you will always be near.
And so, Foster Mom, you know I've moved on,
I have a new home, with toys and a lawn.
But I'll never forget what I learned that first day,
You never really give your fosters away.
You gave me these thoughts to remember you by,
We may never meet again, and now I know why.
You'll remember I lived with you for a time,
I may not be yours, but you'll always be mine.
