Before bringing a foster dog into your home. A little preparation will help to make your fostering experience much more enjoyable.

1. A number of the dogs that have come from the Maricopa County facility have Kennel Cough (similar to a human cold). In order to protect your pets, we recommend vaccinating your pets against Bordatella (Kennel Cough). You can get this vaccination through your veterinarian or through one of the vaccination clinics at PetSmart or PetCo.

2. Dogs coming in to foster often have ticks. We recommend that the pets currently in your home receive a monthly flea and tick preventative. We can provide a flea and tick treatment if you need one.

3. Consider where the foster dog will sleep. Given the temperament of your companion pets do you expect any conflicts? If so, consider various ways in which you can separate the foster dog from your personal dogs or other pets. You may also want to consider where you can feed the foster dog separately until you determine that there is no food aggression. We highly recommend crate training your dog as this will give them a “safe place” of their own and can eliminate a lot of training issues. We have crates to lend you if you don’t have one.

4. Consider where the foster dog will stay during the day. Do you need to arrange the use of a crate for the foster dog to prevent accidents and chewing, or to separate the foster dog from your personal pets? If so, please let us know.

5. Make sure that you have an AZBR tag for the foster dog as well as a collar and leash that the foster can use while staying with you (if you don’t have any, we do have some to give you). An AZBR tag will be mailed to your home within a week of receiving your foster, but it might be a good idea to get one tag that says “being fostered by” with your information that you can use over and over on the dogs that you foster.

When your foster dog arrives.

1. If you bring in a foster dog that is an owner release, please obtain the dog’s medical and vaccination records, proof of sterilization, AKC records, and all other paperwork related to the dog. You may also want to ask the owner to deliver any favorite toys, blankets, or special food to make the transition to the foster home more comfortable. Please transfer all of the information about the dog to the Dog Evaluation form and mail all paperwork to: PO Box 61193, Phoenix, AZ 85082-1193. Please make sure the dog's name is clearly marked on all paperwork.

2. If you are picking up or receiving a dog from a county shelter, you should receive a blue piece of paper with all of the dogs info, along with the dog’s county license tag from the shelter. Please transfer all of the information about the dog to the Dog Evaluation form and mail all paperwork to: PO Box 61193, Phoenix, AZ 85082-1193 and make sure the dog's name is clearly marked on all paperwork. Place the county license on the dog’s collar.

3. Place an AZBR tag on the dog’s collar. If you haven’t received one within a week of getting the dog, please contact the Intake Coordinator.

4. If the dog is missing any information that should be on the Dog Evaluation form, please contact the Foster Coordinator and she/he will let you know how to schedule a vet appointment at one of our partner vets.

5. We recommend that you introduce the foster dog to your pets slowly and on neutral ground. One good idea is to take them for a walk together. The foster dog should come into the house at the same time as your dogs (just as if the foster is one of the pack).

6. If your foster has ticks (we see this on about 1 in every 6-7 dogs that come in from the shelters), we request that all foster families do some tick removal on the foster dog when he or she first arrives. Then apply a flea & tick preventative.

7. We also ask that you give your foster dog a bath. We want your foster dog to put his/her best paw forward when meeting prospective families. If your foster dog has just been altered, you will be unable to immerse him/her in water for 10 days. You may choose to do a careful sponge bath, or use pet bathing wipes to clean him/her up.

Finding your foster dog a permanent home.

1. As soon as possible after bringing your foster dog home, please take a digital photo of him or her and send it to the AZBR Adoptions Coordinator and Foster Coordinator at adoptions@azbeaglerescue.org & fosterdog@azbeaglerescue.org

2. If you do not have access to a digital camera, please contact the Foster Care Coordinator to arrange for a volunteer to take a photo of your foster dog. The sooner we get a photo on the website, the sooner he or she will find a forever home.

Expose your foster dog to a variety of situations.

1. Take him or her to PetSmart or Petco, the dog park, one of AZBR’s events and other places where he or she will encounter people and dogs of all shapes and sizes. Use common sense in introducing your foster dog to new situations, especially with children, unfamiliar pets, and strangers. Be prepared to remove the dog from the situation immediately if you experience any challenges that you do not feel you can handle. As you do this, evaluate your foster dog’s reactions and provide information to the Adoption Coordinator that will help place the dog in the appropriate permanent home. Important information includes: reaction to children, cats and other dogs; cute traits or habits; size; housebreaking information; personality; degree of training, if any; and anything else that may be helpful to know about the dog.

Foster Home Responsibilities

1. Being a foster home is a very rewarding and sometimes challenging experience. Below we have outlined some important points about fostering for Arizona Beagle Rescue (AZBR).

2. Provide a safe, loving, fenced environment for AZBR dogs under your care.

3. Keep your own dogs up-to-date on vaccinations, including: Distemper and Parvo. Bordatella (kennel cough) vaccination and a flea and tick preventative are also highly recommended.

4. Please give your foster dog a few days to adjust to his/her new environment and expect the unexpected. Due to the fact that most of our dogs come from various shelters, AZBR will generally have little or no information about the dog’s history, including housebreaking. Dogs coming from the shelter are often scared, tired, and anxious. Therefore, there may be accidents in the house or other negative behaviors initially. AZBR has found that the dog’s true personality will slowly emerge over the first couple of weeks. Be sure to monitor your foster dog’s behavior and give him/her space and distance as needed.

5. Provide detailed information to AZBR about the dog’s temperament. Include both positive observations and challenges. Remember . . . the positive traits help “sell” the dog to a prospective, permanent home. Small observations like “the way his ear flops over his eye in a cute way” can attract an adopter. Information on challenges ensures that appropriate screening is done to match the dog with the right home.

6. Provide daily supplies (food, etc.). If providing such items will be a financial hardship, the AZBR Foster Care Coordinator can work with you to find a mutually acceptable arrangement.

7. Alert AZBR Foster Care Coordinator if the dog appears to need medical care. AZBR’s Foster Care Coordinator will work with you to arrange for medical care. AZBR covers veterinary costs through our contracted vets. These veterinarians provide us deep discounts, so we request that you not take the foster dog to your personal veterinarian without first clearing it with AZBR.

8. Alert AZBR if you are unable to continue fostering a dog. Please give AZBR as much time as possible so an appropriate backup can be found.

9. Be open to an AZBR volunteer coming to visit and photograph your foster dog. Photographs will be placed on the AZBR website. If you have access to a digital camera, you can email a digital photograph to the Foster Care Coordinator. Also be open to an AZBR volunteer picking the dog up for adoption or introduction to a new family.

10. Notify the Foster Care Coordinator if you have restrictions on the gender, size, or temperament of the dog(s) you foster.

Items of Note for Foster Homes

1. As a foster, it is likely that you will get very attached to your foster dog. Please realize that, while we try to accommodate everyone, generally foster parents will be unable to choose the new permanent home for the foster. We highly value your insight as you probably know the dog better than anyone else in the organization and will take your recommendations into consideration.
2. AZBR recommends crate training. We have a few loaner crates, if the foster does not have one. We can provide tips on crate training if you are not familiar with the process.
3. During tick season, many dogs coming out of the shelter have ticks. Maricopa AC&C administers Frontline when the dog is impounded, but it takes some time to work and does not eliminate 100% of the problem, given the closed, confined environment. Fosters may need to spend the first 30 minutes, after a dog arrives, doing “tick-picking". Use tweezers, your hands, and/or a flea/tick comb and wear gloves. You can drop them in a cup of cooking oil or alcohol for easy disposal; the oil/alcohol kills them if they are still alive. Do not crush the tick. This isn’t a fun job, but it is better to find them up front, than one by one throughout the house, and think how much better the dog will feel!
4. Many shelter dogs come to us with Kennel Cough. This is a contagious, non-fatal upper respiratory infection characterized by a gagging/retching cough. Severe cases are sometimes treated with antibiotics; milder cases are usually left alone or treated with over-the-counter cough medicine. Contact AZBR for questions or concerns if you detect symptoms.
5. Due to our limited financial resources, AZBR is unable to provide reimbursement for any damage a foster dog may do to your home or yard.
6. AZBR rescues purebred beagles and beagle/hound mixes.
7. Dogs can take anywhere from a few weeks to a few months to be placed. The average is 4-6 weeks; older, very mixed breed, or special needs dogs may take longer.
8. Some foster homes do end up adopting a foster. If you are considering adopting your foster, please alert us as soon as possible. We may be able to help you make a decision, and if you do plan to adopt, we’d like to direct our adoption applicants to other available dogs

CLICK BELOW to view and download the AZBR Foster Survival Kit!