The Importance of Fostering

Fostering is a crucial part of Fetcher Dog's process. Many of our dogs are not suited to life in kennels and require a foster family. This may be due to age, illness, anxiety or just the length of time they are waiting for their forever family. 

Waldo came to our kennels in Kent after being rescued from a high kill shelter in Bosnia. He is a sweet and friendly boy, who just wanted to have a family of his own. As an older dog, kennels weren't really suitable for him and as he was not getting any adoption interest, we decided to find him a foster family so he could wait in comfort. Our fabulous volunteer, Mel offered to foster him and he stayed with her from October 2018-May 2019. Waldo slotted into their daily routine seamlessly; joining Mel on the school run, day trips and family life. Mel is a dog walker so Waldo was given a great opportunity to meet lots of other dogs and become great on his lead. Mel's two children were also wonderful with Waldo, and gave Waldo the opportunity to show us how patient and friendly he is towards children. Through being in a foster home, Waldo made great strides in all aspects of his training and was able to wait for a forever home whilst experiencing what living in a home was like for the first time. Waldo has since been adopted and because of his experience in foster, he settled in quickly and is now a permanent member of a family. 

Misty was rescued from a high kill shelter in Bosnia after our trustees saw her shaking at the back of a cold and icy kennel. She was very shy and underweight and was taken to safety by our rescuer before being brought to the kennels in Kent. Misty had little adoption interest and we thought it was unfair to have her in kennels for too long so wanted to find a foster home for her. Mel (like the hero she is), agreed to take her in and look after her until a forever home was found. A foster family allows each dog to have more attention than we can provide at kennels, with more day trips and excursions to meet new people and potential adopters. Misty met her forever family whilst on a dog walk with Mel, and due to her time at Mel's home was able to settle in quickly once her adoption had been finalised. Misty now has the life that she deserves; full of love and cuddles. This may not of been possible without Mel as her foster Mum.

Harper and Susie were rescued as tiny puppies when they were at risk of being used for 'backyard breeding' once they became old enough. Their Mother had run away and the pups required hand-rearing until they were old enough to accept solid food. Their foster Mother did an excellent job of giving them the time and attention they needed to become healthy and strong, ready for forever homes of their own. Young puppies require 24-hour supervision, with a regular feeding schedule through the night, which is not currently possible at our kennels in Kent, so a foster family is crucial. The pair stayed with their foster Mother until they were ten weeks old, but due to a change of circumstance were separated and taken to two foster families locally. The girls really flourished when they got there; meeting new dogs and experiencing new situations, they both did well with their training and socialisation.Their foster families have helped with getting these pups ready for adoption. 

Sulley was rescued from a high kill shelter in Bosnia. He was extremely nervous and soon came to the kennels in Kent. Sulley was not suited to life in kennels, he became very stressed and continuously tried to climb out of his kennel. He was at risk of hurting himself, so a foster family was needed urgently. Sulley went to a foster family in Birmingham and became a lot calmer and more relaxed immediately. Sulley had never lived in a home before, so required full house training. He was also bad with other dogs, probably because he had to fight with other dogs for food in the kill shelters in Bosnia. He came on leaps and bounds as soon as he went to his foster home. He was able to be carefully socialised with other dogs and trained to live in a home. Fostering a dog like Sulley requires patience, as training and socialisation take time. He is still with his foster family and is doing better every day. Sulley will soon be ready for a forever home of his own.