About 3 months ago, a friend who runs a Sydney dog rescue group messaged me to say that another rescue was looking for a foster carer with a certain skillset … they were getting a small breed dog from a local pound who was quite pregnant, and needed a foster carer with whelping experience, as the pregnancy was too far along to be terminated.
Having previously worked with a special needs dog rescue where a large portion of our work was with pregnant dogs, I have the whelping experience, so I volunteered to foster the mother-to-be.
Charlotte (I call her Lottie) arrived as a timid and confused little lady. She had found herself homeless and pregnant, had spent a few days in a pound, then was transferred to the rescue’s vet clinic for a checkup and x-ray, and then she was given to me. No wonder she wasn’t too sure about things!
The x-ray showed that she was about 5-6 weeks into her pregnancy, and the best guess as to number of pups was “up to 6”, based on what could be seen on the x-ray.
Now it was my job to make sure she had the very best food and care to ensure those babies had the best start, and would be born healthy.
As Lottie is a tiny 5.5kg Maltese/Jack Russell crossbreed, and we had no idea of what breed/mix the father was, we needed to be mindful of any signs during her birthing process that she may need a caesarean.
During the next 3.5 weeks Lottie blossomed – both in her figure, and in her personality. She is the most delightful and even tempered girl, and loves lots of cuddles and tummy rubs. She is fully toilet trained, rarely barks (and her bark is not loud), allows me to brush her and trim her nails, and is easy to give tablets to (she had to be wormed). All in all, the perfect little houseguest.
At around midnight on the 28th June, it was time to meet her babies, and Lottie gave birth (with only a little help from me) to 4 healthy pups – 2 girls and 2 boys – over about 4 hours. She took to motherhood with an instinct only mothers have, keeping them clean and warm and fed like a complete little pro. A few days later when the little family had their post-whelp checkup, the vet was very happy with how well Lottie and the babies were coming along and they all passed with flying colours.
Naming the pups was done with the help of some of my friends, and we ended up with Frankie and Douglas for the 2 boys, and Brie and Scout for the 2 girls. Watching them grow and develop their own individual personalities is the best part of raising pups bar none … and each pup certainly has their own distinct personality!
Scout is aptly named, as she will be the first one to explore new things. Douglas likes to sit and watch before joining in, and loves cuddles. Brie is somewhere between Douglas and Scout, was the first to recognise her name when called, and comes running to you with a look of pure joy on her face. Frankie is a “typical boy”, loves a bit of rough and tumble, digging holes in the lawn, and generally being a goofball. All of them will come when their names are called… if they aren’t doing something more interesting… *grin*
The pups are now nearly 9 weeks old, and will be ready to go to their forever homes from 10 weeks of age. They will have had their first 2 puppy vaccinations, and will be microchipped and desexed (as per most rescue group protocols). The pups have also been wormed at 2 weekly intervals, and Lottie at 4 weekly intervals.
Lottie has already got a new family waiting for her to be desexed before she goes to them, and one of the pups also has a forever home waiting for him. I’m sure that once the other 3 pups are advertised, the rescue will be swimming with applications, as they are stunning pups – the hard part will be selecting the right homes for them.
For anyone thinking of fostering, there are a few things you should look for when deciding which rescue group you will foster for:
- Does the rescue have formal paperwork outlining your responsibilities, and their responsibilities?
- Does the rescue supply you with anything – food/bedding/etc?
- What is their rehoming process?
- How often do they touch base with each foster carer, and are they easy to reach if you need them?
- Do they have a preferred vet clinic they want you to use, and do they cover the expenses? If not, do they reimburse you for vet bills incurred?
I must stress that not all rescues are the same – and some are less “reputable” than others. Red flags would be:-
Fast turnaround/rehoming of animals – remember that you should really get to know ¨ your foster animal, so you can make sure that you will rehome them to people whose lifestyles they will fit in with. If the rescue you are with is sending you potential adopters within days of taking in the animal, then my advice would be to look for a rescue that allows you the time to fully get to know your fosters before they go up for adoption.
- Expecting foster carers to pay for everything. At the very least, the rescue should have at least one vet clinic that they work with that they will have an account with – and you do not pay anything to take the animal there for a check up, vaccination, desexing, or any other issue that may arise. Some rescues may expect the foster carer to supply bedding and food, but that is fairly normal, and not a huge ask if you only have 1 or 2 small foster animals.
- Asking you to take on more animals than you are comfortable with, or can afford to feed or exercise effectively.
- Not getting the foster animal desexed until they get a deposit for it from a prospective new family. If the rescue cannot afford to desex an animal before they get a deposit, then will they have the funds to pay for any other vet treatment that may come up?
- No formal paperwork or rehoming process. If the rescue seems to be playing everything by ear, then maybe you would be better to find one that does have formal processes in place.
- Poor communication. As a foster carer, you need to know that you can contact someone able to make decisions if necessary, and if you can’t get hold of anyone reasonably quickly in a pinch, then I’d look for a rescue group where you do have that backup/support.
Every animal in care has a “sob story” about how bad its life was before coming into rescue. Yes, some animals have a back story that may curl your toes, but that should never be used as an excuse for certain behavioural traits such as biting, resource guarding, not liking other dogs or some people. All of those issues should be retrained so that the animal is suitable to go to a family environment and lifestyle where it can interact socially with others. Rescue animals should never be seen or regarded as “less than” any other animal from any other source.
In NSW, the rescue industry has seen an explosion of new groups pop since legislation was changed to have pounds try to rehome more or release animals to rescue, rather than having to euthanise when they run out of space.
As a result, there may be a number of rescues out there who are still learning what is really involved in doing that job well.
The fact that rescue is not regulated in any way also means that rescues are pretty much free to operate in any way they see fit, and unless reported for breaching animal welfare laws, they fly under the radar of any authority.
This is why it is so important that potential foster carers set their own boundaries as to what they can commit to and how they would like to see it done, so that the animals they care for don’t end up in a cycle of being rehomed, then surrendered due to issues that arise later – if the animal is not properly rehabilitated before rehoming.
Rescue should NEVER be about how MANY animals have been rehomed by any group, but how WELL those animals have been rehomed.
By: Tracey Dierikx – Animal Care Australia Exhibited Animal Representative. Originally published: September 2023 ACE Newsletter.
