Fostering question

If you foster an animal do you have to pay for their food/vet bills, etc. ?

Just wondering b/c I have always wanted to foster a dog/cat. I have plenty of room/attention/love but no money. I could take care of the food for a cat and probably a dog, but vet bills would kill me.

 

ive always wondered that too.

 

when I have tried to do this before

I talked to different people at different shelters and almost always thhey will help with costs, but not necessarily all costs. Some places work with a program through, iforget which company, purina, iams??? I forget and because when the dog is adopted by its new owners the shelter suggest using that brand they get free food. So if the shelter you are working through is sponsored by a dog food company then yes, it is free food. Some shelters have food donated to them(lot of times this isn't enough though) so they divide what they have among the helpers, and if the dog youtake care of needs more then sometimes you pay and sometimes they pay. So what I am trying to say is it all just depends and you most check with each individual place. But also you must ask about other restrictions, ie size of your house and yard, fenced in or not. At one place the said I couldn't bc my yard wasn't fenced in, which wasn't as bad as the place that said my fence wasn'T high enough!It was a normal size fence! My dog had never gotten out. But they are weird little rules which are only for the safety of the animal, where I lived there were alot of careless pet owners.

 

It depends who you foster for. The private groups are sometimes better equipped to help you than the shelters are. It seems pretty standard that they pay for routine vet bills, heartworm and flea/tick preventive, and sometimes food. One group I talked with even provides a crate, leash and collar. I'm thinking with another group, the only thing I would have had to pay for was food.

If you are interested in trying it, call around and talk to the different groups. Make sure you find one with policies you like. Ask them where they get their animals, what they provide to foster homes, and who makes the decisions on who gets to adopt the animals. In my mind, the foster home should have the final say in the matter. One of the groups I talked to said the foster home can be as involved as they want to in finding the adoptive home - they can screen people and choose the best home, or leave it all up to the group, or anything in between.


Jamiya

 

I foster for both a shelter and a rescue group - they have different standards (these are cats but same rules apply to the dogs)

The shelter is local so they have to abide by New Hampshire laws...they pay vet bills (must be pre-approved unless it's an emergency) they pay for meds. When I take a foster family they give me a large bag of cat food (dry...canned is up to me), litterbox, food dishes. I supply the litter.

The rescue group is based in Virginia so they have to abide by Virginia animal welfare rules. I received a "foster kit" full of items like antibiotics, nutracal, sample of the preferred food, etc. All vet bills are paid (I had to get my vet to okay a non-profit discount) and have to be preapproved unless an emergency BUT I have to get permission. I have to use my own judgement when determining if the cat's condition requires immediate attention. I will supply kitty litter and food.

 

The woman who rescued Serene provides her fosters with everything, blankets, food, toy, vet bills etc. But we also live in a very rural area and she rescues dogs from everywhere so she needs a lot of foster homes and I would imagine they are easier to find if all you need to provide is love, training and attention!

 

I have been fostering dogs, cats, ferretts, and even rabbits for my local shelter for about 3 years and unfortuantely because of their financial situtaion/lack of donations I have always been responsible for any care for the animals everything from food and toys to very expensive vet bills.
There has been the occasion when i simply could not afford the vet bill and then local organizations have stepped in but mostly where I live you are solely reponsible for the care of the animals you volunteer to foster.
Im sure it's different everywhere.