Why Foster A Dog and What Does It Entail?

Being a foster home is one of many ways you can help improve the lives of shelter dogs. While A.P.A.D. aims to place every homeless dog as quickly as possible in a forever home this is unfortunately not always possible. A foster home selflessly provides temporary care to vulnerable shelter dogs that urgently need a home, e.g. young puppies, injured and sick dogs, senior dogs, dogs with severe kennel stress and badly abused or neglected dogs that need socialization in a home environment. The length of time a foster dog stays in your home varies with the dog’s situation and this will discussed beforehand.

Would you make a good dog foster parent?

You love dogs, you are responsible and committed and you would love to provide a shelter dog a forever home. However, for whatever reason (school, work, travel) you are just not able to adopt a dog and to make a lifetime long commitment yet. But you have a heart of gold and you know that you have time to help a shelter dog for a certain period of time. Then fostering a shelter dog might by something for you. By being a foster home you will give a vulnerable shelter dog the temporary home it so desperately needs until A.P.A.D. finds its forever home.

Foster homes must remember that they are a vital, but a temporary guardian to a dog in need. As a foster home you do have some responsibilities like providing the dog with food, shelter, love and attention and education; transporting your dog to medical appointments and adoption events, administering medicines and adhering to special diets.

If you are interested in being a foster home we welcome you to visit A.P.A.D. en we are happy to talk you through and answer all your questions.

Benefits of being a foster family

• Fostering is a way to test out if your family is ready to adopt. The shorter time frame is a good way to experience if you and your family want and can fully commit to adopt a dog for its life time
• Getting a homeless dog ready for adoption by giving your love, time, and friendship is such a rewarding feeling.
• You can enjoy the company of a dog without having to commit yourself for its life
• You will feel good about helping a vulnerable living being that otherwise be in the streets or in a stressful environment of a shelter
• Fostering dogs is also a pleasurable experience. It’s rewarding to know that you played a key part in the rehoming process when a foster dog is successfully rehomed.
• You have full time assistance from A.P.A.D.
• Foster homes are given essential supplies, such as food and access to veterinary care, and a 24-hour emergency number if problems arise.
• Ease of mind that A.P.A.D. will take care of rehoming the dog in case you will no longer be able to foster

Benefits for the dog

• It will have the opportunity to live in a home instead of in a cage.
• It will be able to experience the warmth and the tranquility of a home which is so much better for the dog than living in a the stressful environment of the shelter
• In a home the dog can be at peace and it will have the opportunity to be in contact with people so that it can socialize, grow up and/or get better surrounded by love. Personal attention and love can heal all wounds
• When a dog is traumatized and fearful because of previous negative experiences, living in a home will help them to recover and to lose their fear of people, to build up their confidence and get used to a normal lifestyle.
• Being in a foster home plays a vital part in the rehabilitation of a dog and helps to improve their chance of finding a new home.
• There are foster homes that eventually fall in love with their foster dog and adopt it for the rest of its life. The good thing of being a foster home before adopting a dog is that you know each other because you have lived together and their will be no surprises about its behavior.

Benefits for A.P.A.D.

• We can save more lives. With every free cage A.P.A.D. can rescue and save another homeless dog.
• A.P.A.D. provides food and access to veterinary care to foster homes but if you could be able to take care of some costs like for example food you will contribute economically to A.P.A.D.
• You will help extend our network of volunteers and your home will be a virtual branch of the organization A.P.A.D..
• In A.P.A.D. is it not easy to provide the most vulnerable dogs with the one on one care they so desperately need. So being a foster home you help A.P.A.D. to save dog lives.

If you live in Denia or its immediate surroundings, please contact us by filling out the questionnaire if you want to be a foster family:

GOOFY-the story of a lucky foster dog

Recently we took our darling ex-APAD boy ‘Goofy’ to the vets for the last time. We fostered him for two years until we adopted him for his last year of life. He brought us so much joy and happiness. So, please think about:

1. Fostering!…It’s magical! We have now fostered 12 dogs with APAD and even though there are always tears when we say goodbye, it makes us feel really good that there is a special family or person waiting for their new dog.

2. Adopting an older dog! You avoid the puppy years…No more chewed furniture, etc. Many older dogs are less demanding, calm and uncomplicated. They just want a warm bed, nice food and a cuddle.

3. Adopting a dog with leishmaniasis! Very very very often this can be controlled with a daily pill (wrapped up in a piece of turkey – yum yum!!). These (literally) cost a couple of euros for a months supply, from any pharmacy – no prescription needed. It really is not a big deal. (Our dog had leishmaniasis, but actually it was a cancer that got him in the end.)

If you have any questions that you would like to ask us about the experience of fostering or leishmaniasis, please get in touch with APAD who will pass on our details. (We speak English, French and German, and a bit of Spanish).

In the meantime, Goofy sends you a cuddle and wishes you a happy summer with all your animals!

Andrea and Frank

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