Having good homes is an important aspect of running a pet shelter that handles adoptions. Going to a foster home allows animals to adjust to the challenges they will face when they’re adopted by their forever home. Knowing how to choose the volunteers that will make the experience positive for the pet is critical.
They Need to Be Experienced
Anyone who wants to provide a foster home for any of the animals in your shelter needs to have experience with that type of pet. Ask lots of questions about what they did with their pets, how they handled training issues, and what they learned from the pet.
Make Sure they’ve had a Family Discussion
The lives of every person in the house will be impacted by their new foster pet. During the interview process, you need to make sure that everyone is on board, and ready to handle whatever challenges they encounter.
Tour the Home
As the director of the animal shelter, the pet’s safety and well being is your responsibility. You need to make sure the foster home doesn’t pose an immediate threat to the animal’s life. Just because you have identified areas that cause you concern, you shouldn’t automatically dismiss the families application. Discuss the situation. If they’re willing to make some changes, it’s a positive sign that they will be good foster parents.
Discuss How they Plan to Handle Training and Discipline
Every person who turns in a foster application will have their own ideas about training and discipline. You need to make sure those ideas align with yours. Find out if the applicant is willing to go through a training program to learn how to deal with the challenges fostering a rescue animal can create.
Be Prepared to Part
The hardest part of the fostering process is the fact that the time will come when the foster parent and pet have to say good-bye. It’s very important that you make sure the families who volunteer for the process are prepared to part. If the entire process has been positive, it won’t be long before they’re ready to take on another pet who’s in need of fostering.
Once you have selected a family to foster a pet, it’s important that you stay in regular communication with them.