*** Foster Homes needed! ***

Pugalug Pug Rescue is in desperate need of truly remarkable and compassionate Foster Parents.

If you think you have what it takes to help out with some incredibly,
snuggly, loving sometimes scared and panic stricken and either extremely healthy to sometimes having mild to serious medical conditions.............
in other words, do you feel a need to be pugged???

Then read the first few pages of the Pugalug Foster Manual below
and if that doesn't make you change your mind ......... read the rest of the Manual by clicking on the link provided on the main webpage!

Also read below:
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Rescue Coordinator - Blanche (Lola, Hazel, Maude, Bo, Tank and Gwen)
Application Coordinator - Candace (Salvador, Mookie, Mocha and Lilykitty)
Fostering Coordinator - Kim

Posted by Blanche on: Fri Jan 30, 2009 9:30 pm

Hey folks:
We are in need of a couple more foster homes. We have lost a couple due to family, illness, personal reasons so are a bit short.

IF you are interested in fostering, please read our fostering manual FIRST. It should be on the website. Then if that hasn't frightened you off, fill out a fostering application and send it in.

DON'T offer to foster if you have never owned a pug or want to foster "to try out what pugs are like". And be honest with yourself and with us about what you can and cannot handle. Not all of our dogs are the easiest things to deal with in the world. Some will try your patience. Fostering also won't give you a leg up on adoption until you've been a foster parent for at least 6 months.

And if your resident dog(s) have issues (anxiety, fear aggression, horrific markers), expect that behaviour to get worse and not better with a foster in the house.

IF you have special skills--GREAT! We certainly need folks with skills with behavioural dogs, but we also just need folks who can look after a pug who may have some health issues, some house training needs, some socialization gaps, etc.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact me or Kim Walkem (our fostering coordinator).

You will be required to have all the things done that we do for adoptive homes (reference checks, home visit, interview, etc) and you will need to be willing to sign a fostering contract.

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PUGALUG PUG RESCUE FOSTERING HANDBOOK - Pages 1-4
(the rest of the 24 page Handbook can be found on the main web page)

FOSTERING:

Fostering dogs is both the hardest and the most enjoyable thing I have ever done. It is hard because it rends your heart to see what our fellow humans have done to an animal that only wants to be loved.

It is enjoyable because you get to begin a process of rediscovery and healing for the rescued animal. You have the opportunity to teach an abused and/or neglected dog that humans can be loving, can be trusted. You can teach them that sharing their life with us can be rich and wonderful. You will watch a blossoming of a once traumatized animal.

Fostering is not for everyone. Some find it too heart breaking. Some find it too hard to give the dogs up to their forever homes. Some find their anger towards humans and the former owners of rescued dogs too overwhelming. These are things you need to think about. You will be no good to the dog if you are flooded with intense emotions that overwhelm you.

Know your limits. Remember that a foster dog will likely be with you for a minimum of 4 to 6 weeks. Some will be with you for several months. If you are someone who likes an immaculately clean house, fostering probably isn’t for you. If you have a busy and active social life that takes up many of your evenings and weekends, fostering probably isn’t for you. If your work takes up more than 40 hours per week outside of the home, then fostering probably isn’t for you. Think about what kinds of dog behaviours drive you crazy. Can’t stand a lot of barking or a dog that marks in the house? You might find fostering a crazy making experience. If you have very small children, cats that hate dogs or a dog that is territorial, you might want to re-think fostering. Can’t stand puppy destructiveness? Fostering might not be for you. Feeling guilty that you are not spending the same amount of time with your own animals that you were before fostering? Fostering might not be for you. You will end up “ignoring” your own animals a bit with a needy foster in the house.

People give up dogs for lots of reasons: some of them good, some of them will seem ludicrous. The important thing to remember is the dog in front of you. They are safe and in your care. Don’t use up valuable energy on disliking the former owners. Channel that energy into healing this dog.

Do not post recriminations or anger on the pug sites. You never know who is reading them. We could inadvertently discourage someone from turning to us with their needy dog if they feel that harsh judgements will be posted on the internet.

The fostering team leaders are here to help you decide if fostering is appropriate for you and to help you work through issues that you encounter with your fosters.

Basic Requirements for Fostering

There are some basic requirements for fostering pugs. These are requirements based on our experience with fostering over the years.

1.) Foster homes must have a fenced yard. There may be exceptions to this rule, but it will be on a case by case basis. The optimum is to have a fenced yard. Home must have air conditioning of some type.

2.) If you rent your home, we need to speak with your landlord or lady to ensure that you are allowed to have additional animals in the house/apartment. The same will apply to Condominiums.

3.) If you have a pool, it must be safely fenced off from the dogs.

4.) Foster parents must be with the fosters at all times when the dogs are outside. It is not acceptable to let dogs out in the yard without supervision.

5.) Foster pugs should not be put in collars. Harnesses are to be used for walking. We can provide you with a harness(es) if needed. Dogs should be without collars or harnesses when in the house if unsupervised. No collars or harnesses in the crate. Dogs are NEVER to be tied up at any time.

6.) Foster homes must have a crate of appropriate size and baby gates for blocking off rooms. The crate should be a VARI-KENNEL type–series 200 or 300. NO METAL CRATES. Dogs can be seriously injured in metal crates.

7.) Since many dogs come to us with health issues, foster dogs must be fed a high quality, wheat, soy and corn free kibble. The best option, if you are going to feed kibble, is a grain free kibble. Raw diet is excellent and many pug owners use it. Not all dogs do well on raw. Whatever you feed, GO SLOWLY and watch for allergic reactions. Please confirm with the Rescue Coordinator or Fostering Team Leader before feeding raw to a foster dog or if you have problems with a dog on raw after permission has been given.

8.) Foster dogs are not to be left in the company of other dogs unsupervised until any issues of safety have been overcome. Fosters should be separated from other dogs if you are away from the house.

9.) All dogs in residence in the foster home must be spayed or neutered and at least one year of age.

10.) Foster parents MUST foster for 6 months before they can apply to adopt a pug in their care.

11.) Foster parents MUST sign a fostering contract with the Pugalug Pug Rescue and keep us up to date on any changes to address, phone or email.

First Vet Visit
Wait to do any vet work until you have received a report from our archivist/record keeper. She will have all the old vet records so that we can be sure that we don’t duplicate vet work.
This visit should include a fecal sample, routine bloodwork (full panel wellness) including heart worm test, check for eye/soft palate/nare/dental issues as well as joint problems like luxating patella. It should be determined at this time if the dog has been spayed or neutered. Foster dogs should NOT be vaccinated until they have settled into the foster home. Stress can increase the chances of a vaccine reaction, so vaccines should wait for at least 10 days. Vaccinations should NOT include Bordetella and Leptospirosis. Dogs about to be vaccinated should be given 25 mg of Benadryl before vaccinating in case of allergic reaction. You should split vaccines up into two visits at least ten days to two weeks apart to be on the safe side. Three year rabies vaccine, please. Scan for pre-existing microchip at this time as well. We use 24PetWatch chips. We have a supply that we can send you. If your vet doesn’t use this chip, let us know and we will send the vet a tool for injecting a 24PetWatch chip.

This visit is a general assessment of the dog’s overall health and well-being and will allow us to begin planning for any further medical issues.

If your vet is unhappy with our requirements regarding vaccines or food, please tell us. You do NOT have to be the bad guy with your vet. Simply tell the vet that the Rescue will NOT approve vaccines like bordetella and leptospirosis and does not authorize use of prescription diets without confirmation that such is required. I am HAPPY to speak to your vet about these issues.

All vet costs are reimbursed to you by the rescue. Most of vets will not bill the Rescue directly, so the foster parent pays for vet costs and is reimbursed by the rescue. If your vet is willing to provide a discount to the rescue for their work, that is greatly appreciated. An estimate of further vet work should be provided by the Veterinarian for the Rescue.

All further vet visits MUST be approved by the Rescue coordinator or the foster team leader. The exceptions to this are Emergencies and regularly scheduled appts for spay/ neuter/dental/microchipping. Unapproved vet visits will NOT be covered by the rescue. If you DO have an emergency visit, please let Blanche Axton or Kim Walkem know as soon as possible.

All dogs in foster care will be spayed/neutered, vaccinated and microchipped before going up for adoption. Please keep your invoices for submitting to the treasurer (along with the Expense Report) for reimbursement.

If the dog comes into care with pet insurance, let us know so that we can decide if we will keep the insurance current or let it lapse.

Food:

Pugs are notorious for allergies. Many of the dogs we see in rescue have had terrible diets and are suffering from food related issues. As a result, we request that foster dogs be fed a high quality kibble that is wheat, soy and corn free. It is best if you feed kibble that you use a grain free kibble. Wheat and corn are the two biggest allergens in dogs. Many dogs also have reactions to beef. There are many good quality kibble out there that are corn, soy and wheat free. There is an excellent article in the Whole Dog Journal about foods that rates the top ten best dog foods.

If you feed a raw diet, that is also fine. However, not every dog does well on it and it should be introduced slowly with an eye to allergic reactions, protein absorption issues like PLE. Please check with the Rescue Coordinator or the Fostering Team Leader before feeding raw or if you have a dog in foster care that starts to have trouble with raw. I don’t raw feed my fosters as I have no way of insisting that adopters continue with it. Please DO NOT feed veterinary kibble (Hills, Medi-Cal) or any calorie reduced/diet kibble without confirming that such is a medical necessity for the dog. The exception to this will be to transition a dog onto a new food from a vet diet. In VERY rare cases, a prescription diet is warranted, but please clear that with us first.

You may find that there will be food aggression with your foster or your own dog. Please feed the dogs separately until you know if food aggression is an issue and supervise the dogs during feeding.

We recommend that adult dogs be fed twice a day–morning and evening. This has, in our experience, worked best for our dogs. Monitor amounts as many of our dogs are overweight or malnourished when they come into rescue. As a rule of thumb, pugs on high quality kibble should get between 1/4 and 1/3 a cup of kibble at each feeding.

You may find that your foster will not eat in the first 24 hours. Do not panic as they are frightened and may over come this quickly. You may need to sit down with the dog and hand feed for a meal or two or mix in some chicken broth to tempt them. Baby food mixed in with kibble will often tempt the most reluctant appetite. Many dogs will refuse the raw diet initially, so introduce it carefully