TOP DOG Pet Sitting & Dog Walking Newsletter

Why Foster?

To be honest, we never thought about it either, but after one of our two dogs, Daisy suddenly died in 2008 we tried to find a way to honor her memory. She was adopted from the shelter, so we went back to the animal control shelter (then run by PACCA) and ended up with Sam, a rolly, polly eight year old beagle. We also met some incredibly nice volunteers and found out a lot of information about volunteering and fostering during our first visit. Well, we never did get Sam adopted out of course, and ended up keeping him ourselves. We call this a "foster failure" which is not an unusual occurrence :).

Since then I, Petra, have been volunteering at the animal control shelter on 111 Hunting Park, walking the dogs who otherwise get very little exercise and attention and taking them to events. Tony and I provide foster care, mostly for dogs. First we did this for PACCA/PAWS and then, after the PSPCA took over the animal control contract in January 2009 for the PSPCA-ACCT. Together Tony and I have fostered a total of 11 dogs and two cats. After our second dog Hazel passed in the summer of 2008, we ended up adopting another one of our foster dogs and we are in the process of adopting our third. This means that we currently have three resident dogs, and two foster dogs available for adoption.

What is Fostering?

Fostering means you are temporarily giving an animal, dogs or cats, a home. The time frame is up to you, as long as you can commit that you will not return the animal to the shelter, unless you have a dire emergency. You can select the animal you want and if you have any resident animals, the animal you choose needs to be compatible with your "pack." If you have resident dogs, you need to bring them to the shelter to make sure that your dog and the potential foster dog at least initially get along. When you foster for the PSPCA all your meidcal care that your foster pet may require is covered but you need to utilize the PSPCA Clinic on Erie Avenue. If you choose to go to your own vet, you will have to cover the cost of the appointment. You will be required to find the adopters for your foster pet. You can advertise your foster pet/pets on Petfinder or Craigs List, take them to PSPCA events, and/or hang flyers in your local establishments. Of course, at first, you want to try and get them adopted by your family, your friends, your coworkers or your neighbors.

If you are a new foster parent, the shelter can put you in touch with other more seasoned foster parents to give you advice or tips. We also have on online forum you can join where you can post questions, etc.

What if You Fall in Love with your Foster Pet?

No problem! You can adopt your foster pet yourself. Many people have asked us how we can give up a pet after it has been part of our family, and the answer is that it is not easy, but we have found the most wonderful adopters, and still get updates and pics of some of our fosters and know they are in the best of hands, enabling us to save another life.

Currently it is kitten season, a terrible time in Philadelphia! Cats and their litters are surrendered literally by the hundreds at the shelter and desperately need foster or permanent homes.

Our shelter is not a no-kill shelter given the incredible volume of animals that animal control takes in every year, over 30,000!!!!! Too many owner surrenders for a variety of reasons, some so very sad and upsetting, some due to hardship that the owners face. And then there are all the stray animals that animal control is responsible for: Philadelphia's discarded pets.

Fostering and adopting literally saves two lives, the animal you take in and the cage space it opens up for another animal.

If you would like more information on fostering, please contact me at petrafosterpets@gmail.com.

More information on fostering for the PSPCA, Inc., the canine and feline foster care application can be found here:

http://www.pspca.org/acct/foster_rescue.

FYI, the PSPCA currently has two shelters, their headquarters and adoption center on Erie Avenue, and the animal control shelter formerly operated by PACCA on Hunting Park. You can adopt from Erie Avenue and foster pets through them, and all the evaluated pets at Hunting Park are available for foster care and subsequent adoption.

You can also adopt or foster for PAWS, one of the shelter's biggest rescue partners. Almost all of their animals also come from the animal control shelter.

More info on PAWS can be found here: http://www.phillypaws.org.

Thanks for reading and Happy Fostering!!!!