ARE THERE REQUIREMENTS TO BECOME A FOSTER?
All foster applicants must be 21 years of age old and live within our adoption area. Our adoption areas include: New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Maine, Vermont, Virginia, Delaware, Maryland, the District of Columbia, Rhode Island, and New Hampshire.

HOW LONG IS THE FOSTER COMMITMENT?
The average length of stay for a HIPster is approximately 2-3 weeks, but that can vary depending on factors like age, breed, size, etc. When you agree to foster a dog with HIP, you are committing to that dog until its forever home is found. This could be days, weeks, months or even years, though much of this depends on you. If you have a time constraint (for example, you can only foster for 3 weeks), please let us know as far in advance as possible so that we can accommodate and make sure we have another foster home for the pup. If you need to take a break from fostering for a period of time, just let your foster coordinator know. We know this is a tough job!

WHAT TYPE OF SUPPORT WILL I RECEIVE?
All foster parents are invited to join our private Facebook group -wonderful community in which you can share photos, experiences, and ask advice from seasoned foster parents. You will also receive our comprehensive foster manual after completing our online orientation and application process.

WHAT AM I EXPECTED TO PROVIDE?
We ask that you provide food, water, shelter, walks, basic training (and love!) but you are not responsible for medical care costs. You can help your foster dog get off to the right start by teaching and implementing acceptable manners – house training, walking on a leash, jumping, mouthing, barking, chewing, etc. We also ask that fosters provide photos and updated information so that our dogs bios are accurate.

DO YOU COVER VET BILLS?
Hounds in Pounds covers all essential vet costs for our dogs, and we have several vet partners  who work with us toprovide them with the best possible care. If you are fostering and have a question about medical care, please contact our Foster Coordinator immediately. 

DOES MY FOSTER DOG HAVE TO BE CRATED?
Your foster dog is to always be crated inside when you are not home or he/she is unsupervised. This is for the health and safety of your foster dog and other pets and the protection of your home. You are responsible for supervising your foster dog when it is not crated. Regardless of how well-behaved or friendly your foster dog may be, it should NEVER be left alone unsupervised with any other pets or children. If you have a multi-dog household, please remember to always supervise dogs when toys or treats are available – even some of the friendliest dogs don’t like to share! Your foster dog should also never be left outside alone or with other dogs. For safety and health reasons, we do NOT allow our foster dogs to play at dog parks. Remember: Do not set your foster dog up for failure; always set your foster dog up for success!

HAS MY FOSTER DOG SEEN A VET?
Every dog has been fully vetted, spayed/neutered, dewormed and chipped. HIP dogs come from animal control facilities or other environments where they commonly contract “kennel cough” or other illnesses.  Dogs coming from our vet’s office are quarantined for a minimum of 10 days with our vet however they are with unknown dogs on transport.  Because of this, you may be required to keep your foster dog quarantined – meaning completely separate from any other animals in your home – for 10-14 days. Though kennel cough is easily treated with antibiotics, it is highly contagious. If you fail to adhere to this quarantine period and your own pet(s) contract kennel cough, HIP will not be liable or responsible for treating your pets.

DO I GET TO CHOOSE MY FOSTER DOG?
No, our team strategically matches you with a foster dog based on your application. We take your preference for age/breed/size in consideration before matching you with a dog. Our ultimate goal is to find the best foster home for our dogs in need. If you refuse 3 consecutive foster dog offers in a 6-month period, we will remove you from our active foster roster.

I ALREADY HAVE A DOG. CAN I STILL FOSTER?
Yes, you can still foster with a resident dog as long as your dog is up to date on vaccines and is altered. You won’t be able to meet your foster dog in advance but Hounds in Pounds will always make a conscious effort to match you with a foster that we feel both you and your dog could do well with. Our team will help you take all necessary steps to ensure you and the dogs stay safe and comfortable.

CAN I ADOPT MY FOSTER DOG?
We do not offer foster-to-adopt specifically, except in extremely rare behavioral or medical cases. To help ensure that new foster families are joining our foster care program for the right reasons, and to help protect the stability of our program, Hounds in Pounds has a firm policy prohibiting NEW foster families adopting our dogs.  We don’t have a physical shelter and our foster homes are extremely important to us! We want to ensure that new volunteers become foster families with the goal of helping to save dogs in general, rather than just adopting one. Foster families who have successfully fostered three dogs up until adoption, will then be eligible to adopt a future HIPster.  If you are ultimately interested in adopting, we encourage you to go through the process to adopt and keep your eye out for your ideal pup, as you will not be able to pick out your foster dog.

CAN MY FAMILY, FRIEND, OR NEIGHBOR ADOPT MY FOSTER DOG?
If someone you know is interested in adopting your foster dog, please direct them to our website and encourage them to apply to become pre-approved to adopt. Please note that our Adoptions Team cannot expedite applications for friends or family of our fosters, and because our application process takes time, the dog may be adopted before your friend or family member is approved to adopt. Luckily, they will be approved to adopt a HIPster for 6 months after that, and our Adoption Team will be happy to work with them on finding their forever dog!

Have a question that you don’t see answered below? Contact us!