Open your home
Foster homes are critical to our rescue process
For many of these pugs, this will be their first experience being treated as a beloved pet. By fostering, you're not just offering a temporary home; you're helping shape the next chapter of a pug's life. The number of lives we can save directly depends on the number of individuals willing to open their homes to foster. Our team is often fostering alongside you, so you will never be alone in this journey.
Why become a foster parent?
Fostering is like temporary ownership, without the commitment. It's wonderful opportunity to have a pug companion, meet wonderful families, and even test out whether you're ready to adopt yourself! As a foster, you will give the pug a chance to heal, grow, and thrive while living in your home. This experience is essential in setting up a pug up for success in their forever home.
Frequently asked questions
-
Fostering typically lasts 3-4 weeks, as most pugs are adopted within that timeframe. Depending on how "ready" the dog is (if it's already neutered/spayed, if they have any medical concerns, etc), that process can be shorter or longer.
-
No, but we do our best to honor your preferences, but we will also need to consider your lifestyle, schedule, and experience to pair you with a pug whose needs align with your abilities. If a dog is in our rescue, they have a foster home.
-
We ask fosters to handle transportation for veterinary appointments and adoption meet-and-greets whenever possible. However, if you’re unable to do so, we can ask transport volunteers or help get the dog closer to their destination ourselves.
-
If a foster placement isn't working out, we will transfer them to another foster home. If a personal emergency occurs, please let us know ASAP so we can ensure the pug is taken care of.
-
Every foster dog you receive will come with a harness and/or collar with ID tag and a leash. We rely solely on donations at this time, and if we have inventory, we will send food, pet beds, toys, etc. Most of our fosters buy their own dog food for convenience. Remember that any supplies you purchase can be considered tax-deductible donations!
-
Fostering a pug is very rewarding and can also be at times difficult, frustrating, confusing, or heartbreaking. There are many variables, so your experience as a foster parent will depend on your history and past encounters with pugs, your lifestyle, and your personality. It will also depend on the pug you're fostering — each is an individual and completely different from the next. One pug might bounce into your home footloose and fancy free and have few accidents while the next could be quite shy at first and require potty training, for example. Almost all animals in new environments exhibit signs of stress at first, so no matter what, it's very important that you be patient and understand with things like accidents, skittishness, pacing, restless nights, and so on for at least the first few days. New pugs brought in for fostering are frequently stressed and require more love and attention than most pugs. Once the stress is over (normally two days to a week) they are appreciative of their new life and foster parents. Pugs are extremely resilient!
-
When you get your foster pug, they may be completely vaccinated, overdue for some vaccines, or even completely unvaccinated. Our team will be in touch and let you know all of this as soon as they understand what the records say. If you have a dog of your own, we require them to be up-to-date on their own vaccines for this reason.
-
We require all resident dogs to be fixed and fully vaccinated. We strongly recommend keeping them current on flea/tick/heartworm medication.
-
It depends! If it's your first foster through us, then unfortunately the answer is no. If it's not, we ask that you request to adopt them before they go on our website and social media. Once the dog is marketed to the public, we will ask you to wait at least a week before claiming them.
-
The rescue covers all medical needs, including prescription food. The team will guide you through the process, reviewing any existing medical records and scheduling veterinarian appointments. You'll be informed of any required treatments or vaccinations. We cover vet expenses as long as you go through us for all of their veterinary needs. If you take your foster to a vet without our permission, it will be your financial responsibility. We're a responsive team, so if you think your foster needs medical attention, reach out.