Want to know about fostering?
Why foster?
Fosters are the backbone of any foster based rescue. We do not have a shelter; therefore, we rely on awesome people like yourself to foster a dog or cat in need. Fostering is completely free and is comes with plenty of dog kisses and wagging tails! Every dog or cat comes to your home fully vetted and spayed or neutered. ALL expenses are paid for by the rescue. The only thing we ask that you provide is love. Most dogs have never had someone to love them and make them feel safe. Foster families are usually the first to find out about the pet’s personality. You may even be the first to teach your foster pet basic house manners, making them more appealing to potential adopters. We are the bridge between their furever home. Become a foster and save a life. It is more rewarding than you could ever possibly imagine.
What is a Dog Foster Home?
A foster home is a temporary living situation for all dogs and puppies in our program. Dogs may stay in foster while they are awaiting placement in a permanent home. You are the bridge between a dogs life and his furever happy tale. Foster homes provide the love and support for a dog to learn what home life is. Some of our dogs have never had a bed to sleep on or been in a house with someone to love them.
What are the Responsibilities of a Dog Foster Home?
Foster homes are asked to provide foster dogs with plenty of love, adequate food and water, shelter from the elements, and exercise. Administering medications or other medical care may also be necessary. In addition to providing the basics, foster parents may also be asked to follow a behavioral or training plan with their foster dog or puppy.
Foster homes play a crucial role in saving and rehabilitating rescued animals. They are in a unique position to help abused or neglected animals learn how to love and trust again.
Foster homes can help these animals become more “adoptable” by providing socialization and basic training. By teaching or re-teaching an animal how to live in a home setting, foster homes help increase the odds for a smooth and successful transition into a permanent adoptive home.
The basic responsibilities are:
• Provide a safe, clean, caring environment.
• Provide food, water, toys/enrichment, and shelter.
• Provide exercise and socialization as appropriate.
• Monitor any medical and/or behavioral problems. We understand you are not a vet but if you see concerning issues please contact us immediately.
• Taking pictures of your foster dog so we can use them to network your pup and help them get adopted.
• Responding to email inquiries on your foster dog from your foster director.
******ALL SUPPLIES ARE OFFERED FROM US******
DOG FOSTER TEAM
As a dog foster parent, you have an entire team to support you. The following is an overview of the teams and their responsibilities. Please be aware that many on the Dog Foster team are volunteers who do this in addition to their responsibilities with work and family. We all want you to have a positive experience fostering for BFAR, so please do not hesitate to contact one of us if you are experiencing any difficulty. Contact information for the team members is foster@buddyandfriendsma.org
How long can fostering last?
We prefer our dogs stay in their foster homes until they are adopted. The timing can range anywhere from 1 day to 3 months. We do understand that dogs are just like people and have different personalities. If for any reason you think your foster may need a different place to crash please let us know as soon as possible.
Think you are ready?
Click the link below to apply.
If you would like a PDF copy please email foster@buddyandfriendsma.org
Foster to Adopt Program
effective 1.31.22
Foster to Adopt program!!
This program will be for all dogs that are on their way up from TN. We have removed our age requirements. Want to spend more than an hour with your new furry friend to see if they are the right dog for you? Great! This program is just for you. No commitments and the rescue for the first 7 days pays for all your pups needs. By day 7, if your pup does not work out, then you continue fostering until we find him or her their furever home. This also works out for us as we won't have to worry about our dogs making more transitions than necessary.
If you are interested, please email Foster@buddyandfriendsma.org
We are ALWAYS looking to add more permanent fosters to our foster base. We pay for EVERYTHING and the only commitment you have is to keep your pup loved and safe. We provide vet visits, toys, treats, kennel, and food. You will also become a part of our already awesome foster team. You just provide a loving home while your foster pup waits for their furever family. Apply to foster below.
See what our fosters have to say!
Fostering for Buddy and Friends is a great experience for my family, but especially for my young children. It teaches them about responsibility, and most importantly, it shows them the importance of volunteer work and helping others. Everyone always asks us how we let the dogs go and if we feel sad. Yes, saying “goodbye” to the foster dogs is always hard, but then we know our home can open up to another one in need. It’s truly such a rewarding feeling watching them go off to their forever families and knowing we were a small stop on their journey. Buddy and Friends is a great team to be part of.
-Beth M.
The best part of fostering for me is getting to know and spend time with so many new pups. From puppies to older dogs, it is just so much fun spending time with them and learning each dogs personality. They teach you so much every day! People definitely don’t realize what goes into fostering and how hard it can be to let go. However, knowing you are the bridge between rescuing a dog in need to getting them adopted into their forever home is an unexplainable feeling. And seeing the joy these pups bring to their new families is just priceless. Fostering for Buddy & Friends has been absolutely amazing. The team of support and guidance is incredible and it is an amazing thing to be a part of!
Lisa C.
My family and I are new to fostering, having only fostered 2 dogs, Grant and Lily. It was so rewarding seeing them go to loving forever homes, and that was absolutely the best part about fostering and what makes it so worthwhile. It was very nice getting to experience a different breed on dog than what we were used to, since our 2 fosters were Pitbull mixes, and we learned how loveable and sweet they are. We have learned that for us, our living situation and our current dogs, the best fit for us is a smaller dog and a contained timeframe (i.e the foster already has interest or an application prior to coming here so we know it would be a shorter stay and our dogs could handle it better). We greatly enjoy our relationship with the rescue and are glad to be a part of it!
Gina P.