Foster
Yorkie Rescue of America is always in need of foster homes. Every foster home means another life can be saved. Fostering is the bridge between rescues leaving the shelter and being adopted. Foster homes provide us with the opportunity to get to know our Yorkies personality, rehabilitate, train and socialize prior to being adopted. Foster Families are essential in the rescue process. As a foster parent it will be your job to show the Yorkie in your care what “love” looks like. So they will recognize it when you place them in the loving arms of their adopter. Many of the dogs who come from the shelters have never experienced love or the feeling of being safe. They are so grateful and will give you back that love 10 fold. There is nothing like the joy you will experience when you see your foster come to life and you receive the unconditional love they will shower on you. That is then amplified when you see the joy on the faces of their adopter when they are ready to go to their forever home.
Below is a list of frequently asked questions to help you understand what is involved in fostering a dog.
1. What will be expected of me as a foster home?
You will need to provide your foster Yorkie with lots of LOVE. A foster family may also be responsible for taking their foster Yorkie to any necessary medical appointments by one of our approved veterinarians. Yorkie Rescue of America pays for all medical for the foster Yorkie.
2. Am I putting my personal pets in danger by agreeing to foster?
Because many of our dogs come from shelters,Yorkie Rescue of America does not place a foster dog in the fosters home until it has been to a veterinarian and had an exam, a fecal and lab work done. We board the Yorkie with our veterinarians until we have the fecal and lab results back. We would never place a contagious dog in the fosters home. We do recommend your current pets are up to date with their vaccines.
3. How long will I have a foster dog before it is adopted?
It is very difficult to predict how long a dog will be in our care. It varies greatly based on age, medical, or training issues. If you have a foster dog and need to go out of town, etc., please give us as much notice as possible so we can make other arrangements. All fosters stay with us until they are adopted.
6. What kinds of behavior problems might I expect?
We do our best to eliminate the possibility of taking aggressive dogs. Still, some issues may arise. Possibilities include separation anxiety (i.e. crying or barking when left alone), marking (with urine), chewing, house training. We have a trainer we call upon when needed.
7. What if the foster dog just doesn't work out?
We will help you overcome the situation, whether it requires additional training, or another placement. We will make sure not to place a dog with you that you are not ready to handle. From time to time, the dog just isn't a good match. Arrangements will be made to move the dog to another foster home as quickly as possible.
8. Do I get to choose the dog I foster?
You can let us know the type of dog you would like to foster, such as age and gender. What is most important is finding the right dog for your home environment. To do this we will need to know what your home environment is like. Do you have other dogs? Cats? Children? Is your home a quiet or active one? All of these things will be taken into consideration when we are looking for your foster dog. We will always check with you before we take a dog from the shelter to make sure you are comfortable with our choice.
9. How do you say goodbye to your foster dogs?
The hardest one to let go is the first one, but we promise it does get easier. Seeing the dogs go into a loving household is very gratifying and rewarding, and knowing they will have a good home and you are responsible for that, will make it much easier to let go. Also, you will quickly see that there is an endless number of dogs in need, and those dogs all deserve their chance, too. Our foster volunteers have all been through "letting go", and we can help prepare you before, during and after.
If you are ready to open your heart and your home and fostering sounds like something you might be interested in, please fill out our Foster Application online, give us a call or drop us an email.