Become A Foster

Foster care is the most crucial ingredient in dog rescue. Without available foster homes, many dogs will not be rescued. For the dogs in animal control facilities, this often means death. As a dog foster care provider you impact three canine lives: the foster dog you send forward to a wonderful home, the next dog you can take in, and the dog in the shelter that is now given more time to live because of the space that is freed up by the dog you foster. We are always in need of foster homes in the greater Gig Harbor area including Key Peninsula, Port Orchard, North Tacoma and Fircrest because our rescue vet and all adoption activities are conducted in Gig Harbor. The more foster homes we have, the more dogs we can save.

Responsibilities of Dog Foster Care Provider

A foster companion or family must provide a safe, secure, stable environment, and most importantly, the love needed to nurture those dogs back to their happy, healthy selves. Some dogs require special care, such as post medical attention, increasing weight or strength, socializing, building trust, exercise and fun. Being a foster care provider takes a considerable amount of time, dedication and genuine caring. 

Your Relationship with Potential Adopters

Because you will have the best knowledge of your foster dog's temperament, likes and dislikes, we will ask you to share that information with people who are considering adopting the dog. CHEW will help find and screen potential adopters - all potential adopters will be screened. And CHEW will join you in making the final decision about who should adopt your foster dog.

Costs

CHEW Dog Rescue will pay all necessary veterinary fees such as health assessment exams, spay or neuter, microchipping, vaccinations and medications. If needed, CHEW will help with food costs.

If you think you could help by being a foster care provider, please complete the Foster Care Application.

What Our Fosters Have to Say

I call myself a foster dog grandma, because I feel that reflects the temporary, yet devoted time, that I have with the foster dogs. They come to my home because they are rescue dogs, given up for some reason and we don’t often know the reason. The dogs are most often scared, timid, anxious and they need my attention, my cuddling, my petting and grooming them, my devotion to their daily lives. And they give me comfort in return!  Along with feeding, walking, adoring and, probably, sleeping with them, a foster also needs available time to go to a wellness check vet appointment, a microchip vet appointment (a different vet), and possibly a neutering clinic appointment at another vet. My required expenses are only for food and treats. CHEW Dog Rescue provides leashes, harnesses, crates, feeding bowls, dog beds, professional grooming, etc.

I started fostering this past January, when I retired on a Friday and took in my first foster on the following Monday. That particular dog was full of energy and adorably bossy and I was immediately very busy with him – in the rain and snow. He trained me for six weeks and I trained him, too. It was respect on both sides. I’ve had three other dogs since then and their personalities are all so different! I love that CHEW Dog Rescue pays attention to the qualities and needs of each dog and the people they are going to. It’s my job to give them security for 4-6 weeks, on average, and also assess their personality and capabilities, with a little dog training along the way. With Sherette and the others, I have input on which dog goes to whom. I am totally secure with the new forever homes these four dogs have moved on to. I have had follow up conversations and photos from all of them and I know that they are all bonded and happy now. 

Many people ask me how I can give them up after bonding with them. Part of that is my personal history. I’ve owned many dogs over many years and then, after they had all passed on, we (I’m now widowed) took in many other friend’s and friends of friend’s dogs to board overnight or for a few weeks, just as a hobby. I enjoy the variety of the dogs and when you know from the start that they will not be staying, the nurturing process kicks in to prepare them for their next home. We fosters have an important job to do and I’m looking forward to being a part of many more rescue dog’s journey.   

~ Candy
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We adopted our current 2 dogs from CHEW which led us to be interested in fostering other rescue dogs through CHEW. Over the last 2-1/2 years we have helped re-home 7 rescues and found it to be exciting and worthwhile.  Each one has its own personality and watching each dog develop into happy and healthy pets is quite rewarding.

The CHEW representatives are extremely helpful in seeing that we have all the equipment and advice we need. Leading us through the veterinarian checks, micro chipping, and neutering or spaying processes gives us the confidence we need to complete the dogs preparation for its new forever home.

We are looking forward to fostering more rescue dogs for the foreseeable future.

~Bette and Marlin
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I saw a post on Facebook. It was summertime in desert country. I kept thinking of the hot kennels.

I felt that I needed to help. I had the perfect set-up. I work from home so that makes it good for the dogs as I am there most of the time. 

Fostering has made me be more nourishing and patient. All the dogs need is a safe home , food, and love. What I love about fostering is to see the dogs flourish and find a good permanent home.

How do I let them go?  I mentally prepare myself knowing that when they find their new home that will make me happy.

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What would you say if I asked you if you would like to take a foster dog home...hum probably the same as I thought. No, I couldn't give them up! But let me tell you about reality and why fostering for CHEW dog rescue is so important to me. I first met Sherrett when I went to see a dog I was interested in. And yes I did adopt. But after learning about CHEW, what they do and most importantly how they do it, I was so impressed I felt this would be well worth dealing with my own emotions. After 26 fosters, I still find fostering is a wonderful way to really help those who are otherwise helpless.

Many come from high kill shelters, families that can no longer care for them because of numerouse reasons.  It is heartbeaking but empowering all at the same time. You can make a dent and make a difference by educating yourself and others. You learn that it is okay to let them go and then be able to help another dog in need. I love to see my fosters in their new homes and having a rich full life.

Now I look forward to the next great family I find for my foster and the next foster in need. I have not only made some great relationships with foster dogs but foster families, vets and others who partner with CHEW Dog Rescue.

One morning in May of 2016, I was looking on Facebook and saw a post from CHEW Dog Rescue that really caught my eye. CHEW was desperately seeking a person/family that would become a foster for their organization. The picture they posted was a skinny little Cairn terrier with the biggest ears I had ever seen. I couldn't believe that this little dog was homeless and that someone didn't care enough about him to keep him safe in a loving home. I have two Cairn terriers of my own so I decided that we should apply to be his foster family. That little skinny terrier's name was Jake. He moved in to our home where we gave him much love, but he gave us back more love that we could ever have imagined. When he was ready to go to events, so we could find his forever home, it was difficult for us to let him go. Yes, we adopted this little man so he could be our forever dog.

We were now hooked on this fostering program because I knew there were many other dogs out there that needed to be rescued.  Since we started taking in rescue dogs in May 2016, we have had nine little souls come in to our home to be loved.  It is very rewarding to foster a rescue dog.  When they arrive, you are not sure what to expect.  We do know that we will be providing a safe home, medical care, good food and lots of love.  We learn about the dog and their habits, likes and dislikes so we can share this with their new forever home.  We may have to help potty-train or teach to walk on a leash.  We do whatever we can to make sure these little dogs are nurtured back to happy little tail waggers.  Chew pays for all necessary fees for vet appointments, spay or neuter, microchipping, vaccinations and medicine.

Being a foster makes me so happy.  I can save a little soul and send them on to their forever homes.  It can also be heartbreaking at times because you fall in love with your little dog and it is hard to let them go.  As a foster you can help in the adoption process and have a say as to who will adopt your dog.  When my rescue dog leaves with its new family, I know that in a short time I will be welcoming in a new little rescue dog so I can save another life.

~Peggie
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In October 2016, my dog, Gromit, passed away and I noticed that my other dog, Gizmo, was very lonely. I started to look for a new rescue dog and I discovered CHEW Dog Rescue. I decided to become a Foster Mom, with the thought of adopting a dog. Almost a year later, I have now fostered seven dogs and I will continue to foster dogs as long as possible, because I absolutely love it and I know that I am doing something good by taking dogs out of a high kill facility.

Being a Foster Mom has been one of the most rewarding things that I have done in my life. It all starts with bringing a rescue dog into my home, providing him or her with safe shelter, health care, good nutritious food, lots of love and care until a forever home is found. Gizmo and I both teach basic manners to each foster dog, such as going outside to potty, sit, stay, lay down, load up and leash trained. I also ensure that the dogs are well socialized with both other dogs and humans. We all walk several miles a day to keep the dog happy and healthy.

I also get to learn more about the dog’s personality and behavior in a home setting. This process makes it possible for CHEW to match the dog with the right person or family. Every dog is different, he/she may be very timid or shy at first, it can take days or several weeks or months to get the dog comfortable with their new environment. This process is key information in helping find its forever home. Some of the things that I enjoy most is seeing a foster dog joining in play time, discovering toys, snuggles and the indescribable feeling of knowing that I am helping to save a life.

CHEW seldom knows the background of the dogs, as most of them are strays. One of the saddest part of being a Foster Mom is that I get to see some very neglected dogs, that are filthy, covered with matted fur, dried feces in the fur and almost bitten alive with flea’s and tick’s. It breaks my heart to see a dog that is such bad condition, but it is uplifting to see a dog transform into a happy and trusting pup.

The hardest part of being a dog foster is saying goodbye to the dog that I have had in my house for several weeks or months. They become part of the family and I miss each and every one of them after they are gone. They all leave a paw print on my heart!

~Annette
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We started being a foster family because we wanted to help save dogs lives. Since we always have adopted shelter animals, why not try and keep them from being shelter animals in the first place.

We currently have three dogs in our home (all rescues), two of them are older with medical issues so we've had to stop fostering for the moment. Once you've earned the dog's trust (since some come from very bad circumstances), you won't find a more loyal loving pet. We will definitely foster again.  

When we first started fostering dogs, I was afraid I'd get so attached I wouldn't be able to let them go. But once you see how far the dogs come when you are helping them learn new habits and to trust, it's so gratifying to know that you helped save this dog's life. As a foster, you get to meet the people who are interested in the dog and see how they interact with those people. It makes it easy to let them go to their new forever home.  It helps also that the fosters have an opinion once meeting the new families if you think its a good match.

~Kari