Help save a life by fostering an abandoned dog.
We are in urgent need of foster homes either long term, short term, or emergency fostering. We are looking for people who have lots of love to give and time available to care for a rescue dog whilst they are looking for a forever home.
Most of the dogs we rescue come to us from pounds where they are on the pound ‘Put to Sleep’ list, as they have ‘served’ their seven days at the pound and have been unclaimed by their owners. We therefore have no history on them, ie if they lived with dogs/cats or children in the past, or how they respond in a home environment in everyday situations. Please see further information below. As soon as we offer a pound dog a rescue space, they are transported to emergency boarding kennels. They have to spend 2 weeks in kennels for an isolation period. We do this to ensure they are not carrying any illnesses that could be transferred to other dogs. They are assessed in kennels with other dogs, but kennels is a very different environment to that of a home.
Generally if a dog is good with other dogs in kennels, they are likely to be good with other dogs in a home, but there is a possibility that a dog’s behaviour may not be the same in kennels as it is in a home. It also takes time for a new dog and a resident dog to settle with eachother.
We prefer foster homes without children, but we do place dogs into homes with children as long as they are over the age of 8 years old. Please note, no child must ever be left unsupervised with a foster dog.
We look for foster homes where a new foster dog is able to be kept separate from dogs already in the home for an initial period whilst introductions and integration with the other dogs in the home takes place. We go through this process with foster carers and we are on hand for advice and support at all times. This separation doesn’t mean that a dog wouldn’t be ok with dogs, but our ex pound dogs are in boarding kennels, They have been assessed in a kennel situation with people and other dogs, but obviously we cannot assess them in a home environment where there are other dogs/cats or children.
Any dogs already owned by foster carers must be neutered/spayed, fully vaccinated, and up to date with worming and de-fleaing.
We also generally do not place any dog into a foster home with cats unless we have been able to test a particular dog with cats, which is possible in some cases.
However, these rules do not apply with dogs that we have assessed in a home environment, we also have dogs that we know are good with dogs/cats/children looking for foster carers.
We are on hand 24 hours a day for foster carers for any advice/guidance or problems that may arise. We also have a qualified canine psychologist Lisa Tenzin-Dolma as our behaviour advisor. Lisa is a full member of The Association of INTO Dogs and specialises in rescue dogs. Lisa kindly volunteers her time to help our foster carers or adoptive homes with any problems or issues that may arise.
We do not ask foster carers for any financial contribution towards the cost of the dog’s keep. Once Loved Dog Rescue cover all veterinary and care costs.
Once Loved Dog Rescue is based near Yeovil, Somerset TA12. We would prefer dogs to be fostered in the south west area, so we can be near them, but this isn’t always possible, and if the right foster home comes along we will consider most areas. We can arrange transport to his foster home. All veterinary expenses and food, general care costs will be covered by the rescue. We don’t ask for a contribution to the upkeep of any dog whilst in foster care unless the foster carer wants to contribute.
Please note: All potential foster carers will be required to have a pre fostering homecheck. We do not place dogs into foster homes with children under the age of 8 years.
If you think you could help by fostering a dog please contact us for an application form and a copy of our fostering guidelines. Please Email: cathy@oncelovedrescue.org.uk or telephone: 07770 795334 BEFORE 7PM PLEASE.
Please note, if we are unavailable to take your call, we will call you back, but please leave a landline number where possible. Mobile phones are expensive for us to call back. Thank you.