thinking about fostering and trying not to panic

Okay, so I have been thinking about fostering for a local group that does small breed rescue. They provide crates, food, and medical care and I would get the final say on who gets to adopt my foster.

I am trying not to panic. I was excited, but now I am at the stage where I am having second thoughts. Can I handle this? Will it upset my dogs? I am very happy with my dogs and how they behave (mostly). Will this cause issues? Am I putting their health in danger? Am I endangering their emotional well-being?

I wanted a teeny dog, but the rescue group currently has a Lhasa Apso being boarded at a vet because no one has room for him (http://www.petfinder.com/pet.cgi?action=2&pet=4536990). He is all matted so he is going to be shaved today. I am going to take the dogs to meet him this afternoon. They tell me he is a love bug and gets along well with other dogs.

My sister had a Lhasa but she had issues with him. She finally gave him up to a family where he would be the only dog and he is much happier. And I read this description online:

Now, of course every dog is an individual, so you can't go by the breed description alone.

I was thinking of maybe just doing a sort of respite care - where I take dogs so their foster mommy can go on vacation, etc. That way it is a shorter commitment. When I was thinking about it this morning, I realized that what I think might fit in really well for me right now would be to foster a senior dog - someone old and slow who just wants a safe place to rest. The problem with that is they may never get adopted out, or I might get too attached.

Ugh. What should I do??

 

Jimiya, you can try the lhasa, and see how it works, but I would go for the shorter term. I signed up for that at my place, but havnt heard anything yet. its for elderly that go into the hospital, abuse victims, things like we have a lot of fires in the summer. they say you just have to make sure you can give the dog back. Like you said and my husband, he doesnt want to rock the boat, the dogs and cat are very happy they way they are and he doesnt want to change tha

honeybears

 

I know how your feeling. I think from your posts, everything Ive read that you definitly know whats what with dogs and I think you should 'trust' yourself. Every dog Ive taken in, Ive had a few that Ive ended up keeping and a few that Ive known would be short term with an exact date of when they are going to a new home or a long term foster care and with every one I think Ive doubted and quetioned myself and my decision for the first few days but then it passes and things have always worked out okay so then I sit there feeling a bit daft that I was so worried.
If your not sure about the longer term then maybe your idea of taking care of the ones whos foster moms (or dads) go on vacation so you have the security of having 'that date'. It might be a better way to start and get a feel for it, maybe when youve had a few different dogs you will be more relaxed about taking a longer term foster care in. Thats what Id do if I wasnt sure about it, or even if I was sure but was a bit nervous about it.

 

I was a wreck after we got Nala, and again when we decided to keep Bonnie. Bonnie was my first attempt at fostering, and I agonized over whether to keep her or not. I actually decided to give her up and then changed my mind at the last minute and cancelled all my adoption interviews. It was the best decision I have ever made.

I also panicked after I got my birds last March, thinking I had made a huge mistake, but that worked out, too.

I know I tend to do the panic thing. But I would also beat myself up if anything ever happened to my dogs because of some decision I made. Where's a crystal ball when you need it??

 

I know how you feel. I'm a panicker too. I'm also thinking of fostering. But after the experience with Lucy, it had me thinking of stuff I hadn't considered before. Maybe you should try fostering a dog who has already been fostered somewhere so they know exactly how they will behave rather than get one who you really don't know much about their behavior. ?does that make sense? Then that would open up a space for the lhasa. I think whether it affects your dogs depends on them. Indy loved having another dog around. He wouldn't care if I adopted 10 other dogs, hes very social. But I have had other dogs who want to be the only one and who don't like change/commotion. Also something I just thought of, I don't know the website offhand, and I'm not sure the area that you live in, but my mom told me about a website that connects military people with people willing to take their animals so they don't have to give them away. I guess that would be rather long term though.

 

Jamiya, no crystal ball here, but I do have a tub of ice cream and it tastes SOOO much better while petting a dog that needs a home and your helping him find it!!!!

LOL....

 

*insane, hysterical laughter*

Well, my husband is out of town this week, so I guess it's a good time to experiment, LOL. This guy is housetrained (supposedly) which is nice. They will take him back if we have problems. I wonder where I can put another crate...

He will be crated when I am not home, so it has to go somewhere other than the "dog room." I am also not going to put it in my bedroom. That is for MY dogs. I have heard that most rescue people reserve certain privileges for their own dogs, like sleeping in the bedroom or having free roam when people aren't home, etc.

I will also have to see how this guy is with cats. My cats are going to be very irritated with me, although if he doesn't chase they will be fine. I don't recall my sister's Lhasa ever chasing her cats.

I also need to spruce up my fence if I want a teeny dog. We used to have it all fixed up for small dogs when we had 15-pound terriers. But with the larger dogs, there are some spots where a little one might be able to wriggle through.

Taking someone else's foster so they can take the Lhasa is something I hadn't thought of. No one else mentioned it either, so I can't help but wonder if he is too big for what these people normally do? He is 25 pounds (I wonder how much of that is fur, though) and a lot of these people do the under-10-pound dogs. Some do shelties and rat terriers, though.

Some were also concerned about the very small dogs being with my larger dogs, but I know that can work if the personalities are okay. I have seen Nala hold back with small dogs at the park. She still plays with them and has rolled them before, but I can tell she is really holding back on her speed and roughness with them. They would never be left unattended together, and with our current system of gates it would be easy enough to separate them if Nala is getting rambunctious.

I have no idea what Bonnie will do. I guess we will see. She is submissive but will stand up for herself when she needs to. She is a cuddlebug and very much my shadow. I will just have to make sure she gets the attention she is used to. Trust me, I can fit Bonnie, a Lhasa and probably a cat on top of me on the couch if I need to.

 

Well, I e-mailed so many questions to the rescue coordinator person that she called me, LOL. She said this week is incredibly busy because they have their annual picnic on Saturday followed by the Dog-n-Jog fundraiser the next day, so she asked that we postpone all of this until next week. She said she knows exactly what I am going through and that she went through it herself. She wants to have time to sit down with me and answer all my questions and find the right match for our house. They NEVER place a dog with a foster family that isn't matched to their situation.

She also alleviated some of my fears about the dogs who are adopted out. She says they have a contract that stands up well in court and if they find out one of their dogs did not end up in a good situation they will repossess it. She said earlier this year a situation came up and she had to go to the police, but the police did get the dog back for her.

I also had all sorts of questions about how to handle doggy introductions and all of that, which she will work out with me. I know the theories, but somehow it is all different when you are actually doing it!

So, I will go to the picnic on Saturday and meet some more folks and dogs and then we will talk next week in more detail. That gives me time to fix up my fence as well. In the meantime, she said Pooky (the Lhasa) is doing just fine. The vet where he is being boarded has a run for him, so he's not in a little cage. And two of their foster moms work there, so he is out all day walking around with them as they do their jobs. He gets lots of attention and love. He sounds like a wonderful little fellow so I may end up with him anyway, but now I don't have to worry about him all week and have visions of him crammed in a little cage or something.

Whew! Now my stomach can stop churning. And maybe I can stop eating everything in sight! :shock:

 

Good luck Jamiya! Let us know how everything goes.

 

Jamyia, in my experience, fostering is not such a big deal... The only really-really hard thing about it is when time comes to let the fosters go to their "furever" homes... That is when I always cry my eyes off :cry:
But then again, there's always another one in need!!! I think it's wonderful that you have taken this decision. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for helping these little puppers... :y_the_best: