Foster a Hound
YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE!
Fostering a dog is one of the many ways you can help improve the lives of homeless pets.
The single most important job in any animal rescue is that of the Foster Family. Without loving homes and people to care for and nurture these hounds until their permanent homes are found, we cannot rescue any more needy hounds and other wonderful dogs will perish. While living in a foster home, our bassets are able to get more individualized care. A foster family nurtures better socialization skills, which makes the dog a well-adjusted pet. Additionally, the foster parents learn about the pet's personality, likes, and dislikes so he or she can be better matched to the right forever home.
To become a Foster Family:
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Complete the Foster Family Application.
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Our Foster Coordinator will contact you. A volunteer will make an appointment to come visit your home and talk to you about fostering.
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Once you are approved, you will need to complete the Foster Care Agreement.
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We will work with you to find a foster that will work well for you and your family.
The Meaning of Fostering
Traci Davis
Foster Coordinator and Foster Parent
I have been fostering for BHRA for a little over two years and have had numerous dogs come through my door during that time. They play with my dogs Jack and Van Gogh, learn a few manners, get a bit of training, sometimes add a bit of weight, and then off they go to their forever homes. Regardless of how or why these wonderful and hilarious dogs come into my home, I fall in love with each and every one of them.
Watching these dogs come in, either too skinny, too sick, or just in need of love and understanding and then transforming into healthy and spoiled babies is really the most rewarding act you can imagine. But really, to only call it rewarding is to cheapen the experience. There is so much for an individual or family to receive from fostering. You will not only have a sense of accomplishment and a complete feeling of joy that YOU have helped save a life, but you will also come away from fostering with a new understanding of love and a new purpose. Also, if you have children, grandchildren, nieces, or nephews, you are teaching them about sharing, loving unconditionally and giving back. Truly, the amount of love that will go through your home will be extraordinary. Plus, with the added bonus of fostering a Basset Hound, you will never be bored, and you will have hours and days full of laughter from their goofy antics.
The most common question asked about fostering, is, “How do you let them go?” I once read an article that referred to the foster cycle as a pipeline. It stated, “A pipeline comes to a clogged stop if the foster person adopts the dog.” Reminding ourselves that the pipeline needs to stay open is what makes saying goodbye possible. And since a lot of these sweet dogs come from kill shelters, we don’t ever want that pipeline to be clogged. Opening your home and your heart to a dog for it to only leave in a few days, weeks or even at times months can be extremely difficult. But the willingness to love and let go does immeasurable good. It’s more than some of these dogs have ever dreamed of. Don’t get me wrong, at times we are all 'foster failures.' We just fall so hard for a dog,and/or our current dog just bonds so quickly and so strongly with a foster, you don’t have a choice in the matter. We’ve all been there.
Always try to remember, these wonderful, loving, and forgiving animals need our help, and without fosters they wouldn’t be here for a future family to love. Fostering makes a life better. And to me, that’s what fostering is all about.
