Fostering Info

Can you open your home short or long term to a foster dog in need?
Or are you looking to adopt but want some extra support and time before fully comitting?

Sometimes we have animals in our care that for one reason or another would be better situated in a home environment rather than here at the Sanctuary.

This could be needed short or long term. If you take one of our rescues in to your home, we will continue to give you support and oversee and pay for any on going veterinary costs and provide support & resources for any behavioural needs.

Have a look below at our animals available to foster and read more about them and their needs on their page.

If you are interested in fostering for us in general, please complete our foster form at the bottom of this page with as much information as possible.

APPLY TO FOSTER

  • We are often in need of loving foster homes for dogs that come into our care for various reasons:
    - Some may not cope in our environment here at the Sanctuary
    - Some are in need of that extra comfort & TLC <3
    - Some may never have lived in a home and need a bit of help adjusting before they are ready to be adopted
    - Some may be in desperate need of help and we do not have the space at the Sanctuary

    Fostering helps provide them with that much needed space, support and love! Every foster case is different because every dog is different but this what our process typically looks like:

    1) APPLY - Complete our foster application with as much information as possible, be honest we want to make sure we are setting up both our fosterers and dogs for success!
    2) CHAT - One of our team will be in touch to discuss your application. Please bare with us we are a very busy team and our priority is looking after the animals in our care which doesn’t leave much time for admin, allow 7-14 days for a response.
    3) HOMECHECK - We compete a home-visit check before inviting you to meet your potential foster dog we need to do a home-check to ensure we are placing them in the right and safe environment. Depending of the dog we may advise things that need to be in place prior to taking a foster dog home.
    4) MATCH - We have to match the right foster homes to the right dogs, especially as many of them are at a vulnerable stage of their journey. We will call you to discuss what dogs we have that may be suitable, tell you all about them and answer any questions you may have. Even if we don’t have a match at the time of your application we hope you will be open to fostering in the future. With your permission, if a future dog in need is a match, we would contact you. (We are hoping to create a small foster network we can rely on)
    5) MEET - Once we have completed a homecheck and found a match we will invite you to meet your potential foster dog. Some dogs may need a few meets before they are ready to be placed out which will be discussed when arranging a meet.
    6) GOING HOME - Following the meet/s we will arrange a day to take your foster dog home. Our team will advise and support you through the process as every dog is different and will have different needs.
    7) SUPPORT - Our team will continue to be on hand if you need advice or support. We will stay in regular contact to check in on you and your foster dog. For whatever reason things don’t work out we will arrange for our dog to come back to us as soon as possible.

    Things to note:

    • As we need to able to stay in regular contact, complete check-ins and any veterinary treatment we foster within roughly 45mins from the Sanctuary (although some exceptions can be made depending on the dog/fosterer)

    • We cover the cost of all their veterinary care while in foster. Our vets are based in Redditch and fosterers we typically ask fosterers to be able to transport the foster dog to and from the vets for appointments. Depending on the dog & fosterer we can potentially arrange for our team to collect & drop off the dog for vet appointments instead and we are happy to discuss this when we call following your application/ upon matching you with a dog.

    • We will keep in regular contact to check how both you and your foster dog are getting on and may schedule pop-in checks.

    • As moving home-to-home or back and forth to kennels can be incredibly stressful for most dogs we look for foster homes that are able to foster for long periods rather than short foster stays. This of course is dog dependant and our team can discuss further upon application/finding a match.

  • We are really lucky to have our premises here which comprises of a main cattery and a Mother and kitten unit so we don’t often need foster homes except if animals in our care have ongoing health or behaviour needs. To apply to foster please view the cats shown above who are available foster

  • We are really lucky to have our premises here with our specially built rabbit enclosures our indredible volunteers built for us!! So we don’t often need foster homes except if animals in our care have ongoing health or behaviour needs. To apply to foster please view the rabbits shown above who are available foster.

  • Sometimes dogs that come into our care may need some additional support while they settle into their new home, or they may have some veterinary treatment we are completing before they can be adopted or sometimes potential adopter needs support from our team before they are ready to commit. Foster to adopt is one way we try and set our dogs up for success in their new homes by making sure both they and their hopeful adopters are getting the support they need and allows a trial period before committing to adopting as well as reducing the time they are waiting in kennels.

    We base everything on a individual dog & adopter basis and our team is happy to talk to you about what support we can offer and a timeline for adoption following a successful application.

Black sproodle dog wearing a red harness playing with an orange plush teddy bear toy on a tiled floor.
A brown and white rabbit with one ear standing upright and the other slightly bent, sitting on a concrete floor with a white wall background.
Joesephine
Foster-to-Adopt RONNIE
Eddie
Foster-to-Adopt REGGIE
Two black and white cats lying on a colorful, patterned blanket.
Asta & Espen
Foster-to-Adopt CRUMPET
Two black cats on a multi-level cat tree, one sitting on the top platform and the other on the lower platform, in a cozy indoor setting.
Felis & Nova
Cherry

FAQ’S

  • Fostering give dogs a chance to be in a home environment either while waiting for their forever home to come along or to give them a bit of respite from being in kennels.

    Some dogs can find coming into kennels really stressful and do much better in a home environment. Sometimes we may have dogs in our care that have been or will be waiting in kennels longer for various reasons

    We always assess any dogs that come into our care to help determine how they will cope in a kennel environment, find out all about them & their history and assess their behaviour. Based on our assessment we may look to place them in a foster home if we feel this would be better for them

    We ideally look for a foster home that can care for them as long as needed to find their forever adoptive home, sometimes we may decide a shorter term foster home may be better to give them respite from kennels or just while they are in need of extra TLC.

    Everything is always case by case as every animal and situation is different. If you are interested in fostering for us please complete our Foster Application form

  • Sometimes dogs that come into our care may need some additional support while they settle into their new home, they may have some veterinary treatment we are completing before they can be adopted, or sometimes their potential adopter needs support from our team before they are ready to commit. Foster to adopt is one way we try and set our dogs up for success in their new homes by making sure both they and their hopeful adopters are getting the support they need, and allows a trial period before committing to adopting as well as reducing the time they are waiting in kennels.

    We base everything on a individual dog & adopter basis and our team is happy to talk to you about what support we can offer and a timeline for adoption following a successful application.

  • Forever foster is exactly that, a foster home they can stay in for the rest of their lives.

    Typically this is for animals (dogs, cats, rabbits) that have ongoing health needs, that likely wouldn’t get adopted due to their veterinary care costs. By placing them in a forever foster home they still get the loving home they deserve but the Sanctuary covers covers the cost of their veterinary treatment.

    Sometimes we also look for forever foster for dogs that are elderly or have specific behaviour needs that will need ongoing support.

    Everything is always case by case as every animal and situation is different. If you are interested in providing one of our animals looking for a forever foster home please read their profile on our website.

  • We have different types of fostering
    - Foster
    - Foster-to-Adopt
    - Forever Foster

    Typically for Cats and Rabbits we only look for Forever Fosters or Foster-to-Adopt as we are lucky to have our own Main Cattery, Seperate Unit, and Rabbit enclosures here at the Sanctuary.

    We have more fostering options for dogs as we sometimes find some dogs just do not cope in our environment or they may need the extra support of being in a home. We also have our Resident dogs who live with us so we need to make sure they are getting the time and resources they need. <3


    Typically for fosters we look for homes that are able to foster until the dog is adopted which could be a few weeks to several months. But for some dogs we may look for short-term foster to give them a break in a home environment or if they need some extra support.

    Every dog is individual so when you apply we will talk to you about your home, experience and how long you are looking to foster for and when a dog in need of foster matches we will contact you.

  • This may vary:

    For dogs in Foster / Forever Foster - We cover all veterinary expenses and we will ensure you have everything you need including food, bedding, bowls, secure collars, leads and harnesses.

    For Cats & Rabbits - We cover all veterinary expenses but we ask you to supply bedding, food etc as needed.

  • This all depends on the type of foster, animal and situation.

    Foster animals are sometimes not ready for adoption as they need veterinary treatment or further training.

    Once they are ready to Adopt you can speak to our team about your interest in adopting the dog you are fostering. We will always let you know when the dog you are fostering is ready to be adopted before sharing them.

    Our Forever-Foster animals may be able to be adopted but this all depends on that individual animal and the situation.

APPLY TO FOSTER
A young tabby and white cat sitting on a gray platform of a cat tree in a room with white beadboard walls.
Happy dog with one blue eye and one brown eye sitting on a couch, partially with a person.
Two rabbits inside a cardboard box with torn edges, surrounded by hay and plastic toys.
Close-up of a calico cat with black, orange, and white fur, green eyes, sitting indoors near a window with a yellow cushion behind it.