PLEASE CONSIDER BECOMING A DOODLE FOSTER HOME

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

     California in general is in dire need for volunteers to foster doodles. Southern CA has urgent need for two new fosters right now - please fill out an application with the DRC if you might be interested. You can use this link: http://doodlerescue.org/forum/topics/so-ca-urgent-need-for-2-new-fo...

     Don't say you couldn't give up the foster - trust me, you will be sad but feel so GREAT for helping SAVE  that dog's life. Most of the dogs we rescue are not in safe places and their time is limited. We are so thankful to reputable rescues and their volunteers or we would not have Clancy or Junior in our lives. 

     Skip and I call shelters to inquire about dogs or physically visit shelters to see a dog that might come into the DRC program.  Just think how heartbroken we get after actually seeing a doodle and having to leave it to its fate  because there isn't anyone to foster the dog, if we did pull it from the shelter. You thinking you couldn't relinquish a foster is nothing compared to how we feel when we  leave a perfectly good dog in a depressing, scary place to most likely die.  Some shelters try really hard to give the dogs some attention and minimal care, and cooperate with rescues and private adopters, but we find that often no one cares what happens to the dogs. Some of these workers actually seem to thwart any actions to retrieve a dog from them as long as they get their paycheck.

     And I realize that fostering isn't for everyone for lots of reasons, but please consider whether you can foster and save a dog's life. If you have questions about fostering, ask.  Thanks so much.

Look at these guys and tell me your heart doesn't break thinking what might have happened to them if it wasn't for rescue.

Clancy on adoption day:

     Clancy later:

Sunny at the shelter:

Sunny later:

Puppy Junior at the shelter

and three months later:

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Thanks so much, Emily.

[jenn D]

I am amazed at all the foster folks here. It takes some wonderful people to be able to do this important job. Karen just out of curiosity, how many foster situations turn into adoptions? Obviously we failed the foster situation because we fell in love with Jake and kept him. Lol! But I do remember when we found a doodle at a shelter many years ago that we trained and then found her a forever home and that was one of the hardest things I've had to do (dog related). The match was great and she is still with the family, great match. I don't think I could do it again as I get so attached.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Fosters are the lifeblood of rescue. Without foster homes, nobody can save dogs because you can't pull a dog who is scheduled to be euthanized out of a kill shelter unless you have a place to put them. So fostering is how you save a dog's life. Anything else the rescue does is secondary to that. When fosters keep the foster dog, (called foster failure) the rescue often loses a foster home, because there is a limit to how many dogs any one home can reasonably manage. DRC has its share of foster failures, like every other rescue, but it's a low percentage. It has to be. 

Yes, it's hard. I've shed many a tear watching a foster leave. But here is my best response to the many people who say "I can't save this dog's life because I couldn't give him up":

[jenn D]

Good message Karen. :)

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

What has worked for me, to avoid becoming too attached to a foster, is to have the same mindset that you would have if a friend asked you to keep their dog for a few weeks in some kind of emergency situation. You go into it knowing that you are caring for this dog as a favor to a friend and the dog will definitely be going home in the near future. :)

And this poem helps, as well:

[Camilla and Darwin]

I love these before and afters Nancy. This is a wonderful and very important post!

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Thanks, Camilla.