New Foster Information Joann Roof Director

Transcription

1 New Foster Information Joann Roof Director Hope Foster Coordinator Leadership We all need a lot of grace. If there is a problem its best to talk to the person first. If It involves abuse of animals or people, or something that could hurt the rescue please talk to the director about it too. Dogs shouldn't die because we can't be kind to each other. Shortly after a home visit from your coordinator you will start receiving lists of shelter dogs. Do not reply to all but reply to your coordinator and the director with the number of dogs you would like and a list of dogs you would be willing to take. Put the dog you would prefer first. At least 50% of the dogs we take need to be already fixed. We like to send the shelter the list of dogs we can take within a couple of hours so please respond right away. We don't choose our cats and kittens, we just let the shelter know how many and what gender we can take. The dogs come in on transports, usually in large trailers or cargo vans. Most of them have not had a chance to relieve themselves in 8 or more hrs. so you will want to give them a chance before putting them in your car. Some shelters don't feed the dogs the day of the transport. They are almost always very hungry and thirsty. When they get to your house give them a place away from people and pets where they can eat and drink as much as they want within reason for a little while. Be sure to introduce them to your other pets. Keep in mind that they came from a noisy, scary, every dog for himself, shelter. He was put in a small kennel and rode for 8 or more hrs with a lot of other scared animals. It takes some dogs a few days to recover. Most dogs don't act like their true selves for a bit, just give them space and they will come around. A lot will have diarrhea and may vomit their first day or so. The stress reeks havoc with their bodies. If they do either please your coordinator and let her know. We hold young pups for 14 days to insure that they don't have Parvo. Please let your coordinator know if your dog has Kennel Cough, diarrhea or vomiting within 24 hrs of an adoption event. We only bring healthy dogs to the events. When you post on Craig's List please follow the instructions on the Craig's List Hints sheet. Please be careful to use correct grammar, spelling, and punctuation. Dogs and pups can be advertised on Craig's List up to one week before they are ready to be adopted. A potential adopter can make a $50 deposit to reserve a dog till it is available. We cannot reimburse for any damages a foster animal does. All foster cats and kittens must be indoor only. Do not take them out on a leash. We don't want to encourage an obsession with the outdoors. All

2 foster pets should be free fed (have food and water available at all times.) However, it is best to remove food and water from pups about 3 hrs before you put them to bed. Puppies and kittens should always sleep in kennels. If they whine do not go comfort them or even check on them. If you do it will teach them to continue the behavior. Talk to your coordinator for ideas if they whine excessively or for other problem behaviors. Pups 8 weeks old should be taken outside to relieve themselves at least every 2 hrs. At 6 months they can usually wait at least 3 hrs. If an adult dog doesn't know how to ask to go out they should be taken out about 4-5 times a day. Your foster dog must be on a leash at all times when they are not in a secure fenced area. Do not leave them alone in a fenced yard for the first 24 hrs. You would be amazed at how high some small dogs can jump. We like you to socialize your foster dogs at dog parks but be aware that there is an open gate at the West end of Bear Creek near the creek. Please avoid that area. Videos of your foster dog playing at Bear Creek are GREAT for getting him adopted! Please do your best to attend every monthly foster meeting. They are usually the first Sunday of the month from 2-4 pm. We appreciate help at as many adoption events as you are able to attend. To help you must wear one of our blue T-shirts or a T-shirt close to that color. Please dress modestly and do not wear flip flops or sandals. We appreciate your efforts to look neat and casual but professional. Do not use any language that could be considered offensive. Don't try to talk someone into adopting. Give them the information they need, let them ask questions but then give them space to think about it. Never misrepresent a dogs behavior! All pets must have a brief home visit at the time of the adoption unless the adopter is known by a foster. Pets may be returned within 2 weeks for a refund of all but the Compassion donation but we prefer to help the adopter work through any problems they may be having. Adoption Fees: Pups that have been held for 14 days or more $200 Pups that came as 4 months or older $150 Adults $120 Some pure breeds may have a higher adoption fee to prevent them from being resold. (This paragraph is not in effect yet) At the end of each month fosters are reimbursed at least $5 for each dog they had each week in the form of a King Super's gift card. The reimbursement for cats is $2. This is reimbursement for expenses like water and gas usage. If you are asked to drive a long distance for the rescue or purchase something that costs more than a few dollars we will reimburse it but we need receipts for purchases. We want to help fosters as much as we can. When we have an abundance of donated food you can also use some for your pets. Please limit to these guidelines However much your foster animals eat, you can use the same amount for your personal animals. ie. If you are fostering a chihuahua you can't feed your St Bernard all he wants of the rescue food, only the amount that a chi eats. Puppy and kitten food can only be used for the rescue pets. Medical Concerns

3 Please let your coordinator know if a puppy has diarrhea or vomiting more than once in a day. If they have both vomiting and diarrhea even once, call right away. It is important to recognize a serious sickness right away. Take note if a pup is not as active as normal. Many of the dogs and puppies that come from shelters have ticks. Please check their whole body as soon as you are able. The ticks often hide in ears and arm pits. Your coordinator can teach you how to remove ticks its easy. Please give the dogs and especially puppies baths as soon as possible. We can provide the shampoo if needed. (Do not give baths to animals that have recently been fixed. It will dissolve their stitches.) If there is a life threatening medical emergency dog hit by a car, etc. please take them to the nearest vet. If it is not an emergency check with your coordinator. We have arrangements with vets who will give us discounts to see our dogs. If a dog gets away, let your coordinator know right away. The biggest medical concerns are: Parvo A viral disease that is highly contagious and can spread quickly to pups that are not immune from the disease. Parvovirus affects mainly puppies and younger dogs. Puppies between weaning and up to six months of age are the most at risk. Puppies with parvo usually show a loss of appetite and are lethargic. They suffer from vomiting and diarrhea which can quickly lead to dehydration. Quite often, they also have a fever. In serious cases, puppy parvo is fatal if timely treatment is not given. Giardia Symptoms of giardia in dogs aren't always obvious. Many animals and people are 'carriers' of this infection, and are 'asymptomatic', which means that they don't show any outward signs of having the disease. Puppies and other young animals are more likely to get sick from Giardiosis, when their immune system is weak due to stress or other illness. The most common symptom is of giardia in dogs is puppy diarrhea, and this can be acute, or chronic (meaning can be sudden in onset and severe, or come and go over several weeks but be less severe). The diarrhea is usually very watery and has a strong smell, it may contain blood or mucus. If you have other animals and your puppy has canine giardia, they are also at risk of catching it. A dog who is infected will probably have other symptoms as well as the diarrhea, these can include vomiting, loss of appetite, weight loss, and lethargy. The dewormer we usually use, Panacur treats giardia Kennel Cough If your dog has a hacking cough, he may have kennel cough, which is caused by either viral (e.g. parainfluenza) or bacterial infection (e.g. Bordetella bronchiseptica). Kennel cough is not a very serious illness and the puppy will usually get over the cough in one or two weeks. Your own dogs will probably catch both viral strains but then they are usually immune for the rest of their lives. If a dog or pup shows signs of KC let your coordinator know and we will provide meds if needed.

4 Bedding and toys must be washed between each animal. Fill your washer with the bedding and toys, allow it to fill with water and add 1 cup of bleach in addition to laundry soap. Allow the items to soak in the bleach water for at least 15 minutes. Or you can soak them in a bucket of bleach water before you wash them. It should be a 30/1 solution. Kennels and any puppy/kitten areas must be bleached with a 10/1 solution between each new animal's arrival. Craig's List Hints In Colorado Springs most of our adopters come from Craig's List. A lot of people come to the events because they see a dog they like on CL. Here are some things I've learned about posting ads: I've had adopters say that they kept seeing the ad for the dog till they finally came to see her. It seems to me that putting something unique and attention getting in the title is the best way to go. Here are some examples, One ear sticks up, the other flops down he's going to be a big guy. She is interviewing for hiking partners You'll never be board again I like having long titles because they stand out and they are easier to find again. If you have an unusual breed it helps to have that in the title. If you put New Hope Rescue in the location box more people will look at the ad because we are a rescue. It also helps get people's attention if you mention early on that Spot was rescued from, a high kill shelter or Death row or something like that. Unless it is obvious you might say, we think he is a cocker spaniel/poodle mix Be sure to include age. aproxamate weight, personality, anything unique. Tell about the dog. If he is house trained that is a huge plus. Saying something like, He is doing great on his house training, he hasn't had a single accident since he arrived. If not you might say something like, He has a bit more work to do on his house training. Always include info on vetting, She is spayed, vaccinated, and microchipped. Her adoption fee is to help cover her vetting and care. You will have to decide if you want to list your name and phone number. It is also good to include the web address. If you include the full address it will show up as a live link. You can add a hit counter to the end of your ad if you like. It gets rid of all your paragraphs though and turns it into one big block of text. I put the hit counter on some ads to gage the interest in particular types of dogs, especially when I list the breed in the title. Most ads get around 1,000 hits a day. Great pictures are the most important thing. Try to get all eight pictures allowed on CL. Put your best picture first since that will be visible on the list. Pictures of the dog with kids, with other dogs, playing, and resting or sleeping, and kissing someone all get attention. Try to have a head pic and a full body pic. Look on Google pics or Pintrest for picture ideas.

5 Your New Dog or Puppy When you first get home: Let your dog sniff and explore your yard (on a leash if your yard isn't fenced) for a few minutes before taking him inside. Let her explore one room at a time while you are with her. Introductions to other pets: If you have another dog, let your dog sniff the new dog first, while they are both on leashes. For the first few days it is very important to give your other dog more attention than the new dog. This will help your original dog know he is not being replaced and will help the new dog adjust to your home without feeling dependent on you for protection. If you have a cat, put it in another room for an hour or two while your new dog adjusts to your home. This allows your new dog to get use to the cats smell. Then have the dog sit in front of you and watch (on a leash if necessary) while you hold, talk to, and pet your cat for a few minutes. Do not give attention to your new dog while you are holding your cat. This lets your new dog know that the cat is under your protection and that you have placed the cat higher in the pack than he is. Be sure to hold on to your new dog when your cat leaves your lap. If the dog tries to chase the cat tell her no and repeat the exercise till your new dog learns to leave the cat alone. Be sure to watch how they do for a few days. You may need to repeat this learning experience several times. House training: Even if you adopted an adult dog that is house trained, take your dog out to relieve herself every 3 hours for the first few days. Every 2 hrs if he is a puppy 4-6 months old and every hr if she is under 4 months. This teaches the dog that the only place to go is outside. You might want to tell your dog, Go potty. or something like that when you take him out and then praise him when he is going. Soon he will learn to go right away when you use that phrase. Remove both food and water about two hours before you have your new dog go to sleep for the night. Do this till your new dog consistently relieves herself outside. Tips: Begin teaching your new dog or puppy to sit, lay, and stay right away. It will help her learn to that you are the pack leader and how to calm herself. Taking your dog or puppy for daily walks will get rid of a lot of their mischief and save you heaps of frustration. For more information on getting your new relationship started out right we suggest visiting