Foster

The DRS does not have a facility. We prefer to see dogs in foster homes to adjust to their new surroundings as we learn what a suitable furever home looks like. Our dogs are fostered throughout cities in Southern Ontario.

We accept fosters at all experience levels. First-time dog owners are accepted and encouraged. But being open-minded to learn is key! We provide our fosters with the education to support their dog regardless of experience level, and set them up with a counsellor to offer support through the whole process.

Most of our dogs arrive from our trusted partner rescues. Our organization is international, so we have dogs coming in from a variety of countries. Some of those countries include Mexico, Dominican Republic, Cuba, the US, northern Canada.

Most of our dogs are mixed breeds descending from variations of Island dogs, or mutts mixed through procreation as strays. Common mixes include Shepherds, American Bull Dogs, Chihuahuas, etc. Local owner surrenders ranger from French Bull Dogs to Doodle Mixes.

The dogs in our care are most commonly bully mixed breeds roughly 45lbs+ though we do occasionally take in dogs under 25lbs. We tend not to have puppies, our partner rescue takes our puppies.

We really love for our fosters to have access to a vehicle, but it’s not mandatory. If you don’t have a car, it really helps us out if you reach out to your friends and family to help support with transporting your foster to and from the airport/vet appointment. Otherwise, we can support with transports.

Dogs arrive at their foster homes with their necessary supplies provided. This includes a crate, food, martingale collar and leash. Sometimes, depending on the dog’s needs, they will have medication or other specific supplies with them as well.

Fosters are more than welcome to spoil their fosters however they see fit, and can purchase additional toys, treats, dog beds, clothing items, etc. at their expense if they wish.

The Dog Rescue Society covers all essential supplies, vetting and other necessary services. Fosters can expect to purchase any fun extras they want to bring in for the dog out-of-pocket. There may also be moments where you run low on a supply and it may be within your ability to refill it (E.g. poop bags, food, etc). While we hope it never happens, you may be financially responsible for vet care resulting from negligence while in care (ie. your foster eating something toxic or getting injured at a dog park which is not a recommended space for fosters).

The Dog Rescue Society will contact you to schedule a vet appointment for your foster at one of our approved vet clinics. If you take the dog to your own vet or even to one of our vets without our permission, we will not be able to reimburse the costs.

We have a Veterinary Care Advisor on our team to support any needs that arise. Their email & phone number will be provided at onboarding.

Yes. Dogs are individually screened on a case-by-case basis to determine if the dog would not be well-suited for a home with other animals. We typically have limited knowledge of the dog’s behaviour before coming into our care, and the information that is shared is best represented in their current environment. We do our best to match fosters based on the information our partner rescues have given us as well as prepare the foster for the best plan to support all dogs adjust together in the home.

All dogs and cats in the household MUST be fully up to date on vaccines (especially rabies).

Yes. Dogs are individually screened on a case-by-case basis to determine if the dog would not be well-suited for a home with children. We typically have limited knowledge of the dog’s behaviour before coming into our care, but we do our best to match fosters based on the information our partner rescues have given us.

You know your kid best. The decision to bring a foster dog into your home can depend on your child’s demeanor, energy level, as well as the child’s understanding of dogs and how to give them boundaries. Regardless, slow and calm introductions are a must.

If you have to go out of town for any reason (work/vacation/etc) please let us know as soon as possible. We ask for advance notice as finding a sitter can require some coordination. Sitters must be pre-approved by us, but that could still include your family, friends, social circle after first connecting with us to discuss.

We do not allow you to bring your foster to a dog park. If you decide to use a dog park, we require you to cover all costs if any incidents occur. Your foster dog may behave well at home but that doesn’t mean the rest of the dogs will, or that your dog won’t jump in on a fight or jump a fence. We do not know the full background of our dogs and we want them to feel and be as safe as possible.

It happens. Sometimes it just doesn’t work for either the foster or the dog.

If you find yourself having issues or need advice, please reach out to your Foster Counsellor. We may ask that you continue to foster the dog until we can find another foster home.

We typically avoid moving dogs from foster home to foster home as much as possible once they have been placed in care because it adds unnecessary stress to the dog in an already new and stressful situation.

All fosters are also provided with our staff contact information for any emergencies that arise.

Depending on a variety of factors including the location of foster and adopter, everyone’s comfort levels and vetting needs, the hand-off can either take place at the foster home or at the adopters home. Do not transfer your dog to an adopter until you have approval to do so from The Dog Rescue Society’s Team.

Once the dog has an adoption pending, The Dog Rescue Society will arrange a meeting between the foster parents, the potential adopters, all family members in the adoptive home and, how could we forget, the dog. This is your chance to get a feel for the potential home and give feedback on whether you think it’s a good fit. It’s also an opportunity to answer questions they may have and offer advice.

Fosters are not able to schedule meet and greets with potential applicants without discussing with their Foster Counsellor. We pre-screen applicants before we schedule a meet and greet. If a friend, family member or co-worker wants to adopt your foster dog we recommend discussing with your Counsellor so everyone is in the loop and the appropriate steps can be taken.

After a meet and greet with a potential adopter, please share your feedback with us — we will take your thoughts and insight into consideration in selecting the best home for your foster dog. After all, you live with them!

Sometimes the dog is just the perfect fit for your home and you realize you cannot imagine life without them.

You absolutely can apply to adopt your foster dog.

You have two-weeks from when you receive your foster to decide if you'd like to adopt your foster before we place them as available. We require all fosters go through the full adoption process, which includes a phone interview with an Adoption Counsellor and an adoption fee (there is no discount for fostering)

After you, anyone in your social circle can also apply to adopt, before we would move forward with posting a dog at the general two week mark.

Fosters provide shelter, love and care until the dog is adopted. This includes:

Basic training (house training, crate training, basic commands, structure and boundaries)

Being able to pick up the dog from transport or being available on arrival for a transport volunteer to drop off the dog and their supplies

Bringing the dog to vet appointments, as needed or helping us coordinate with a transporter

Picking up any additional/refill supplies as requested

Attending adoption events with your pup when requested

Providing updates, pictures and review bios of the foster dog

Meeting with potential adopters (meet & greets and informal meetings)

Tagging @thedogrescuesociety and using #thedogrescuesociety for any uploads on social media

It varies! But usually around 2-3 months. After the dog has a chance to settle in & decompress for about 2 weeks, we get a pup-update from the foster and also make sure vetting is complete (which could take a week or so longer depending on the number of dogs that arrive & the foster’s schedule). They let us know at that time if they (or a family/friend) would like to apply to adopt. If not, we check our waitlist for any potential matches and if there are none, we draft a bio and post the dog for adoption. This is where timing really varies as it is totally dependent on when someone applies for the dog. There are many things that affect how quickly a dog is adopted. Things like high-quality photos, commitment to working through and progress with behaviour challenges (we have lots of resources to help you with this!), promoting your foster to friends, family and strangers, and flexibility to meet up with trainers or photographers as needed will all help get your foster pup in their forever home ASAP. Once someone applies, it usually takes about 2 weeks to complete all of the steps (interview, reference checks, meet & greet, contract & fee) before the dog is ready to move to their trial adoption home.

Please reach out to our Foster Coordinator at info@thedogrescuesociety.net It could take up to 5 days for one of our volunteers to get back to you. Remember to check your junk folder, too, in case an email from The Dog Rescue Society ends up there. (they often do)