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All About Fostering
We are currently in need of more foster homes in the Dallas/Fort Worth area!
You provide the Love, we provide the Healthcare!
Click here fill out a foster application.
What is fostering all about?
The purpose of a foster home is to place a rescued basset immediately into a normal family situation - NOT A KENNEL - as soon as practical. Our bassets may come from a pound or from a family moving to another city; a temporary foster home is the best place for the basset to adjust to its changed circumstances and, hopefully, to be adopted.
Ideally, a rescued basset spends no longer than thirty days in a foster home. Fostering longer than that is very hard on the basset because by then it may think of the foster home as its home! Also, if you are thinking of adopting that basset, we believe that thirty days will give you enough time to decide whether it is the basset for you. We try very hard not to move our bassets from home to home, and hope, should you decide to adopt one of our bassets, that you will consider the adoption a commitment for the basset's life. Of course, the foster parents always have the first right of first refusal to adopt the basset they are fostering.
What is my responsibility?
We ask that foster parents keep using the basset's original name while they are fostering it. If you decide to adopt the basset, and should you want to change its name, it will be less confusing to the basset if you use both names for a time. Try to select a new name that sounds somewhat like the old one.
A foster parent is responsible for the rescued basset's basic needs such as food and shelter. A fenced area large enough to allow the hound plenty of room to run and play safely is a must. Basic health requirements such as shots, spay/neuter (and, if necessary, heartworm treatment) are paid for by Basset Rescue. If the rescue needs veterinary care follow-up, the Foster Care Director will discuss with you any arrangements.
We recommend using a harness if available for walking your basset. However be sure any harness or collar is secure and the basset is unable to slip out. Please NEVER leave a choke chain on a basset. Dogs have died by hanging when the choke chain caught on a fence picket, nail, etc.
The Perfect Home
Foster homes allow NTBR to better evaluate a rescue. Because some of our rescued bassets come from shelters, sometimes we do not know if the basset is house-broken, likes children, cats and other dogs. The rescued basset may be frightened and insecure. A foster parent helps us to get to know the rescued basset a little better and, consequently, the chances of placing it in the Perfect Home increase dramatically! Fostering is not always an easy task. In fact, it can be quite trying at times! (I speak from experience, having three of my own and three fosters sharing my home right now! My mother calls them - fondly, I am sure - a wild pack of bassets!) The foster parent's patience and understanding is one of the keys to Basset Rescue's success.
Tips for the New Arrival
A basset's security depends upon people and places he is familiar with. Having lost both of these the basset is apt to be frightened and insecure. It may appear timid or slightly aggressive or hyper-active. THE WAY YOU INTRODUCE YOUR NEW BASSET TO YOUR PRESENT DOG IS VERY IMPORTANT. A little effort on your part NOW can mean the difference between success or failure. Remember, all dogs are territorial, and your present dog considers YOU and your yard and home as ITS OWN. For this reason it is best to have the new basset and your present dog meet in "neutral" territory. Arrange to meet the new basset away from your house ... down the block, across the street, or a nearby park. THEN GO FOR A WALK TOGETHER, both dogs on leashes, of course. Keep walking ... this is not the time for the dogs to do their ritual sniffing. After a short time (if the walk is going well), allow them to get acquainted ... then turn around and take them TOGETHER into the yard. Now your present dog has a "house guest" instead of an intruder! It's fun to watch dogs form a new relationship!
BE CALM AND BE FAIR. You should make an effort to be as calm and relaxed as possible. Don't smother the new arrival. And remember, YOU HAVE TWO HANDS! One for the old dog and one for the new. Also, be careful that the children (if any) don't neglect your first dog for the excitement of the new arrival.
THESE ARE THE BASSETS IN THE AREA SHELTERS THAT WE ARE NOT ABLE TO SAVE DUE TO LACK OF FOSTER HOMES:
SHELTER DOGS
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