KNOW THE RESPONSIBILITY OF FOSTERING BEFORE VOLUNTEERING
Please keep in mind that we do evaluate each foster home application individually. Not all homes are suitable to be a foster. If you think you will be the perfect person to provide a loving, safe environment then please contact us here
Firstly, let us thank you for your interest in fostering for Hungary Hearts Dog Rescue. Fostering can be quite demanding and sometimes frustrating but, once we find a dog its forever home and you see that all of your hardwork has paid off, it makes fostering a very rewarding experience.
Main Responsibilities:
1. Provide a warm, safe and nurturing home and environment for the animal until its new forever home is found.
a. All our dogs will be kept as ‘inside’ dogs. All animals must have outside access but will NOT live outside. All animals will sleep INSIDE your home, in an appropriate area.
b. As part of fostering you must work with your foster dog on good home manners as most will have never lived inside a house!
2. If required, fosters will take the animal to all necessary vet appointments – YOU MUST KEEP US INFORMED AT ALL TIMES.
a. We will cover the costs of vet care. You must give us access to your vet and all treatments must be argeed in advance with a member of Hungary Hearts Dog Rescue.
b. If your foster dog needs emergency veterinary care, you agree to contact Hungary Hearts Dog Rescue immediately. As with routine care, emergency veterinary care must be approved in advance by Hungary Hearts Dog Rescue.
Expectations:
1. All new fosters must understand that in most cases we do not know the history of the dog in question. However, we will have an idea of their temperament and how they interact with people and other animals as they will have already been placed in a foster home in Hungary.
2. The first few days a foster animal is in its new, temporary home can be stressful for both the animal and the foster. Keep in mind the animal is now living in a new situation. It may have an accident – it probably WILL have an accident. The animal may have lived its whole life outside or it does not know where exactly it should go. The bottom line is that every foster animal needs at least a week, maybe more, to become acclimated to their new surroundings (the average dog takes 3 weeks to relax in a new environment).
3. We ask that new fosters keep a dog for a minimum of a week before deciding to return a foster back to Hungary Hearts Dog Rescue, unless very urgent. As stated above, some animals need time to adjust to new surroundings. If, however, the foster is not working out, Hungary Hearts Dog Rescue will ALWAYS take the dog back, but it may take our volunteers a day or two and sometimes longer to make alternate arrangements for the foster dog.
We ask for your patience during these times. Most of our volunteers work full-time jobs during the day and do rescue work during their lunch hours, after work and at weekends. We cannot always respond ASAP but can provide behavioural advice for the interim – we recommend all fosters own a crate incase you ever need to seperate your animals.
4. The goal of Hungary Hearts Dog Rescue is to place our animals into the BEST possible home. You may have a foster for a week or you may have the foster for several months, depending on the animal. This also means that at times, we disappoint potential adopters who very much wanted the dog because we decided the adopter was not suitable for the dog, or vice versa. If you cannot commit the time please do not apply to foster a dog.
5. You will get to know your foster dog better than anyone. In order for us to promote each animal and to find them the best home, we require constant updates on your foster. This will include any changes such as weight, personality, likes and dislikes and behaviors. Getting updated pictures of your foster is mandatory (a picture is worth a thousand words and goes very far in the dog getting noticed on our websites). If you cannot provide pictures and updates it may result in us reclaiming the foster dog.
If we havent scared you off and you understand what an important role our fosterers play then please get in touch and join our network of happy fosterers!