100% of your donation goes towards the rescue & medical care of needy dogs.

Q: What are the responsibilities of a foster parent?
A: Foster parents are responsible for providing a safe and supportive temporary home for a rescued dog, and tending to the dog's medical, social, and behavioral needs. Specifically, foster parents will:
1. Work through their State Coordinators to rescue a needy dog, either picking the dog up directly or helping with a transport to get the dog into fostercare.
2. Submit a Foster Agreement for each new dog within 24 hours of receiving the dog.
3. Seek prompt veterinary care (within a week), according to the standards described in our Foster Home Manual.
4. Keep careful medical and other records on the dog.
5. Handle day-to-day care of the dog, including
          (a) feeding a proper quantity of a good quality dog food;
          (b) providing monthly flea preventative;
          (c) keeping the dog clean and groomed;
          (d) ensuring the dog gets monthly heartworm preventative each and every month without fail;
          (e) ensuring the dog's safety at all times.
6. Provide socialization and training, according to the dog's needs, to try to help the dog become a highly desirable, adoptable pet.
7. Help to "market" the dog by submitting a profile (bio and photos) for listing on our websites, and periodically updating the profile.
8. Assist the Adoption Department in the adoption process by quickly responding to correspondence about the dog, providing feedback about potential adopters, and helping get the dog to its new home upon adoption.
9. Participate regularly in our New Rattitude volunteer network (Yahoo group).

Q. Can foster dogs be kept in a secure outdoor climate-controlled kennel?
A: An outdoor kennel may be used for limited daytime hours or a temporary emergency situation, but an outdoor-only set up will not be approved for a foster home. Part of our role as foster parents is to help socialize and train the dogs as good household pets. That requires that they develop good indoor "manners," housetraining skills, and compatible relations with humans and other pets, and that won't be achieved if the dog isn't kept inside as one of the "family."

Q: Can I become a fosterhome if I live in an apartment? Or don't have a fenced yard?
A: If you can show realistic expectations and understanding of a dog's needs and potential behavior "issues," and have a plan for how you'll deal with such eventualities, then you can still be approved as a fosterhome. Have you considered issues such as how a high energy dog would get adequate outdoor exercise, what the "potty" schedule would be, and how you would deal with a dog that turned out to be a loud barker or howler? You will also need approval from your apartment manager.

Q: What types of things would disqualify me as a fosterhome?
A: It's not always black and white, because a lot depends on your individual circumstances. But these are some of the things that would wave red flags in our fosterhome approval process:
    * planning to move or have major home renovation within the next 6-12 months
    * will be changing jobs or starting school within the next 6-12 months
    * have a heavy travel schedule
    * pregnant or have new baby
    * have a newly-adopted pet (within the past 3-6 months)
If any of these things apply to you, please think long and hard before applying to foster. In many cases, you may be better off waiting until your household situation is more stable before taking on this new commitment.

Q: How do I get a foster dog?
A: Your State Coordinator will let you know when there is a dog in your area needing to be rescued and will tell you as much as we know about the dog. If you have space, you may volunteer to take the dog, and then make arrangements through your SC to get the dog. If the dog is within an hour's drive of you, you'll probably be asked to go pick it up. If the dog if further away, your SC or a Transport Coordinator will work on plans to get the dog to you, and you may be asked to drive the last "leg" of the transport.

Q: Will I get to meet the dog before deciding to foster it?
A: If the dog needing rescue is located in a shelter near you, you may go there to evaluate the dog before deciding. But in many cases the dog is too far away or the situation is too urgent for that to be practical, and the decision will have to be made on the basis of the description given to us by shelter workers or other rescue volunteers. Sometimes there may be more than one dog in need at a time, and in that case, you may indicate which one you prefer.

Q: What if I get a dog with behavioral problems?
A: Most dogs WILL come to foster care with some behavioral issues, large or small. Whether it's chewing, howling, marking, growling, digging, "counter surfing," snake-chasing, door dashing, or something more significant, it's best to recognize that few new dogs will truly be 100% problem-free, and you'll need to be prepared to deal with these things. Fortunately, most behavioral problems will be minor, and it can be extremely gratifying to take in a less-than-perfect dog and help him develop to his full potential. You can start reading books and Internet sites on obedience training and figuring out ways to dog-proof your home or otherwise prepare yourself for the challenges that come with fostering. Our New Rattitude volunteer network is also on hand to support each other with advice, suggestions, and encouragement.
     For more serious behavioral problems (which, thankfully, are rare since we try to evaluate a dog's temperament before we agree to "pull" it), your State Coordinator might be able to help get a dog moved to a different foster home if there is one with an opening. Keep in mind, though, that the other foster parents are themselves volunteers, just like you, and few of them are going to be eager to take in a new dog with known problems. The bottom line is that each dog, no matter what its issues, is the responsibility of the foster parent who took it in. So it's best to be prepared and to understand the commitment, and if the thought of having a dog that requires much dedicated attention and training is a significant concern, then perhaps fostering isn't for you.

Q: What if I start fostering but then can't continue?
A: Because it's not easy (and sometimes not even possible) to move a dog from one fosterhome to another, it's important that you not agree to foster a dog unless you are able to make a commitment to that dog for however long it takes. If your situation changes and you can't continue fostering, we will TRY to move your current dog, if feasible, but there's no assurance we'll be able to accomplish that in a timely manner so you'll likely need to figure out a way to stick it out until that dog is adopted. After that, we will try to find other ways for you to remain involved and help our rescue effort, other than fostering.

Q: How long does it take a dog to get adopted?
A: A dog must be in fostercare for a minimum of two weeks so that we can evaluate its health and disposition before allowing it to be adopted out. After that, it largely depends on the dog and the foster parent. It's common for healthy dogs with few behavioral problems to be adopted within a month or so, especially if the foster parent is diligent about taking good photos of the dog, setting up an on-line photo album, and writing an informative bio for the websites. Most dogs are adopted within 6 months unless the dog has significant "issues" &/or the foster parent is not proactive about helping to "market" the dog. Even senior dogs and ones with special needs (such as blindness) are often adopted in just a few months if the foster family parent assists the process.

Q: What if my foster dog doesn't get along with my cats?
A: A good number of rescued Rat Terriers will not get along with cats. So if you have cats, it's your responsibility to figure out a plan to be able to reliably separate them. If that's not feasible, it will be essential for you to only agree to take in dogs that are known to be trustworthy with cats.

Q: What if I must go out of town on a trip?
A: As the foster parent, it will be your responsibility to make arrangements for this eventuality. Some foster parents have trade-off arrangements with dog-loving friends or relatives or other nearby fosterhomes. Others take their fosters on vacation with them or hire a house-sitter or board the dog(s). Any arrangements are at the foster parent's own expense.

Q: Will New Rattitude pay for all of a dog's medical expenses?
A: We will indeed cover all essential medical care, and won't ever deny a New Rattitude foster dog needed treatment if a good outcome is probable. However, as a non-profit charity we have a limited budget, and spending a huge amount on one dog could mean not being able to save several others. So it is essential that we practice careful money management. Our foster parents are given a chart to indicate typical costs and maximum reimbursable limits for standard procedures, and are asked to be diligent in finding vetting options within those ranges. Plus all out-of-the-ordinary medical care must be pre-approved.

Q: What expenses does the foster family have to cover?
A: Foster families will incur the following expenses for their foster dogs: collar and leash, training treats, toys, and chewies. The foster family will provide food and flea preventative, but New Rattitude will pay a stipend toward those costs. Each foster home will need to also have basics on hand, such as food & water bowls, crate &/or X-pen, car harness or tether, dog bed, shampoo, nail clippers, "accident" cleaner (enzyme-based, such as Simple Solution), pooper scooper, and baby gates.

Q: If a foster dog destroys something of mine, will I be reimbursed?
A: Sorry, no. Our budget doesn't cover loss of property. We recommend that you keep a close monitoring eye on each new dog until you're assured of his trustworthiness.

Q: How does New Rattitude support the foster homes in the network?
A: New Rattitude maintains the websites and the Internet presence to locate and prioritize dogs needing rescue, and arranges for them to be brought in to the program. For each new dog, we provide a microchip, ID tag, worming, 6 months of heartworm preventative, food stipend, flea preventative stipend, plus reimburse the cost of medical care. We provide training, support, and assistance for the members of the fosterhome network, and maintain a toll-free Lost Dog Hotline. Our volunteers manage the websites, market the dogs, handle the adoption application process, arrange for a dog's transportation to its adoptive home, and provide follow-up advice to the adoptive family. We also do fundraising and grant-writing to raise money to run the organization.

Q: If I really fall for my own foster dog, will I be able to adopt him?
A: To help ensure that new foster homes are joining our fostercare program for the right reasons, and to help protect the stability of our program, New Rattitude's policy is that foster parents may not adopt their own foster dogs, since experience shows that when they do, they usually don't have the space, time, &/or emotional energy to continue fostering. The goal isn't to "lock" someone into fostering, but rather to help the foster parents concentrate on what brought them into fostering in the first place: the desire to help save multiple dogs, not to adopt just one. It is true that giving up a foster dog upon its adoption is usually the hardest part of fostering, but being able to do so is the only way a fostercare program can work. In extenuating circumstances (such as when a hard-to-place foster dog has been available on the websites for at least six months, or if we have an aggressive dog that can't be adopted out for liability reasons), an exception may be made to this policy by the Adoption Manager, in conjunction with the Board of Directors.

Q: May I independently find someone to adopt my foster dog?
A: Sure! But the prospective adopter still must go through our New Rattitude adoption process. We are legally responsible for each dog brought into our organization, and have an obligation to follow proper procedures to ensure that the dog will be going to the right home. If you have a relative, friend, or neighbor that is interested in your foster dog, have them fill out an adoption application and list you as one of their references.

Q: Do I have a say-so in the adoption process?
A: Absolutely! The foster parent communicates with the applicants to provide a very detailed description of the dog, answer questions, and perhaps even arrange for the applicant to meet the dog. While the Adoption Team concentrates on whether this applicant would provide a suitable "Furever Home" for a rescue dog in general, the foster parent focuses on whether this applicant would be a good match for this particular dog. The foster parent then provides feedback to the Adoption Manager, who makes the final approval decision.

Q: How long does it take to get approved as a foster home?
A: It will probably take us a few days to reach your references and then call you for a telephone interview. We then recruit a home visit volunteer, who will contact you to schedule a time to come inspect your property. After that, it should be just a short time before you hear if you're approved to be a New Rattitude foster home.