Do you have the time and space to welcome a pet temporarily into your life? No Surrender is once again looking for short- and long-term fosters for cats and dogs and we’re hoping you, or someone you know, might be the person we’re looking for!
You provide the space, the patience, and the love, as well as regular photos and updates. We cover the bills and offer practical and emotional support. And at the end, you get to be there to see the pet(s) you’ve cared for reunited with their human(s).
What fostering with No Surrender is like:
Sometimes we have a lot of notice that an animal is going to come into foster. Sometimes we have almost none. We try to contain the chaos as much as possible, but this is emergency fostering, and there are sometimes emergencies. We do our best to predict how long a fostering commitment will be, and to share that with our fosters, but things can change. Sometimes it’s shorter than planned. Sometimes it’s longer. A general willingness to roll with the situation is an asset, but so is a willingness to say no when you need to.
When you apply, be specific about what kinds of pets you are and aren’t looking to foster. We will use this information as a guide, but we will always call you about specific pets and go over your needs and your capacity again and decide together whether you’re a match.
We take a detailed history of each pet we work with — their health, their personality, their routine, any training or behavioural challenges — and we’ll share that with you in full before you decide on a foster placement. We will never blame you for refusing a foster.
In the case of dogs, we also always send an experienced person to evaluate the dog, ideally with their owner. They take them for a walk, play with them, see where their training is at, check for food or toy guarding, and ask the owner more detailed questions where needed. We share all of this with our fosters as well, and the evaluator is available to talk things through and answer questions before you agree to take a dog.
We encourage prospective fosters to think and communicate about their comfort level dealing with clients. We’ve had fosters and client who went on to become great friends, and we’ve had fosters and clients who communicated only though us. We’ll always respect your boundaries.
However, if you do choose to interact with your foster’s owner, we take “no blame, no shame” very seriously. Our clients are calling us because they’re in trouble and trying to get back out of it. They’re trusting us with their beloved pets. They deserve our courtesy and respect. We are not the right organization for people who want to work with animals because they don’t like humans.
Equally, we ask you to understand that a pet coming into foster is a pet who is under stress. The first few days can be hard. They may be anxious and clingy, or they may vanish under the furniture. They may temporarily mislay their house training, or have to be coaxed to eat.
I always quote the rule of three to my fosters:
- 3 hours to unfreeze
- 3 days to decompress.
- 3 weeks to settle in.
- 3 months to truly show you who they are.
We are force- and fear-free, and require you to be so as well. We’re happy to discuss our training philosophy with prospective fosters, to make sure you understand what you’re agreeing to. We also offer support with training and management, from readings and other resources to phone help to sessions with a certified trainer.
Sometimes fosters don’t work out. Sometimes fosters have emergencies of their own. Life happens and we understand. If you need to end a foster relationship, we will find another place for the animal as quickly as possible. Unless it’s an emergency or there is a safety concern, this may take a few days.
If the client is unable to reclaim their pet for whatever reason, fosters are given first refusal on adopting that pet. There is never any obligation to do so, however, and if you choose not to we will work out next moves together: whether that’s leaving them in foster with you until they find a forever home, or moving them to a rescue.
If this all sounds reasonable and even appealing to you, we want to hear from you!
Email us at [email protected], and include your phone number and some times when we can reach you.
Volunteer intake typically takes 30-60 minutes, so that we can ask all the questions we need to and you can do the same.