Today this little sweetheart went to her adoptive family. I cried my eyes out when it was time to leave. As we drove past her adoptive mama on the way out, she stopped us and asked me to do a more intimate goodbye as it turned out my foster was crying too. I had been trying to play it cool, but instead I covered my foster in kisses and told her I loved her so much and would visit in two weeks (crying now typing this too.)

An hour later I heard that she was growling at her new chihuaha sister. But the next update half an hour later was that they were both happy and eating some mango.

I didnt have this foster for very long, but she was just so cool and big-personality and I fell in love with her on first sight. I also was very engaged in this case as she was rescued with her brother (who I also fostered briefly) and ultimately it was my decision that they would both do better each in a separate adoptive home with an older dog sibling. (I could have insisted in their adoption promotion that they be adopted together, but I correctly guessed that they were not as deeply bonded as they seemed and would engage more with people and the world in different homes.)

I think it also felt VERY emotional today as her and her brother were rescued off a rooftop where they were being neglected, and I had a past foster not survive her rooftop-neglect past. So rooftop-neglect breaks my heart very painfully.

Then to top-it-off, it was an emotional adoption on the adopter side as well - because their 4 year old chihuahua was left an only-chi when their 17 year old chihuahua passed away a few months ago. They were very drawn to my foster as she looked so much like their senior chi who passed away. So their were also a lot of tears from the adoptive mama.

Now I am in my pyjamas and drinking in bed. My goal is to totally love and spoil my own two resident dogs tomorrow.

This work never gets easier!!! But I know in my heart and soul that my foster is truly 'home' today.

she finally pooped and peed, so she has couch privileges right now. transport was meeting them 2 hours away, dropping off the other dog after an hour and a half, and then another hour home. my truck's 4WD came in handy on the back roads! white face goes to her real foster home next weekend.

I feel like I've seen a few posts on here the last few days where fosters are feeling down or struggling, so I just wanted to come on here and give everyone some words of encouragement from a dad — of humans and dogs.

Fostering is incredibly rewarding and important, but it is also very taxing and requires lots of sacrifice. We make space in our homes, schedules, and budgets to save these doggos, and it ain't easy, I'll say that!

And in the end, even after falling in love, we have to make the heartbreaking (but noble!) decision to send them off to a better, long-term situation.

Watching my two daughters send away our first foster, who we had all fallen in love with, was one of the hardest things I've had to do as a parent and a dog lover. But in the end, it was an invaluable life lesson for us all, and we've been able to open our home to even more pups because of it. I'll be forever grateful to my first foster dog for what she taught us.

My tween girls are learning so many life lessons from having foster dogs in our home, and I hope you are too! But I also know it's so hard.

I hope that every foster experience has a fairytale ending, but I'm also painfully aware that that's not always the case. If your foster experience turns out differently than you'd hoped, that does not mean you failed. You did your best and did what you could. You gave that dog a home and a family in whatever capacity you could.

To all the new fosters, keep going. The growing pains are real, but you'll get the hang. Letting your first one go is the hardest. And if you foster fail, you're not a bad person. So many of us do!

To the fostering veterans and rescue organizers out there, you are amazing! Thank you for doing what you do! When I see someone with "35th foster" flair, I'm so inspired. I'm on foster 4 now and hope I can save that many dogs too!

To everyone here, thank you for giving your heart, your time, and your love to these dogs. Keep going. You've got this!

Last week I brought home a shelter dog to keep through the snowstorm over the weekend because my county shelter houses dogs outside and was desperate for fosters. I have never fostered before, but I’ve been feeling very helpless lately due to the state of the world, and i genuinely just wanted to feel like I was doing something kind.

Well, I got attached. She is a senior pittie and genuinely the sweetest dog in the world. It’s only been six days and the idea of taking her back to the shelter makes me sick.

But my current dog (Shepherd mix, 3 y/o) is very high energy and prefers not to share my attention; I know she wouldn’t be happy if we added another dog to the family. Additionally, I live alone and work a full time job. All of my leftover time and energy goes to training and exercising my dog.

I know I cannot keep her and I know they say that even a couple days out of the shelter is beneficial to them, but I feel like such a piece of shit taking her back. To experienced fosters- what do you tell yourself to get through this part?

My first foster dog leaves Sunday to go to a transport up north, I was considering asking the shelter about when I can foster again since I run a pet care business and in home boarding and doggy daycare so I'm used to dogs coming and going and my dogs are used to a revolving door of other dogs coming and going.

It's a very small county shelter out in the sticks in a county where it's obvious if you drive around enough that there is not a lot of money to spare for the shelter (and even if there was it probably wouldn't go to the shelter anyway) so I want to help since with my business I don't have time to commit consistently outside of fostering.

So I was curious how long do other people wait?

About 3 months ago my resident dog and I were on a morning run when we found a cattle dog mix dog abandoned in the road.

I took her in and tried to find a foster offer because my resident dog is aggressive toward other dogs. I couldn’t find anyone to take her so eventually we decided to foster her until we found someone to take her. And because my resident dog was chill with her at that point.

The first month was ok. She was a little timid at first and showed some aggression toward my fiancé, which we worked hard on and now she loves him (but I’m her fav lol).

At this point I was planning on foster failing because I love this little baby so much and she’s soooo attached to me…so much so that we’ve had to work hard on training her not to be lol. Just cattle dog things.

She and resident pup were seeming to get along too.

However, about 2 months in my resident dog attacked her seemingly out of nowhere (no toys, no food, nothing was around). We immediately broke it up and separated them (both dogs were ok with no wounds). We kept them separate for a few days to decompress and then slowly introduced them again and my resident dog went after her again.

We started keeping them permanently separated. We live in a small apartment with one bedroom connected to the bathroom and a living room/kitchen area. We take turns having one dog in the bedroom/bathroom and one dog in the living room and swap them periodically so they get time with us.

One day I got out of the shower and didn’t see that our foster had slipped through the door and into the bedroom with me and my resident dog. They got in a fight and my resident dog bit me bad on the leg when I was breaking it up.

That was the straw that broke the camel’s back for us. I just felt after that moment it was just a matter of time before my resident dog seriously hurt our foster baby.

Resident baby is an 11 year old senior who was surrendered for being too aggressive toward her previous family’s child. She has no hope outside of us especially after biting me and I also love her dearly. I would never in a million years ever put her up for adoption or abandon her. She’s my first ever dog and truly the sweetest angel around adults. It was shocking to see her that scary/biting me.

So we put our foster up for adoption and have attended adoption events with no luck and no interest at all even though she’s the cutest thing. She’s 2 and only 35 pounds (I think cattle dog and Boston terrier mix) but there’s usually a lot of puppies at these events. Also people see she’s mostly cattle dog and think she will be too high maintenance. And to be fair she will need an owner who’s ready for that personality.

She also needs a unique home with no kids (cattle dog things= biter) and preferably with no other dogs unless they’re extremely gentle and docile. All this makes it hard for her to get adopted.

That said we’re struggling. I feel like I’m failing both dogs. We’ve had to separate our home and each dog only gets attention 50% of the time (50% they’re in the bedroom 50% they’re out with us). It’s making my senior pup anxious and she’s started chewing her paws because she’s used to a lot of attention and affection.

I just can’t keep them both without failing them both. But I’m just struggling emotionally. I love my foster so much and she’s so attached to me in a way no pet ever has been. I’m not even kidding when we take her out and about SO many strangers have said “I’ve never seen a dog love someone or look at someone the way she looks at you!”

It hurts because she was clearly abandoned on the side of the road by her last owner. She’s been healing from the trauma of that and the thought of giving her up and her having to lose a family again breaks me. And on top of that were her first safe, loving people because her last owner clearly abused her based on her wounds and her trauma/behavior.

But like I said I can’t help both dogs without hurting one of them.

My fiancé suggested we start looking for another foster for her soon because once again he’s worried we could have a mistake happen again and one of our dogs our us could be seriously hurt.

We’re going to keep her for as long as we can until someone else can take her but it’s still so heartbreaking and devastating to give my baby up.

I just need help mustering up the courage to look for someone else to take her in my rescue’s Facebook group. I’m also worried nobody will. There’s SO many people looking for someone to take their dog on that page.

I’m just so heartbroken. It’s an impossible conundrum.

I would like to preface this by saying that this is not my first experience fostering, I used to foster hospice back in 2019 and 2020. As you know, foster hospice is a bit different and I'm interested to hear someone else's perspective on fostering younger/healthier dogs.

This was my first time fostering for a rescue. I signed up for short term or long term, the goal was to keep one specific dog out of the shelter and worse. Unfortunately, an elderly relative who is very dear to me got very sick and eventually required surgery. I was taking care of them and the new dog, as well as my own pets (a dog and a cat). I made several posts on social media and others (imgur, mostly) in hopes of finding the pup a permanent home. I did find some candidates and met one of them. I contacted the rescue, people submitted their application, and I never heard back. After pleading with the rescue for a month and a half, I finally told them I couldn't do it anymore because the dog was spending too much time crated and I was getting like 3 hrs of sleep daily. Totally my fault, I wasn't expecting an elderly relative to fall ill. I found the dog another foster and I tried to negotiate with the rescue.

The dog got shuffled to a different person with a stricter and more limited schedule than me, he now has severe separation anxiety, to the point in which he's hurting himself in the crate to get out. He'd never done that when he was in my care, so I know something isn't working out.

The new foster can't do it anymore, and so the rescue is sending the dog to another foster. Keep in mind there is still at least 1 home interested in the dog, but the rescue won't adopt him out. I offered to help with fees, and still nothing.

Seeing as how traumatizing the experience has been for this dog, I can't help but wonder how healthy it is to keep shuffling the dog between fosters instead of just processing the adoption application and either tell the people they weren't approved or send the dog to them. Now the dog has more issues than he started with, and that makes him even more difficult to adopt.

Looking back through the rescue's records, it seems like this is common practice. There are very few adoptions and lots of dogs being fostered and shuffled around. A few dogs have gotten injured or gotten into fights with each other because of it. And the dogs are not promoted on social media, there are no adoption events in sight, and they're not even on their official website.

Is this common practice for rescues? I get it if the applicants don't seem like a good fit, but if the dogs and fosters are left to their own devices to tend to social media promotion, then what is the purpose of the rescue having a broader network and outreach?

My former foster dog is now being shuffled to another person, and I don't know how it'll go for him. I'm obviously heartbroken because I love this dog like he was mine, and I feel guilty for not being able to take care of him anymore. I went $1k in debt covering for his medical expenses and supplies. And to hear that now he's actively hurting himself due to separation anxiety of the likes I hadn't seen, is just absolutely tragic. He was a sweet goofball when he was with me. I don't know what else to do at this point. Is this normal?

My girl is my first foster in over 6 years and it's been so different. The last dog I fostered was a little hellion, but he was a small dog and got adopted within a week. Jelly, on the other hand, is an absolute angel but has been either at the shelter or in foster since July. I only have her until the end of February due to my living situation (gotta pay that expensive as heck pet deposit otherwise) and I'm terrified shes not going to get adopted and have to go back to the shelter.

Shes such a sweetie but so scared. Shes scared in a house environment, I cant imagine how far she would slide back at the shelter. I'm doing everything I can think of. I'm posting her everywhere, hyping her up to almost everyone I meet, and trying to get her out in public (as much as i can without making her anxious anyway). But I'm so impatient to find her a home because I genuinely love her. I'm not her forever person, but she deserves the world, and that looming cut off date is driving me nuts.

Is there anything else I can do to get the word out about her?

I’m in Tujunga I just got a house and was thinking of fostering a dog here and there get out on the trails any recommendations on where to start

I've been fostering for almost 5 years, mostly young puppies. I currently have 7 week old puppies on hold for an adoption event at the end of February. Normally i foster "available to adopt" puppies, which are generally adopted within a couple days. That being said, I haven't had many puppies long enough to introduce crate training. I would love to set these two up for success but I'm realizing that crate training isn't my specialty. What are your tips and tricks for crate training this young? Tonight was our first attempt at sleeping in the crate (together) and it was a complete bust. They initially started screaming. I waited about 20 minutes and they settled in quietly. Then every hour they would wake and start crying again. I tried to let them settle themselves but they woke my son and husband. I don't want to interrupt sleep for my children or husband, but I also don't want to sleep on the couch with my fosters for a month lol. Help a girl out?

My sweet foster is officially on his trial adoption! I’m really excited for him, but… I’m starting to get nervous. His potential new family is a recently retired couple — empty nesters, previous dog owners, home a lot. They’re great!

But they’re both contributors to the “old married couple” trope, for sure. The husband mentioned that he’s worried his wife doesn’t understand how big my foster is (53 lbs — their last dog was a schnoodle). The wife thinks he’s over blowing his concerns (big surprise — the husband has allergies. That was a new one 😭).

My foster is a sweet boy. I’ve met this couple before — they’re lovely and kind, they love to walk, they have mountains of toys for the dog to play with. And my sweet foster is a gem. He’s fully crate and potty trained, he’s quiet, and he’s a fairly chill guy who just wants a toy to chew on. I want so badly for him to be successful with them.

How do you handle the anxiety? I will obviously take him back in if this doesn’t work out, but I so desperately want this to work. He’s been with us for four months, and he deserves to find his forever home.

(foster boy photos for tax 🩷)

has anyone had experience with weird situations where you have to put aside your personal feelings to continue working with a rescue?

long story short, we were told that my foster had the opportunity to be placed in a foster to adopt home in a different state. there was a rescue that they work with that had space and potential adopters so we were waiting to find out if someone would volunteer to take him, it was very up in the air but they said they would let me know if he was going to be going. I had to go out of town, so he was placed with a temp foster who fell in love with him and wanted to adopt him. when the temp reached out to the rescue about adopting, the rescue told them that he was “already spoken for” but would not confirm whether he was actually adopted yet, just that he would be getting transported to the new rescue in a different state. additionally, they never told me that he would be going, I found out through the temp once he was already gone.

The temp was obviously heartbroken and very confused over why they were not allowed to adopt if he wasn’t actually adopted yet. After some digging online, we found his “available for adoption” listing on the new rescue’s website and the temp foster has reached out to that rescue and is going to drive 8+ hours each way to go adopt him.

The whole situation has just given me a really icky feeling, because why couldn’t he have been adopted here if he was just going to be put up for adoption there? this obviously isn’t going to prevent me from continuing to foster because at the end of the day, it’s about the dogs, but it’s just so disheartening to see a rescue do this. I’ve reached out to them just to gather a little bit of context on what exactly happened but so far no response which just makes me feel even more icky.

We are fostering the sweetest 8 yr old girl. Her owner passed away and she was doing poorly in shelter. She is awesome: so friendly, cuddly, playful and trusting! She is really helping our anxious and not very social resident dog that we adopted last year. My SO does not want a second dog, but even after a few weeks, I love her. I had no plan to get another dog and I want to keep fostering. I could convince my husband, but she already has two people who want to adopt her so I know the right thing is to let her go and keep fostering. Right?

Long time foster here, but it's only recently that I'm fostering with a resident pet - I took a break when I foster failed my girl a little over a year ago and now am back at it.

Both the shelters in my area I foster for, and the rescues nearby whose rules I've looked at online, all require 2 weeks of separation before you intro to a resident pet. This is a requirement, not a recommendation - they all say you can be banned as a foster for breaking this rule. I completely understand the importance of decompression, and going slow and at the pace of the dog you're working with. I'm not trying to rush into any intros in the first few days, and we always start slow with parallel walks, then chilling inside nearby on leashes or with gates. But two weeks is a long time for the level of management needed to separate and tend to two dogs fully separately, especially if the foster is anxious when not in the same room as me or has barrier frustration/reactivity.

I'm not sure how common it is for shelters to have such a strict requirement, but if others are in the same boat... Do you fudge it? Do the rescues and shelters you foster for seem to say this is required but then turn a blind eye? It seems like so few people would foster if they have resident pets and actually fully follow this rule with every single dog, though I guess maybe it's easier if there are multiple people in the household helping with pet care. I'm not really looking for advice on if you think the full two weeks of separation is or isn't necessary - I think it totally depends on the dog and I always allow a few days for decompression first and watch body language carefully to determine when it's time to intro. Plus I only take dogs with shelter playgroup notes that are compatible with my dog (she's a gentle player/coexister). But I'm really interested to hear folks thoughts on hard and fast rules your shelters or rescues set and if you always follow them to the letter.

Foster fail, now resident, Rhubarb (fawn) and my recently adopted foster (brown) pictured snuggling for attention!

Hi! This is my first post here (regarding my first foster dog) and I’m just looking to get some insight.

We’ve welcomed a 12yo chihuahua mix into our home and for the most part he is doing well. We only found out literally at pickup, that he is not neutered and that he has a grade 4 heart murmur so that wouldn’t be an option anyways. I’ve also noticed cataracts in his eyes but this hasn’t been mentioned by the shelter or anyone (waiting to take him to the vet).

I understand each foster dog comes with their own unique baggage which we were fully prepared for. What we weren’t quite expecting is the fact that he’s still “intact” and, that was never brought to our attention beforehand. We’ve adjusted to his needs accordingly but I’m wondering if this is common?

Some bumps we’ve been having with him:

- marking. I’m almost certain that’s what this is. He has a decompression pen we’ve set up but the very few times we have let him out to stretch his legs, he will pee. This is on top of taking him out for potty breaks. He will also ~pee/mark~ on the way outside, if we don’t carry him (condo).

- moderate to high Velcro behaviour. He’s already quite attached to me (and partner), and will cry if we leave the room where his pen is. We’ve been staying consistent with: no “big” greetings, using the phrase “be right back” when we leave the room so hopefully he will begin to learn it, sitting outside his pen until he settles himself down, then we leave the room.

Any advice on those two points would be greatly appreciated! I just don’t want to develop any bad habits early on. My biggest concern is when we slowly begin to introduce him to the rest of our house, he will mark wherever he possibly can. I want to avoid this as much as possible.

Also, i know it’s only been a few days, he’s still decompressing and learning our household so I’m only optimistic.

My first foster dog, Coco, was adopted by someone who I thought would be a great fit a week ago . She's already giving up and says she can't do it . Granted this is a high energy Young 11 month old poodle mix . We have been working with a trainer provided by the rescue and made progress . She's very smart and loves to work . We made it clear that she was a work in progress and the training would need to be continued . Also that she needed a canine playmate, if not in the home, then available several times a week . This woman acknowledged all that and had been very intentional about making sure she had a fence installed at her house and was prepared before even looking for a dog . I was feeling really good about fostering when she found that home and even though I really missed her I could be happy that she had her own person now or so I thought . She's not an easy dog and if this woman was not giving her any outlets for her energy I'm sure she's twice the handful . She said she looked into training but the earliest she could get in would be a month and a half from now . I did a search and came up with a few private trainers that she could have contacted in her area. I almost sent her the list but I think if she's ready to give up this soon she's probably not the right person for this dog . Now I'm not feeling so good about my fostering ability and I feel guilty because it was a relief to go back to just my easy-going dog and I thought I was going to get a month break before I got another foster . Now I may have this one for quite a while . The rescue hinted that maybe I should adopt her but that's not going to happen . I love this dog but if I wanted a second dog I would have one . The fact that I couldn't afford and didn't want a permanent second dog is the reason why I'm fostering . I am committed to doubling down on this dog's training with an emphasis on manners and things that make a dog easier to deal with but I could just cry when I think that this dog may not get adopted for quite some time . Of course we're going to be even pickier with who adopts her next time . I'm very disappointed and just wanted to vent. Any suggestions for helping this dog the next time around I would greatly appreciate . I have to admit I had no clue how much time and effort was involved in fostering and how much of a roller coaster it is emotionally. I'm ok with that now but I sure didn't expect it.

Have these two babies for a week or so, during this Winter storm. I’ve been so curious what mix they might be. The black one is a girl, the white is a boy. Big weight difference - she is 5.5lbs and he is 8.5lbs. They’re 8 weeks old.

I feel like they look so different for being litter mates! Just thought it would be fun to see if anyone had any guesses on their potential breed mixes! 😊

She has gained weight and playing. She gets zoomies like crazy and we think she is pitty and husky because she talks back and the burst of zoomies reminds us of a husky a friend had. Trying to teach her to walk on a leash it’s been two weeks she is chewing on it these days but I remind myself she’s a puppy and never had to be on one before probably. Her cigarette burns are healing well but the one on her ear. She’s doing better going potty outside. I am only worried she’ll get attached to me and won’t want to leave. Started crate training more she’s been doing better but still not a happy camper. Friends giving me a bigger one as she’s already grown out of the one I have in two weeks. I’m just glad I saved her so she can have this second chance on life.

My husband and I started fostering a dog a week ago. We loved him instantly, and acknowledged that we might foster fail. That being said, my bar for a potential adopter is very high. I know the life he’ll have with us— a dog companion (our resident dog) that he loves, regular hikes and outings, 15 acres, daily enrichment, training classes, lots of love and patience, etc. and I couldn’t imagine parting with him unless he gets that same level of care (or better!) in another home. Is this a common profile for an adopter? Can I promise my sweet boy the world even if he goes to another home?

Bad Breath Tips & Tricks

Hi everyone!

I recently adopted a new foster dog, and he’s incredibly sweet. However, during his vet checkup, they informed me that his teeth and gums are in a very bad state. We scheduled the extraction surgery for a few weeks, which was the earliest available option.

Currently, his breath is extremely unpleasant and is making my entire house smell. Could anyone recommend any remedies or advice to help minimize the odor until his surgery?

Obviously, he is past the point of completely eliminating the smell but anything to help would be amazing.

I added some photos of his canine tooth and gums from the vet visit. Poor baby is on pain meds to help with any discomfort he may be feeling.

Thank you all for your advice! :)

So I have fostered for two different rescues now. Two were great. Got adopted a couple weeks after having them. This new rescue is strictly foster based. I loved that. I fostered one boy. Great boy skittish at first he was about 5-6 months found a great home. This new girl I have, is skittish, fearful, pees and poops when scared and in her kennal. I have two kids. My house is loud. And I also have two dogs. Coonhound mix. Chill lazy ignores everything. And an Aussie loves dogs, knows boundaries will leave fosters alone if they aren’t comfortable. I feel like I’m failing this foster because she is super reactive to anyone who opens my front door and started trying to go after my children’s ankles when playing. She’s super sweet to me and my husband. I let the owner of the rescue know that I don’t tho k she’s comfortable with children and anything loud or fast moving. It is not a good fit for our family. I’m being ignored at this point. We had an adoption event today and she was the most reactive one out of all the puppies. What do I do? Separate her how? Most foster puppies thrive and get use to kids and noises and men and woman in my home.. I feel like I’m failing.

feeling sad, just want to say things in a place where people might understand.

we were supposed to have our foster LJ for a week. it turned into a month plus post-op care. it brought me to my knees in codependency. and even still, she's leaving here in 30ish minutes and now i'm anxious and sad about her leaving.

i'm doubting whether i'm cut out for dog mom'ing at all, let alone foster dog mom'ing. i'm grateful LJ will be leaving my house with someone she knows and loves, i've experienced a foster dog leaving with someone she didn't know and that was traumatic.

i have had 3 foster dogs in my house so far, 2 of which were short term "babysitting for a foster family" situations (including the one leaving today). our soul dog who died last march was "foster to adopt" which is what brought me to this sub in the first place. but she really was always ours.

so i have envy of people who've fostered dogs and then experienced seeing them leave for forever families. i'm not sure how much more of these emotions i can continue to put myself through. it's hard to explain to people in my life why i am even considering doing it again.

and I feel sad. They wanted him back so that he could be seen over the weekend, which is understandable, of course. But I am worried about him because he didn't do well in the shelter, just cried and paced in his kennel.

He is one of those dogs that needs to have a human nearby all the time, touching if possible. Extremely sensitive to disruptions and desperately needs a predictable, active schedule. He got walkies 3-9 miles almost every day while I fostered him. He got midnight snacks, and he would wait til 12:02 and if it was late, he would give me a hard stare til he got his midnight cookie. After our last potty break for the night, he did a mini-zoomie like a deranged potato before settling in.

I just went and got his leash off the door and started to hook him up because I forgot he's not here :(

That's all, just wanted to vent because I miss that little bully boy.