Anyone here ever been a foster pet mom/dad?

[Lisa0825]

I had to have my sweet kitty put to sleep a couple weeks ago, due to a sudden illness. I miss her a lot, but I don't think I can adopt another pet right now. I see it as potentially an 18 year committment, much like a child. I am seriously considering either joining the Peace Corps in a few years, or possibly moving to a Latin American country for a year or two for the experience. Recent changes in my financial situation have made these options quite possible, whereas, they were mostly fantasies before. So, since I don't know where I'll be, I don't want to adopt right now.

I was thinking about fostering cats/kittens, but I am unsure what that would be like. If anyone has done this, I'd love to have more info, like how long do you keep a pet? Are they mostly adult or little ones? Is it while they await permanent placement, or do they rotate them through just so they all get time in a home? Do you find it really difficult to let them take them away after falling for them?

Thanks for any info.

[tyedyeto]

1. I haven't but an acquaintence of mine does that

She's had both adults and babies. Usually abandoned and will keep them til they are healthy enough for adoption. She tells me that it is hard to give them up but then thinks of the pleasure these pets will give someone over the years.

[auburngrad82]

2. We are on our fourth foster dog.

He's a big giant sweetie. We pretty much had our choice of who to foster. We have five of our own dogs so we had to be concerned about how they would get along with the foster. One of our fosters was an adult, two were adolescents (6 mos to a year) and the fourth was a 3 month old puppy. The first one was the hardest because he was a very pretty cattle dog and we have two cattle dogs of our own. He fit right in. With our group, they tend to stay in one place until they're adopted but occasionally they get moved around if people go on vacation, etc.

Here's our current foster:



We think he's a jack russell/st bernard cross. :)

We've had him longer than the others. He's on the large size and very energetic so he's a little harder to place than the others we had. His day will come, though...

[Mutley]

3. Wow! How do you cross a Jack Russel and a St. Bernard?

How much does he weigh? What an interesting mix!

[auburngrad82]

11. He's about 70 pounds

We really don't know what he's a mix of. I was just kidding about the Jack Russell/St Bernard cross because he's colored like both. It's just a joke we have among the rescue people.

BTW, we had a 100 pound great pyrenees mix that we told people was 3 months old. She was really 3 years old. We're just not to be trusted!!!

[xchrom]

6. oh god i'm in love!!!

now that's a dog -- he's gorgeous!
and is he riding shot gun?
right where i love my dog to be.

oh sigh -- i miss my dog -- dag nab it.

[auburngrad82]

12. Yep, riding shotgun

Want him? He's available to a loving home. Preferably with a fenced yard and no small kids. He doesn't know he's big and can easily run right over the top of a child.

[Mutley]

4. Check in the pet group.

I know a lot of posters there are pet foster parents. Fostering is a great thing to do and you will feel so good about it.

[RebelOne]

5. I am fostering a dog now. See his photo below.

Dewey was headed for the pound. His family is moving to Florida and couldn't take him because they had no permanent housing. They were going to drop him at the pound. The rescue group sent me an e-mail and I decided to foster him. I knew he would be put down if he was sent to a shelter because he is about 11 years old and people just don't want to adopt older dogs. He is unique as he has one blue eye and one brown eye.

The pet stays with you until he is adopted. Usually the foster animals are older dogs.

Dewey goes to the rescue group's pet adoption at Petsmart every Saturday. I have had him since the first of June. He is so cute but no one wants an 11-year-old dog.

http://photobucket.com/albums/y275/Legend915/?action=vi...

[Lisa0825]

8. So what happens if no one wants to adopt?

That's one thing I am worried about. I am afraid that if I foster a pet that doesn't get adopted, the longer I keep it, the more at home it will be, and then what happens if I can't keep it anymore? It would break my heart to have a pet a long time and then have to give it back. That's the reason I am not adopting now in the first place.

[RebelOne]

9. You give him back to the rescue group where

they will find him another foster home. If no one adopts Dewey, I will probably keep him. I would like to see him adopted because then I can foster another dog. I can only foster one at a time because I live in a mobile home with a 100-pound Rottweiler, so I'm limited on space.

[XemaSab]

13. that link wants a login

can't see the photo. :-(

[LynneSin]

7. I've never fostered but I've worked with cat rescues

Most are willing to work with you when it comes to what kind of cats you foster, but I will admit you do see foster parents attached to their fosterees.

To be honest, there is always a need for fostering adult cats since they seem to take longer to find homes and some of those adult cats get depressed living in the foster system. Imagine you're an adult cat who's lived in a home and suddenly those people no longer want you. It's so sad.

I would love to foster cats, but I live in an apartment and I already own 2 cats. It would be too close for comfort bringing in even a foster cat especially with Evita being wiggy as it is.

Good luck!

[Patiod]

10. Lorien in the Pet Group will be happy to answer your questions

She takes some damn fine kitty pictures, too!