MDR is desperately in need of fosters!

By taking one of our dogs into your home on a temporary basis, the animal is given an opportunity to adjust to a home environment, and it gives us the opportunity to save many more.

Serving as a foster parent is an excellent way to welcome a new dog into your home while helping an animal in need. Fostering a needy animal is one of the most important things an animal lover can do. It's also an emotional, often life-changing experience that isn't for everyone—even for those who can do it, saying goodbye is never easy. But, seeing them go to a wonderful new home is one the rewards of the foster program. 

Here are some of the must haves to become a foster parent:

• Time and resources – A person or family must have the time, room and resources to dedicate to a dog for it to be a positive experience for all parties involved.
• Vet visits – Some dogs may have had very poor nutrition or medical conditions that have not been properly addressed, depending on the circumstances from where they came. Medical care will be paid for, buth there will be a time commitment if you need to make several trips to the vet.
• Ability to say goodbye – It takes a special person to foster a dog.  You must remember that fostering is a temporary situation until the dog finds a forever home. 
• Patience – Dogs who have been moved from home to home, abandoned, abused, are often under tremendous stress. They may not be accustomed to cages or other animals. It is important that you are gentle and patient with your foster dog and give him extra attention. If you have other pets or children, you will have to make the introductions to the foster dog gradually and only with supervision.
• LOTS OF LOVE!!!

Serving as a foster parent to a disadvantaged or needy dog is a wonderful service and very gratifying. If you love dogs but are unable to adopt one, consider the option of becoming a foster parent.
 
It gets easier with time. For many people, the first time you say goodbye to a foster pet is the hardest—the second time is easier, the third, even more so. While you never stop caring for the foster animals that come into your home, you will soon realize that the sadness is often replaced with the satisfaction of knowing you were instrumental in saving a life. 
 

Become active in the adoption process. Many foster parents enjoy taking an active role in the adoption process and find that it helps with the transition of saying goodbye.
 

Focus on the ultimate goal. It's only natural to find you have a stronger bond with certain animals and may even question whether or not to adopt your foster pet. At these times it's important to remember why you became a foster parent—it's about helping save a life. MDR constantly receives calls and visits from people who found injured and abused dogs.  But in the absence of available foster homes, we often have no choice but to say NO to a needy animal. As a foster parent, it's vital to keep your original goals in mind and remain committed to helping foster pets find loving, forever homes.

Start or join a foster support network. It's very important for pet foster parents to communicate with like-minded folk. By joining a foster support network you'll be able to share advice and experiences, give support and even provide a shoulder to cry on.

Cherish the memories. Consider saving memories of your furry foster friends in a scrapbook. From photos, to reminiscent stories and other memorabilia—a foster scrapbook is a great way to capture the memories of your foster pets, while honoring the many animals whose lives you have directly helped. 

Already know you want to foster? "CLICK HERE" and fill out an application.

Once the application is approved, we conduct a home check, and ask that all family members (including dogs, kids, etc.) are present.  MDR wants to ensure both you and your foster will have a good experience through out the fostering period.