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Volunteer to be a foster parent
Foster home guidelines
What You Need to Foster a Rescued Labrador Retriever
How Expenses Are Handled
Basic Foster Expenses and Approved Reimbursement Rates
Your Pets and Your Rescued Dog
Most Frequently asked Questions
 Volunteer to be a Foster Parent:
 Thank you for your interest in Southeast Texas Labrador Retriever Rescue.
Please fill out our online foster application if you would like to volunteer your time or if you are interested in joining our foster care program to help care for Labrador Retrievers coming out of shelters.
A printable version of the foster application is available for those who would like to send via usps.
Foster Home Guidelines:
Thank you for your interest in helping the abandoned and unwanted Labrador Retrievers in Houston, Texas and the surrounding areas. Our foster homes experience great joy and deep satisfaction when they see that through their efforts a neglected dog gets a second chance at life and a new opportunity to share his or her unconditional love with people who care.
What is Foster Care? Being a foster home means sharing your home with a rescued dog: providing food, shelter, toys, walks (after the dog is well from heartworm treatment or more confident if shy), and lots of attention, until a permanent home for the dog is approved. We count on our foster homes to evaluate temperament and observe behaviors in a variety of situations, and we welcome those updates so we can assess the dog and enhance the description on the web site. Positive reinforcement training is encouraged. Most foster care situations require 3 to 6 months of residential foster care, or longer in some cases where the dog is ill or older.
What You Need to Foster a Rescued Labrador Retriever:
 Apartment homes can also be excellent foster homes (approval from Landlord required), with proper attention to providing several leash-walks daily for the dog as well as adequate off-leash exercise in a safe area like a dog park or nature preserve at least twice a week. We have also found that most modern apartment complexes are now gated which protects our dogs as well as residents. The reason we do not allow the leash-walk approach to single-dwelling homes without fences is the danger of someone forgetting and letting the dog out or leaving a door open for the dog to escape through. These are rescued dogs who have sometimes been runners, and we do not want people to have to chase and capture our dog in what can be a dangerous situation for both dog and pursuers.
Crates are an invaluable piece of equipment for rescue people. A Vari-Kennel #500 or one of similar size is suitable for most Labrador Retrievers, and is a great aid in transporting and isolating dogs. It is also a cozy den and a place of refuge for most dogs. Whenever possible, we will loan foster homes a crate.
The most important requirements are time and attention. You must be willing to include the dog in family activities, allow the dog to live as a house dog with much human companionship, and provide some daily one-on-one time with your rescue, including cuddles, play, and walks on leash, with our secure collar and STLRR tag on the dog.
Our dogs must be kept indoors except for exercise and elimination. A fenced yard must be of appropriate height and in secure condition. If it has a gate, the gate must be locked when the dog is in the yard to prevent someone from opening the gate and letting the dog loose. At no time are our dogs to be confined in the yard while caretakers are away.
How Expenses Are Handled :
All dogs will be spayed and neutered, fully vaccinated, and tested for heartworm while in foster care . A foster home's anticipated expenditures associated with the above must be given prior approval by the STLRR in order to be reimbursable. Or, prior arrangements for STLRR's direct payment of services to the vendor must be made.
All reimbursement forms must include the dog's STLRR ID# in order to be approved for reimbursement.
The foster home is responsible for food*, toys, and in-home bathing and grooming; we are happy to provide tax receipts for expenses. Please keep your receipts for all expenses. STLRR coordinators can usually assist with cooridnating transport of dogs for veterinary care and sometimes for home visits (for example, a home-bound family), though foster homes are encouraged to participate in those transports as well because the dog is more comfortable with the foster family. With your permission, we send prospective adoptive homes to visit your foster dog in the home, but only after we have personally processed and approved the prospective adopters.
Finally, we will reimburse you for approved emergency veterinary care and medications (again, save all your receipts). If you cannot reach STLRR Coordinators in case of emergency, you should take the injured or ill dog to the nearest vet who can stabilize the animal until STLRR can authorize further treatment. This is particularly necessary if your foster dog is going through Heartworm treatment: any vomiting with listlessness must be reported immediately, and the dog taken to a vet as quickly as possible. At no time, however, do foster homes make final medical decisions for our program dogs: you don't want that responsibility, and we have years of experience in making those decisions with the clinics.
*STLRR will assist with food costs by providing coupons/discounts when available and may, at some times be able to provide donated food.
Basic Foster Expenses and Approved Reimbursement Rates :
STLRR will reimburse up to the following amounts for the services listed:
Spay/Neuter $ 70.00
Rabies shot $ 10.00
Basic shots $ 40.00
Heart Worm Test $ 15.00
Heartworm Treatment $200.00 (STLRR approval must be obtained prior to beginning HW treatment.)
STLRR has a few veterinarians that give us discounts on services and medications and they bill STLRR directly. Therefore, all STLRR foster dogs must be seen by an STLRR approved vet. Also, there are some facilities that offer discount services to the public as well. Please contact a STLRR Coordinator when vet visits are needed so they can coordinate this with an STLRR approved vet.
Your Pets and Your Rescued Dog :
STLRR Coordinators will discuss with you the best methods for introducing the new dog into your household. Though many dogs and cats, especially those used to their owners' rescue work, welcome the rescued Labrador Retriever, keep in mind that there may be a period of adjustment for the first few days up to 2 - 3 weeks depending on the rescued Labrador Retriever's history and personality and the resident dog's willingness to accept the foster dog. Take it slow and easy; let the dog learn to regain trust; give him hugs and kisses as he can tolerate them; he may be surprised at first, but will eventually relish the attention and return it. As he becomes more confident, he may change his behavior towards resident pets, beginning to play and explore the pecking order. As the resident dog accepts the foster, the bonding becomes beneficial for both.
Even if the dogs get along famously from the beginning, feed your pets and your rescued dog separately; consider feeding the rescued Labrador Retriever in a crate if you notice any food aggression between dogs. Be careful when dispensing treats or other high-value items like rawhides or favorite toys. Sometimes what is thought to be food aggression is actually just a territorial imperative that will take care of itself as the pecking order is established and the dogs relax. Keeping this in mind, always supervise the interactions of your rescued dog with other pets. When leaving the rescued dog home alone (even if you have other pets at home), the use of a crate or gate is recommended at least the first few days up to two weeks; for dogs going through Heartworm treatment, the crate is absolutely necessary to keep the dog quiet. Confining your rescued dog protects him, your pets, and your property from possible injury or damage.
STLRR recommends that all resident dogs be inoculated for kennel cough along with their regular vaccinations, as many rescues coming in from shelters contract this disease and are being treated for it.
We cannot stress this enough: the incidence of kennel cough in dogs coming from Shelters is increasing. However, we always recommend the bordetella inoculation for kennel cough in all resident dogs because the disease now has some 600 strains: it can be picked up by your own dogs on a simple walk in the neighborhood or nearby greenbelts. Though kennel cough is treatable with medication and rest, it has become so virulent that dogs can too easily go quickly into pneumonia. Please have your veterinarian include the bordetella has part of the regular vaccination regimen. Also, some dog owners mistakenly think heartworms are contagious: they are not. See our heartworm care guide and the American Heartworm Society web site for the explanation of heartworm disease and treatment.
Finally, STLRR requires that all resident dogs in the foster home are neutered or spayed as we support only professional breeding of purebred dogs, and sometimes when our dogs are very ill, we need to wait to spay/neuter them until they are well. But, also, spaying and neutering your dogs is better for them both medically and behaviorally. Talk this over with your own veterinarians, if you have any doubts.
Most Frequently asked Questions :
"Don't you get attached to the dog?"--
Yes, usually, and that is what we want for both you and the dog. It's fun to get to know new dogs, and for your foster dog and resident dog(s) to make new friends, too. Often, your resident dog will be revitalized in the presence of the rescued dog, and you will witness amazing developments in both dogs. It's educational to see how different dogs react to training, how they play with and teach one another. It's also educational to see when any territorial problems develop and learn to deal with those, usually allowing the dogs to work things out within reason, calling for crate time when the problem needs to be dealt with. You will fall in love with your foster dog, which is necessary to his or her rehabilitation and also leads us to the next question.
What if I don't think I have enough room for a foster dog?" --
Our rescued Labrador Retrievers come in all shapes and sizes but generally need lots of LOVE, not lots of space. You might be surprised by how quickly they work themselves into the family situation and your hearts: all they really need is a small space to recuperate until they are ready for their forever homes, and they are touchingly grateful.
"What if I really like the dog and want to keep him?" --
This does happen. Sometimes the "perfect dog" comes along, and everyone in the family just seems to agree that theirs is the "perfect home." Fortunately, qualifying as a Foster Home usually qualifies you as an Adopter as well! STLRR is just as concerned about meeting the needs and preferences of our Labrador Retrievers as we are about meeting the needs and preferences as of our adopter's. Sometimes the dog tells us which home is right; and we respect that. Should this happen, and we all agree, then the foster home will pay the adoption fee, complete the Final Adoption Agreement, and assume ownership of the dog. Please think about this carefully, though, as often adoption means the family feels it no longer has foster space available, and we desperately need those homes.
"How can you give him up?" --
This is probably the number one reason why a lot of caring people do not offer their homes for foster care: they are afraid giving the dog up will hurt too much. However, it's a hard truth, but without enough foster homes, we cannot rescue and save these dogs: they will die in the shelters if we don't have space for them in our program. It helps to think of your foster dog as your neighbor's dog that you are keeping during a vacation. Sure, you like him and will take really good care of him, but when your neighbor gets home, you will give the dog back! Some of us think of ourselves as the rescued dog's 'aunt' or 'uncle,' a loving guardian for the dog on his or her way to a permanent home. This is a dog who ultimately belongs to someone else, who is in our care for only a short time. When you give him or her up, it will be to a special Labrador Retriever 'forever home' that this dog has been waiting for--and you will be opening a space for the next rescue who needs you so desperately. There is ALWAYS another rescue dog. But, also, after many years of fostering, your fellow volunteers can assure you there is nothing quite as moving as seeing your beloved foster dog happy, healthy, loved, and cherished by the forever home that really wanted him or her and in some cases really needed your dog. It's contagious, and we hope you will be hooked on fostering, too |
