Help Us, Help Them

Fostering

We're always in need of foster homes!  For every foster home, one more dog saved from the shelters, from being unwanted, and from abusive homes. Please consider fostering!  All of our foster homes do need to be pre-approved.  The foster application is available online from the link below or going to our forms/applications page.

We operate somewhat differently than many other rescues as we utilize a quarantine/intake foster system to the greatest extent possible.  We realize that many of the dogs coming out of shelters have been exposed to a variety of viruses and parasites, and protecting fosters and their resident dogs is of utmost importance to us.  Quarantine fosters are experienced foster homes who have the capability to quarantine new intake dogs.  If you are applying to foster a specific dog, please understand that we do not ask new foster homes to pull dogs directly from shelters.  Once a dog has completed their initial intake/quarantine period and/or their initial vetting, we then work to move them into a foster home where they can concentrate on further improving housetraining and leash skills, as well as further evaluating them for behavioral issues.  It is important to keep the flow of dogs moving from intake to foster homes so that intake does not become overwhelmed or bogged down.

Typical time frames for fostering are from 2 weeks to several months at a time. It is very rewarding and you will enjoy watching the Shih Tzu blossom under your care. If you wish to join Ohio Fuzzy Pawz Rescue or become a foster parent, please fill out our foster application.

OFP pays the medical bills and monthly preventatives while in foster care.  We do require that foster homes use our veterinarian clinics who are located in Carroll, Columbus, Westerville and Hilliard, Ohio.  We can also provide crates, toys, food bowls, and most other needed items.  Foster homes provide love and some basic training to make the foster dog more adoptable.  Foster homes are asked to attend events twice a month to help get their foster dog adopted.

What does it mean to be a foster home?

In case you don't know what fostering a dog entails, here is a quick overview:

• Read over our adoption requirements on our adoption info page.  Our foster homes have the same adoption requirements as our adoptive homes.  We do require that any current pets be up to date on vaccines, spayed or neutered, heartworm testing and prevention.
• Since foster homes are required to use our veterinarians for the medical care of our dogs, we do prefer that foster homes are located within a couple hours of the Central Ohio area.

• You bring one of our rescues into your home and provide him/her with food, water, a comfy place to sleep, some toys, a bath and grooming, and TONS of LOVE.
• You write a descriptive bio (writing it in 1st person from the pup always makes it more appealing!) and take photos of your foster so that we can keep his/her online profile up-to-date and looking great!
• When/where possible a couple times a month (for about 2 hours per event), you bring your foster pup to one of our Meet and Greet events so he/she can find the perfect FURever parents! If you're not in Central Ohio, that's ok! We can still arrange for you to foster and dogs can be shared on social media platforms for additional exposure.
• As a foster, you are responsible for the day-to-day needs of your foster dog(s) and verify that your foster is up-to-date on all immunizations, tests, and treatments.
• We do ask that foster homes not adopt any of their fosters for the first six months to help them concentrate on fostering and being able to assess their foster dogs objectively.
• Ohio Fuzzy Pawz covers all vetting costs - whether basic or more extreme. OFP also coordinates the Meet and Greets, posts photos from the Meet and Greets, and updates the OFP website and Facebook pages - all of which help give you the tools you need to get your foster adopted. 
• You share your foster dog on social media such as Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest.  The more people who see the dog, the better chance to get the dog placed as quickly as possible.

The more dogs we can get into foster homes, the more dogs we can save by pulling them from shelters and the streets . We don't have a physical location/shelter to house the dogs we bring into our organization, so it is essential that we have foster homes for ALL of our dogs. Our rescues will be even more adoptable if they are socialized, well-fed, bathed, groomed, and given lots of love. This can only happen if they are in foster homes.  

 

Volunteering

We can always use volunteers to help out at events, transport dogs to events or vet appointments.  Stop by one of our upcoming events and talk to one of our volunteers about how YOU can make a difference or submit our volunteer application online so you can become involved and help us save more dogs.