I agree, fostering can be a very rewarding experience and it makes you feel great when you are able to find a dog or cat a great forever home. I foster both dogs and cats for our rescue organization and the local SPCA. The SPCA generally pays for everything, medical, food, medication, etc. and BuffaloCAN only pays for medical and medication. We do get donations from local pet food stores which help with the food costs.

Glacier makes a very good point. most shelters only foster out dogs that have "issues". Sometimes they have specific medical needs that have to be monitored more closely than the shelter can provide, behavior problems that are making adoption difficult, or are showing signs of kennel stress. Many times these behavior issues work themselves out in a home with some basic obedience and care - sometimes they do not. Also most shelters require some time volunteering before they will allow you to foster. Our local animal control facility requires you to volunteer for at least a year before allowing you to foster.

If you are interested in fostering, I would contact a local rescue organization. They should have a foster application and a foster agreement that they can send you to help you decide whether or not fostering would be right for you. People who contact us about fostering, we require a home check and a vet reference. As a new foster home, we would only place dogs or cats with them that pass a behavior evaluation with an A or B score. Dogs that score a C or D, only go to our experienced foster homes. We would also make periodic checks to ensure the dog or cat is in a good environment. Once we have a good history with the foster home, we don't do that very often. Another thing we require is that foster homes carry their own homeowners and/or liability insurance. Many rescues require that since they cannot afford to carry group policies (they are quite expensive in some states - in NY it is about 1200.00 a year)

We also depend on the foster home to make most of the decisions reqarding the placement of the animal. We agree that the foster home is the one that knows the animal the best and can make the most informed decision. We do use the "Meet Your Match" protocol with adoptions and we have someone that prescreens the applications before the foster home can contact them. (e.g. vet checks, initial phone interview, etc.) She is only there to make sure that the adopter meets our minimum requirements, not to make decisions on what dog is best for them. Many times people send us applications and then we match them with the right dog for them. Sometimes we don't have a dog that fits their lifestyle, so we forward the application to other rescue organizations.

This is rather long winded (I apologize), but I did want to give you an idea of what to expect. As Aly said, I have met some of the most wonderful giving people working in rescue. I have made friends that will probably last a lifetime.

Clara