I am a failure.

No, silly -- I have not failed in the ways of perfection. But I am a foster failure. That means that my foster mom cannot bear to part with me and is going to adopt me so I will be her official biological child, not just a foster pet (did I get that right?)

I bet you're not surprised. I am pretty irresistible.

And look what we got to celebrate!


But don't worry -- I will still be available to help other foster dogs and people and even foster cats. Next topic will be my class in learning Basic Obedience and Manners -- because even perfect princesses can still learn a few new tricks.

So, what is a “foster network,” anyway?

First off, it is not a rescue; we do not have space for pets and we do not adopt them out.

We do support the work of existing rescue organizations in our community, to try to expand their ability to help homeless dogs and cats. The main way we do so is by finding foster homes that can give temporary homes to animals who are put on the euthanasia list at the county shelter. Once in a while we are also able to help dogs from other places, like Hazel, when an extra spot opens up.

This can happen in many ways. In the past week, we’ve placed one long-time shelter dog, Meatloaf, in a foster home that opened up when the previous foster dog was adopted.

Meatloaf

We found a brand-new foster home for another long-term shelter dog, Rocky. That foster home was found thanks to the good old-fashioned networking efforts of a current foster volunteer.

Rocky

We placed another dog in a different kind of foster home. This big, beautiful American Bulldog mix was abandoned in a rural area. A kind-hearted neighbor kept him for a few weeks, but when she found his owners, they said they did not want him back. She told them she could not keep him and that she would have to take him to the shelter. They didn’t care. She took him to the shelter but was worried about him and called to check. It turns out he would not make it to the adoptable section because he had a common, treatable skin condition, demodex mange. The shelter staff asked us for help. We said that if the finder could foster him until adoption, we would try to match her up with a rescue organization that could advertise him on Petfinder, showcase him at adoption events, and process the adoption application. The finder was happy to do that, because she knew he already got along with her other dogs. And a local rescue organization was happy to take this friendly and good-looking dog into their program.

We’ve also recently recruited some special kinds of volunteers. The Humane Society needs short-term foster homes for dogs in their required seven-day quarantine period. A call for seven-day dog fosters turned up several people who cannot do long-term fostering but are happy to help with the short-term gigs. And another wonderful volunteer offered to foster cats with treatable medical conditions, who need a bit longer than seven days to be healthy enough for the adoptable section.

Most of our foster homes come from word-of-mouth, personal networks, and social media. We are exploring other ways to recruit more homes, including tabling at events and other media outlets. We are also hoping to expand our services to rescue organizations by marketing and advertising adoptable animals. The faster we move them into permanent homes, the better it is for the animals – and it also means we have a space to put the next animal who needs some extra time.

We frequently pull the animals from the shelter and deliver them to the foster homes, and we also try to help foster families by transporting animals to adoption events.

Everything is done by volunteers, without any funding. Please let us know if you can help – in addition to foster homes, we need people who can write, call, put up flyers, transport pets, and help in many other ways. Please contact us at gainesvillefosternetwork@gmail.com.

Looking for a short-term relationship?

Some of the crazy cat and dog women I know are trying to figure out how to find more people who want to foster homeless pets. Obviously, the best possible reason to foster would be to see a face like this every morning.



But for some reason, they don’t want to go with the obvious, and have decided to collect “Data.” I will let my foster auntie tell you about their “Results” while I rest up on my throne.

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Both people who had never fostered and people who have already fostered answered the survey. Most people who had fostered found it a positive experience and would consider repeating it. We were most interested in what would encourage them to try fostering, either for the first time or again.

Of the possible answers to this question, one was chosen by almost all respondents: “Having all medical and food costs covered.”

Fortunately, this is easy. Rescues always provide food, supplies, and veterinary care. Many potential foster volunteers are not aware of this, however, which suggests that it would be good to emphasize that fostering carries no financial cost.

(Or a face like this.)

In second place was a tie between two responses that both suggest people are more likely to foster if they have input into which animal comes into their home: “Being able to specify conditions (e.g., housetrained, no medical problems),” and “Being able to help choose the animal.”

Rescue groups allow volunteers to indicate their preferences about conditions, so that they do not end up with an animal whose needs they cannot meet. However, groups rarely let foster volunteers participate in choosing the animal they foster. There may be logistical and other obstacles to this, but it is worth thinking about – people want to feel connected to the animal they are living with.

(Or this. That's right. This is a cat.)

Third place was also a tie, this time between two responses that reflect people’s desire to know about and help determine the animal’s long-term fate: “Being able to participate in placing the animal in a permanent adoptive home” and “Being able to learn about how the animal is doing from the adoptive home.”

Both answers suggest that potential foster parents see placement in a permanent home as part of the foster process and are eager to participate in it. This makes sense in light of the fact that one of the most common reasons given for not wanting to foster is fear of becoming too attached. Knowing that your former foster pet is in a good home and getting regular updates would go a long ways to alleviating that concern and may make fostering more appealing to a wider number of people.

(Seriously. How can you resist?)

In fourth place was “Having a relief foster home to take the animal when I travel or am sick.”

We thought this might rank higher. While it’s still a significant concern, it is not as important to people as being able to choose and help place their foster pets. Maybe willingness to foster hinges more on emotional investment than logistical matters. (And perhaps many potential foster volunteers already have their own animals and routinely arrange for their care while traveling and assume they would make similar arrangements for foster pets.)

(This one even comes with a matching toy.)

In fifth place was a tie between “Receiving initial training and advice” and “Having someone else transport the animal to adoption events.”

While these are not the most important concerns, these are both services that could be provided, and their availability might make it possible for some people to foster who otherwise could not do so. However, these are not services that rescue staff can offer, because they are constantly busy with administration, animal care, and processing adoptions. We’d like the foster network to be able to provide some of these support services. Experienced foster volunteers might be able to hold small orientation sessions or even one-on-one consultations for new foster homes. And people who cannot themselves foster might be able to provide transport to adoption events.


In last place (though still checked by about a quarter of respondents) were “Help with training and behavior issues that might arise” and “Having a specific limit on the time the animal will be with me.”

We’d like to look into having a pool of experienced foster volunteers and regular dog and cat owners, trainers, and behaviorists who can provide help as needed, to relieve rescue staff who are already overworked. This might help not only to encourage people to foster but also to enable people to keep fostering even when problems arise.

The time limitation is trickier, but we included it on the survey because we wanted to see how important it was. For a few people, this might be a major factor, and in those cases we might make use of a pool of relief/backup fosters, the same ones who might help when foster families travel. Perhaps most important to keeping stays relatively short, however, is marketing help to get animals moved into adoptive homes quickly. Foster families can be very effective adoption advocates, and they seem to want to do this. We can seek out ways to make them more effective and make this process fun and convenient for them – e.g., by organizing fun events for them to attend with their foster animals and by thinking of creative marketing and advertising ideas.


We’d love to hear your suggestions about what might make fostering more appealing, easier, and fun. The survey is still available. Please take it! http://cs.createsurvey.com/publish/survey?a=44RySV

That was then.

Can you believe that was me? Back in the shelter in Clewiston.

That's okay. This is now:

Happy Valentine's Day

This is a Valentine's Card for my Foster Mommy. She is the bravest person I know. She wades around in swamps for a living (I know; she took me once), and for fun, she goes on “adventure races” and rides horses very fast over big fences. But the bravest thing she ever did was take me in. She did not know then that I was a Perfect Princess. All she knew about me was that I was a pit bull in a shelter in Clewiston and I was “Out Of Time.” She did not even know where Clewiston was. (She still doesn’t, in fact.) But when my Foster Auntie asked for someone to take me in for a few weeks, my FM said “Yes!” right away.

This was especially brave because my FM had never lived with a dog before. Never! She grew up in a foreign country, but I don’t think that’s the reason. She just had bad luck. But she liked her friends’ dogs and wanted to try it. And she didn’t want me to run out of time. And here I am.


My FM was really lucky to get such a perfect foster dog. But you know who was the most lucky of all? Me.

Thanks, FM. I love you.

Good Morning.

As a princess, I have many social obligations. Sometimes my weekend duties begin early. On Thursday evening, for example, I had a dinner invitation. I took Foster Mommy along because she likes to get out of the house. Then we got back a little late but Uncle Chris needed some company, so I stayed up even later with him after FM went to bed.

So Friday morning I thought I would get to sleep in just a bit. But FM decided it was a great day for an early morning walk. I tried to decline politely by pretending I was not awake. She is not always good at taking subtle hints, however. Even though I kept my eyes closed tight, she put my leash on and tried to persuade me to leave my throne.

Um, FM, I don't think opening the door to show me that it is RAINING is a good way to persuade me to go outside. I'm a princess, remember? We don't get our feet wet. Please go away and come back when the weather is better.

In Case Your Foster Dog Is Not Perfect.

I am special. Everyone says so. This was very helpful for my Foster Mommy, since she did not have any Canine Experience before, except for sometimes walking with some of Foster Auntie's dogs. FA says that I am a perfect "First Dog," because I have such good manners in the house and on a leash and I am friendly with everyone I meet. FA says Queen Tozi was like this, too. She says we are naturally Resilient and Polite. I guess it's the Royal Blood. But most Foster Dogs do not have this advantage and so it takes them longer to learn how to live in a home with a family. That's why Foster Parents have to be patient and they also need a lot of support and advice. Rescue Organizations usually have people like FA who love to help people get used to dogs and vice-versa. They are so happy that someone is giving a temporary home to a dog that they will do almost anything to make it easy and fun. Just ask!


Here are some things you might encounter if you have a Foster Dog who is not quite perfect yet. I will use Boomer as the example of an Imperfect Foster Dog.

First, your foster dog may not have lived in a house before and may not understand all the rules involved in Inside Living. In fact, I did not know about houses until I got to the Little Blue House. But since I am naturally Resilient and Polite, I explored very carefully and then went up the steps one by one without making a Big Stink about it. And once I was inside I did not make messes or chew on Forbidden Objects. But when Boomer first lived in a house, he peed and chewed and made messes everywhere and he even howled sometimes.


This is Boomer when he first came to FA's house. He did not look very good. He was skinny and he had the sniffles and his coat was not shiny.

Fortunately Foster Auntie has lived with many dogs, including many foster dogs, and she had a Plan. She taught him to pee outside only and she gave him Appropriate Chewing Objects and eventually he learned most of the rules. He still likes to eat footwear, but FA says that dogs do that and people need to learn not to leave tasty chewable items on the floor. Boomer still stays in a crate when no one is home because he is not Fool Proof yet.

Second, your foster dog may not get along with your other animals. FA has a dog named Thunder who does not always like new dogs, especially boy dogs. So he and Boomer had to get used to each other very slowly. At first they only met each other when Boomer was in a crate and Thunder walked past. They stayed in separate parts of the house for several weeks and Thunder gradually got used to the idea of a new boy dog in the house. When he completely ignored Boomer in his crate or on the other side of a door, FA let them meet each other on leashes. When that went well, they got to have Supervised Time Together. Now they are good friends and even take naps together sometimes.


FA says slow and steady is best. Same goes for cats, if you have those. But we leave the details to the Cat Experts, like my friend Crazy Cat Woman.

Third, some dogs have had a hard time before arriving in their foster homes and do not trust everyone they meet. This is not the case for me, because I like everyone and I am sure everyone I meet will like me.

This is me meeting the Little Boy for the First Time:


Not all dogs are as brave and sociable as I am. Boomer likes kids but he is not always brave with grownups. He is scared of many people, especially when they have sticks or make loud noises or stare at him. FA has learned about what bothers him and tries to help him get used to new people and feel safe. He is still not as Happy-Go-Lucky as me, but he is not scared of as many things as before.

Since Boomer had so many Issues he required an Advanced Foster Home. Since I am perfect I am an Advanced Foster Dog and can be in a Beginner Foster Home. That is why I was just right for my FM.

FM is very fond of me and says I cannot stay at your house to teach you about fostering In Person. That is why I have a Blog to tell you about it from the comfort of my own Throne. You may not get a dog who is quite as perfect as me. We are not Common. Obviously. But don't worry. There are lots of imperfect but very nice dogs who need foster homes. There is a dog who is right for every kind of foster family, if you are patient and make sure to ask for help from the Crazy Dog Women that you know.

Then you will find your own special foster dog who will be "That Dog" for you.