MORE FOSTERERS REQUIRED FULL OUTLAY PLEASE READ!!

[Lisa]

Okay im taking the time to write this because Gap as an organisation is now pushing forward quite hard and we need to recruit more like minded, dedicated people who are able to offer help to the dogs. There are many fields where different types of people can excel and here are the main criteria and warts and all, with truthful outline as I see it of what we require back as an organisation and what we can offer.............

First and Foremost and our most valuable asset Foster Career's

From my point of view warts and all what does it take to foster?? Okay mainly a big heart and lots and lots of patience and MOST IMPORTANTLY the agreement of EVERYONE in the house and your own dogs. If you dont have 100 per cent commitment from everyone then you will struggle, patience will fray, it will cause arguments and result in not only an unhappy home BUT unhappy dogs.

What can you expect?? RULE 1..... Expect the Unexpected, however, we dont just chuck a dog at you we take time to get to know you your dogs and what you as a family can cope with, be honest with us as an organisation and allow us to guide you through your first few foster dogs.

MOST dogs will pee at first, usually rectified after if male they have it out of their system, female once they understand more the rules of the house. Most of these dogs will NEVER have been into a home before. Expect problems at first with them being left, furniture, pacing and panting at night and take the time to learn from us how easily this can be rectified. I would like our current fosters at this point to add to this thread posting how they have felt dealing with us as an organisation how many foster dogs they have taken and how many of them have had severe behave issues or caused vast amounts of damage, for anyone considering fostering I think you will be shocked when you see the replies. Very few dogs destroy, bite, if ever

How can you play becoming a foster parent?? Simple you have two choices speak to me, decide what you can cope with *IF* you think you can jump in at the deepend because you are around all the time (usually the best way to learn) tell me we can they speak to you about dogs direct from a pound environment. If you dont brilliant Tell me again!! We now have on board some fabulous foster homes who can do a pre assessment for us on a dog, keep it a week, get it through the neutering decide the dogs immediate needs before rehoming and then work with me to find one of YOU who has to offer what that dog needs. Why do you think these people are willing to get dogs through quickly and assess them? Well its because we have learnt that its very rare we have a major problem with anything, usually excite a pup for a few days, everything so new and wonderful. How do we handle it? We ignore them, gently guiding them and rectifying house training etc bouncing up and around counter surfing. Usually tell them gently a few times and it stops. Let your own dogs be their leader, remain hands off till the dog has settled down and had lessons from your existing pack in how to settle into a home environment..

What about vets bills??

Our Dogs are Our Dogs and therefore you can expect from us as a rescue the cost of treatment for the dog for worming, de fleaing, neutering, vaccinating, microchipping dental ANYTHING that dog needs healtwise will be covered by us!! Are their any hidden costs?......... well as a rescue running outside kennels its a great help to us that most foster homes are willing to pay for the dogs food themselves, if you cant afford to not a problem we are happy to provide you with food we can purchase. Are their any times when you may not pay a bill? NO UNLESS sensible precaution hasnt been taken.... These dogs are an unknown quantity... we dont want the foster homes to let them off leash in an unsafe area, you dont know the dog or have the dog often long enough to know how it will react, some yes you can gage, puppies younger lurchers etc, the greyhounds well they can be a totally different entity and often take longer to trust. Walk them ONLEASH and MUZZLED to avoid accidents happening. If you allow one of our dogs to attack and off leash dog because you dont have it leashed and muzzled that that is an unfair drain on the rescues rescources. Depending on the circumstances though I would never say never, common sense is not that hard. What else will we provide? If you need collar, leash, coat etc we will do our best to find it and get it to you, also indoor crates and house kennels.

How long will we have the dog for and what if its not settling? How long is a piece of string?? This is the main falldown with fostering. We dont know how long it takes to home a dog some two weeks, some two months some even longer. How long are you willing to commit to a dog for and provide it what it needs? The last thing they need is for you to get bored a month later and want me to move it elsewhere it does the dog no good, imagine passing through three or four foster homes finally settling then having to go on once more to a home? How would you feel if it was your dogs being put through this process imagine how much it would upset them. If a dog isnt settling doesnt fit in with your family, is falling out with your own dogs then YES we move it to someone who can cope with its needs. HOWEVER, you need to understand the difference between major upsets and slight settling in periods, if they have a spat or two control it, it usually settles down after 48 hrs. Ring me, ring our co ordinaters we deal with it everyday we know the difference between a spat and a major problem. We will hold your hand every step of the way until your confident enough to cut loose a bit more, we will help you walk and not expect you to run.

Will we fall in love and want to keep it Are you human? Of course you will most foster careers fall at the first hurdle BUT ask yourself the most valid question if you keep one can you continue to foster? If the answer isnt yes then why on earth would you keep the dog? Yep its cute and yep it fits in perfect, yep you cant believe how lucky you have been and yep your right HOWEVER number 2 will fit in just aswell!! How do I know? Its my business to know, fosterers seem to think its a miracle that they have ended up with their perfect dog as a foster. Its not, its because WE make sure you have the perfect foster dog for your situation, that is why it fits so well and why number 2 will fit so well and number 3 will fit so well. If you keep number 1 and then cant take number 2 number 2 could die. If people keep a foster dog its usually the 1st then they take 2 and 3 if they keep fostering then they grasp the concept its not luck its good judgement!!! I take as much pride in getting the right dog into the right foster home as I do the right dog into the right forever home and treat each with equal regard and time. In around 100 dogs now we have only EVER had to move 3 dogs from the foster home we placed them in. The reason we had to move these? They were going to die, didnt fit in the foster homes we put them BUT the foster home knew this and were prepared to muddle through just in case by a miracle they did fit or to buy us a couple of days to find where they do. We have a very low return rate from forever homes aswell for the same reason. We dont just guess we gage. We find your exact requirements and match it.

CONTINUED BELOW

[Lisa]

Right now youve read this and thought about it and probably read it somemore and thought some more where is the bit about what we need in a foster home.... Okay here is the deal.

Perfect foster home for me?? No other dogs (unless we have a dog that needs another dog) no kids, no cats, no small furries and doesnt go to work!! Yeah right because we dont live in an ideal world and most fosterers at least have other dogs that is why they like them and want to foster. So whats the next step..

Preferably a level of intelligence and self control, I dont ever want to think that someone I placed a dog with would loose their temper and strike it so if you think you could dont offer please.

If you have other dogs do they usually get on well with other dogs? Do they get on better with dog/ bitch big/small? How well socialised are they? Do you have visiting dogs to your home? How do they behave around them do they accept them in? If it takes time to get them use to a dog but then they settle fine its workable we just dont give you a hellllloooooo im here in your face type of dog.

Do you have kids?? If yes and they are over four and dog sensible fine, are they use to dogs do they TRUTHFULLY listen to you when you ask them not to touch the dog, pull the dog, poke the dog, if you cant answer this yes then again its not worth it because who knows how much a dog will take. Do they trully understand to let sleeping dogs lie??

Have you got cats? If so then preferably NO however, occasionally we do place dogs into foster homes without cats they turn out to be okay around cats so we could use you and move the dog, how dog friendly are your cats, no use having a cat friendly dog and an un dog friendly cat works both ways. How confident truthfully are you in handling a dog/cat situation? Are you sensible enough to take precautions and not drop your guard? Check the yard for your cat before you let the dog out to toilet? Would you be consistant with this because you would need to be.

Small furries, well ive got them and keep them at a sensible distance only ever had a problem with the hamster and one and that was Jay now Jack. Other than that they are relatively un interested or dont get to see them.

Do you work? Yes, fine again we will find you a dog that can cope with your routine, we usually make sure the workers get their new foster on a Friday evening so they can have the weekend to watch interaction with their own and to build them up to being left and double check they are okay! Do we rule out full time workers? No, do you mind pee?? You will get it at first so previsions need to be made to have someone let the dog out at dinnertime just into the dogs own garden or give it a couple of breaks more regularly at first. Dogs can be unhappy if forced to soil they dont like it.

Are you at home all the time? Excellent, however we dont want to get a raving stressy looney back from you because you have been on its tail constantly, can you go out for half an hour a day to get the dog use to you being away and build this time up? Fabulous if not then probably not because if you never leave them they will expect it of their new home.

If my fosterers could please take the time to outline the dogs they have had and how they have found them and the support offered medical and emotionally please do take the time to post your experiences! You are the ones who know how we operate as a rescue and how we handle yours and the dogs needs. We need more foster homes and you are the ones who can help people to decide. Will add more about other people we need later, homecheckers, fundraisers etc but have stuff to do

ANY OTHER QUESTIONS relating to fostering im happy to answer.

[Lisa]

As I have also pinned this in Chatter will copy and paste the foster careers replies from their :--

Debs393's Reply

Hi, I'm a relatively new Gap foster carer and am currently looking after my second foster dog (Billy).
I have 3 sighthounds of my own, 2 grown up kids and I work for a couple of hrs each weekday morning.

Dilbert was my first foster boy he came to us in Nov 04, he was a 9month old whippet/beagle/collie cross who had been kept in a cat cage for alot of the time in his pervious home, it was thought that he suffered with SA (I offered to foster him as I had previous experience of SA with 2 of my own rescue dogs..one a GAP dog). He came to us from temporary kennels where he had been very distructive and stressed so i was expecting the worse, i couldn't have been more wrong. Dilbert came into our home like he had always been here and very quickly settled into our routine. I never had any trouble with him except at Xmas when he ate a jar of Quality Street and had to go to the vets ..GAP paid the vet bill no quibble. In January Dilbert went off to a new home which unfortinately didn't work out for him (through no fault of his own) and so i was more than happy to have him back with us in Feb. To be honest i had grown very attached to Dilbert and seriously wanted to keep but i knew if i did then i wouldn't be able to foster again as 4 dogs is definately our limit. Thankfully the most wonderful home offer came for Dilbert and he went of to a fantastic new life in April 05.

The day after Dilbert went to his new home my second foster dog Billy came to stay. Billy is a young rough coated lurcher who was a stray.
I think Lisa has said it spot on as Billy also came into our house like he's always lived here. I thought Dilbert was perfect for us but so is Billy..here's hoping all my future foster dogs are this good
Billy wasn't clean in the house at first but with a bit of patience he soon became fully houstrained. He's also a bit of a chewer and is rather partial to corners of coffee tables etc. He's doing very well though as he didn't know any commands at first and has had to learn house manners etc also.

Where as i had Dilbert for a few months it looks like i'll only be looking after Billy for a few weeks as a possible new home is already on the cards.

I highly recommend fostering for Greyhound Gap. There is always loads of support on offer both from Lisa on the phone or from all the Gap members online.
I found that each foster dog fitted in so well with my other dogs, i have one very bossy little whippety who likes to lay down the house rules to all new arrivals ..in a way this is a plus because all new dogs soon learn what is and isn't acceptable. I've also found that my dogs are now getting use to new dogs coming and going and even my bossy whippety has chilled considerably and feels he only has to police the new dog for 1 day instead of the usual 3 plus.

I don't know what else to say really except it really is so rewarding to see the fosters grow in confidence etc and then to know that they have gone off to a wonderful new life

My hubby tells me when i get upset that they are going
"Be happy we've done our job..now they are ready to go to their wonderful new life"

[Lisa]

Anna-r reply:--


Ive fostered for Gap for around 15months now and in that time had
Paris
Ellie
Monica
Mindy(Indy)
Denzil
Taz
Elsa
Bert
Lena
and Now Jessie have also had a couple of others like Tilly for a few days whilst foster carers away and Lucas whilst his mum went away. sorry if i have missed any. Most have been with me for around 3-5 weeks the shortest though was 2 weeks the longest was 6 months.

Out of all of the dogs i have had the only one i can safely say that i had a hard time with was Taz. .
The others came most straight from the trainers and settled within a few hours/ days or straight away in the case of Lena we have probably had the odd first spray from most of the lads but only a spray not a full on wee and a quick sharp firm NO stops that quite effectivly. the girls like Lisa said sometimes have had the odd widdle but not all and the same goes for them also you get used to the signs that they need a wee like pacing and been generally unsettled much like any dog would do.
Until we know the dog a little better we tend to feed in a smaller group not with all four maybe just one more so we can see what they are like around food and i never leave the dogs unattended whilst feeding.

For the first week as i am doing with Jessie now we leave the dogs much to their own devices allowing them to interact with your dogs and so as they dont get clingy. I like to give them time out to so if they are not voluntarily stayong away from you like laying happily in another room i will give them time out in the dining room with the baby gate closed(not the door closed as they can get quite frightened and noisy) starting with 10mins and working upwards this gets them used to been alone and keeps them a little more independant.

No foster dog gets treated any different to my own dogs they get the same food, love and freedom in the house as my own, the only thing i do is when i leave them in alone the foster usually goes in the dining room with Maggie (who has a habit of chewing if has too much freedom) so they feel secure as too much space can be a bit daunting for them leading to crying, chewing etc, obviously not all of them have needed this.
Mindy from day one was so layed back she has full run of the house as did Paris, Ellie, denzil, Lena and bert.

As said before Taz was the only one i had a hard time with he found been in a home hard to adjust to. Forceful Yes and No,s often upset Taz and he responded much better to the water spray treatment this stopped his spraying and also in the street stopped him been lead aggressive to other dogs, just one quick squirt was enough top break his concentration, he was though tiring at times as he was so slow to settle i often felt like i was failing with him, we had Taz 6 months and did see a great improvement in him but he really needed one to one which in our house just wasnt available this was recognised and he is now getting this with Laura.

Foster dogs can often be a little unsettled at first especially during the night and may cry or whimper, the worst thing you could do is react to this, as with kids the more attention they get the more they will do it so perseverance and the heart to be able to ignore them is what is needed and they soon settle when they are not getting attention.
jessie apent half of yesterday evening barking to go out stood at the back patio door maybe he has been kept outside, we have now kept the back door unaccessible thus removing the stimulus and ignored him after one firm JESSIE NO and he settled within an hour Today we have had a few barks but not nearly as many with the same response and again he has settled much quicker, it can be hard but time does work. Just think 13 years in the same home he must be upset.

The worst thing about Fostering is getting all these fabulous hounds and knowing deep down that you cant keep them as you really need to be there for others in need,
The best thing is seeing them in there new home and knowing you did your bit to get them there. I am very lucky as i see most of my foster dogs at some time through the year most quite often, and to be greated by their wagging tails and big kisses is the most rewarding thing of all.

At the moment fostering is near on impossible for me unless its short term like jessie when i am on nights like this week as my shifts have changed and i have to do 10 1/2hour days which is far too long for any dog especially a new foster dog. anna.x.

[Lisa]

Sian's foster experience:.....

I found Gap in Autumn 2003 and gradually got involved in fostering. This is because I was at university in Stoke at the time, with my other half Kieren back in South Wales with our two greyhounds.
My first few fosters were ones that I had picked up from their former owners/rescues in South Wales during the holidays, held them at mine for a few days and then transported them to their longer stay foster home. This worked out great as during these times we were at home all day, had two very laid back dogs, no children and no cats. Ideal for an unassessed dog really. To be honest, I never once had a problem with any of these dogs and many times it was their first experience in a home. We would have the odd accident, but nothing that couldn't be cleaned up and learnt from. The same with behaviour towards our own dogs....do the meet and greets, pant for a little while, lay down and get to the hard job of having a kip. The dogs were just passing through, but I had 100% support and commitment from Lisa and the rest of Gap.

As time went on and my course finished, we took on our own foster dogs. We spoke to our vets about this first, so we knew they could support Gap and possibly offer a discount!! They couldn't, but after a while and seeing how much routine business we gave them, were very happy to set up an account for Gap to settle direct.

With regards to our decision to take on fosters, I have to be honest and say that we did it at a time when not long after one of our own greys was diagnosed with cancer. He was not ill as in his symptoms did not stop him from leading a full and happy life, however it is something that I talked about in great deal with Lisa and something she was very concerned with and wanted to move our fosters into a new foster home in order for us to focus on our own dogs. Although, it was great knowing that we had this plan in place should we want it, we chose to decline the offer and continue fostering. We had never had a bad experience with the foster dogs to justify us giving it up. If anything, our dogs loved meeting new dog friends and having them in their home. Taking care of another four legged member of the family is what we were used too and our dogs were used to too. When the time came and Alfie was getting ill, the decision was taken for us (call it instinct on Lisa's part) and our shorter term foster dog (we had two at the time) was removed and placed with another family. ALL of Gap rallied round for us to make it as smooth as possible and we will be eternally grateful.

As for the other foster dog that was here at the time....well he was well on the way to becoming a permanent resident in our home. He is the ONLY foster dog, we have failed with and he has been the only one who was shall we say a little more 'trying' than the others. Only he ever continued to cock his leg up, destroy through general clumsiness window dressings and show aggressive behaviour. Like I said before, we have the perfect environment for taking in dogs in the early stages of assessment. Therefore, Lisa and the rest of the Gap team know I am more than willing to take the more numpty/special needs type greyhounds. If my home environment was different then Muppet would never have been allocated (to want of a better phrase) to us. However and even now that we adopted him, we have always been able to speak to Lisa about him, gain good behavioural advice and generally have an ear to shout and bawl at if yet again he acted like a complete pleb!!! I know if we had made the decision not to keep him and I felt I was not happy with his behaviour here, then he would have been moved to a better environment where he could recieve the therapy he needed. There is never any pressure, that if things are not working out for whatever reason, that the dog should stay with you. At the end of the day...your stress rubs off on the dog and can lead to more problems...so its best for everyone to allow the dog to move on.

From my experience, I find it easy to let them go to their new home. There is always something where I think...they would this much more/less in a home like...blah de blah de blah. To see them flourish in their forever homes is wonderful! Don't get me wrong, I love having them here and ALWAYS treat them like my own. These days though I have lots of greyhound/lurcher dogs aswell as my own and will always see them as having a special place in my heart. I miss them awful when they first go, but then when the next comes along you realise that the last has all the love in the world and this new one has no one. Your job is to take good, well extra special, care of them and when they are ready to leave, give them a big hug and kiss goodbye. ;D

I LOVE fostering. If someone asked me two years ago if I would be involved this much in greyhound rescue and rehoming then I would have laughed it off as we were novice dog owners!! With the help and guidance I have recieved though, I never feel alone or stuck with what to do. All I have to do is ask!


Oh I forgot to mention the chewing thing....this has only ever happened once and thats Ritchie now, who took off the corner of a very cheap wooden table. He has a Nylabone now to keep him occupied.

[Aoj]

Vicky's reply;

Well, what can I add?

I have been fostering for Greyhound Gap for quite a while now and have fostered for a couple of other rescues previously, which has given me a good chance to make comparisons.

I can genuinely say that Greyhound Gap and of course in that I mean Lisa makes it very easy for fosterers. She seems to have pretty good judgement as to what will work in what home and what won't. I can honestly say that I have never had to ring her and say 'this dog will have to go'. In fact on occasions I have offered to foster a particular dog and she has said no, because she didn't think it would fit into our lifestyle.

Both myself & my other half work full time and I have to make provision for my dogs during the day. My foster dogs have to be able to settle into that fixed routine and always have managed it admirably.

I now quite often do short-term, assessment fostering. This includes settling a new dog into my home (quite often straight from stray kennels or a trainer), assessing it for dog, cat & separation issues, as well as assessing the dogs general temperament and then helping to pass it on to other fosterers who will then continue to work with that dog in order to help it move on to a permanent home. This seems to have worked well and i've enjoyed being a part of it.

All of my foster dogs are treated in exactly the same way as my own animals. Lisa and the rest of the team have been a great support. I never have to worry, if there any issues I need to talk about, there is always someone available with which to voice any concerns.

The reasons I like fostering for Greyhound Gap? Well not only do you get help and back-up, but I also 100% believe in the fact that each dog is vaccinated, microchipped, neutered, de-flead/wormed and thoroughly vet-checked before moving on. No dog moves on before it is ready. Even after that there is the support & follow up for as long as the new owner needs it.

I think I have covered everything I can, but if anyone wants to ask anything else, please PM/Email me and i'll answer anything I can.

Vicky

[Aoj]

Dawn's reply:

I've only had the one foster so far till Jessie arrives on Saturday. That foster was Fwank who was just 18months old and had never raced before being turned out onto the streets. Fwank is the exception to to rule in most ways; he howled, chewed and generally had severe separation anxiety but when the time came to let him go I couldn't do it and adopted him myself. He is a very special lad who still has issues, mainly outside now where he tries to get at every dog he sees by spinning in the air and rooing - he does however only want to play. In the house he is fine now can be left while i am at work in the company of my other dogs without barking or chewing.

In my opinion Fwanks difficulties came from lack of human contact as a youngster, he never got as far as racing and as a consequence felt he needed to be with me all the time. I have 4 other greys and lurchers none had the problems he had when faced with being in a home and at times I thought he would never be able to adapt. At these times I called Lisa, sometimes for advice but always for moral support and invariably I put the phone down able to laugh about the latest in his long line of misdemeanors.

The fact that I still want to foster speaks volumes not only for the value I place upon Gaps work but also for the support systems in place in the ranks of the Gap members. As my second foster approaches I have no worries about accepting him into my home - I know that his best interests will not be put above mine and those of my own dogs, help is a phonecall away and I feel confident that after Fwank I can cope with anything!

[Lisa]

Andywillows reply :-

I first came across Greyhound Gap, in january 2004, when I was looking for a second grey after losing my mongrel at 17 1/2 and my first grey was missing her. I adopted Willow from Phoenyx Animal Refuge in Newcastle who I was put in touch with through Lisa.
After joining in on the forum, I realised how many dogs were in danger and decided to offer to foster.
Tara came home to us in August, at 10 1/2 years old, she had been at birmingham dogs home, her previous owners didn't want her back after saying she'd been missing for a number of months and they now had a new dog
She came to us to be fostered (ha ha ha) and ended up staying
But since Tara, 2 have gone on to new homes, first came Sid, who's owner had gone into hospital, apart from trying to hump all my dogs (2 bitches and one dog), they all told him no thankyou and he was fine. The only thing with Sid was his pee was like pea soup! It was a dark yellow which stained carpets He didn't pee much tho, especially after his conkers were off. Sid went on to a lovely home in Birmingham, shortley after came Lenny the little three legged lurcher who had lost his leg in a road accident
He came here just days after his amputation and was underweight and very quiet. He left for his new home bouncing off the walls, full of life, a few kilos heavier and ready for his new family.
Must admit, seeing them both at the Gap show brought a real lump to my throat, and gave me great pleasure seeing how well they both looked and how much their owners loved them.
Bob's been with us now for almost 2 months. He's been a dream in the house, can't fault him. He's one of the softest hounds, laying on my knee at night with his paw around my neck. I love him to pieces, but know when he goes, we'll have room for another needy one.
It is rewarding, and as Lisa says, all the dogs we've had have honestly been no trouble whatsoever and have been a pleasure to have here, my only problem is I do want to collect them
All the dogs have everything they need, medical wise, and whilst they are here are as spoilt as all mine, they get everything they need and more ;D
Sue

[Lisa]

Aoj said:

Dawn's reply:

I've only had the one foster so far till Jessie arrives on Saturday. That foster was Fwank who was just 18months old and had never raced before being turned out onto the streets. Fwank is the exception to to rule in most ways; he howled, chewed and generally had severe separation anxiety but when the time came to let him go I couldn't do it and adopted him myself. He is a very special lad who still has issues, mainly outside now where he tries to get at every dog he sees by spinning in the air and rooing - he does however only want to play. In the house he is fine now can be left while i am at work in the company of my other dogs without barking or chewing.

In my opinion Fwanks difficulties came from lack of human contact as a youngster, he never got as far as racing and as a consequence felt he needed to be with me all the time. I have 4 other greys and lurchers none had the problems he had when faced with being in a home and at times I thought he would never be able to adapt. At these times I called Lisa, sometimes for advice but always for moral support and invariably I put the phone down able to laugh about the latest in his long line of misdemeanors.

The fact that I still want to foster speaks volumes not only for the value I place upon Gaps work but also for the support systems in place in the ranks of the Gap members. As my second foster approaches I have no worries about accepting him into my home - I know that his best interests will not be put above mine and those of my own dogs, help is a phonecall away and I feel confident that after Fwank I can cope with anything!

Disclaimer from Gap regarding Frank  :biggrin: We have no idea what she is on about honest guvnor that really is not one of our dogs..... No sireee never seen it before in our life and you cant prove anything  :rarr:

On a serious side the honesty with us as a rescue does shine through more because when Dawn asked me if she could keep Frank I actually asked her if she had a) banged her head b) been in receipt of a full frontal labotomy!! Frank is the sort of dog our foster homes cant wait to see go, and I was horrified when Dawn said she wanted to keep him  :biggrin: However, now im so so glad she did because the more I see him the more I think we would have broken the Guiness Book of records for rescue dog returned from the most homes  :biggrin: and I am not joking!! Three of our most difficult rehomes have been Rodney (who is here with me) Muppet (who is now with Sian and Kieran) and Frank who is with Dawn!! All our most hectic but the very fact that the foster homes have recognised this and gone on to keep the difficult one to me speaks volumes as to how misunderstood these dogs really can be ;D

[Lisa]

LisaJ and Brads reply

I stumbled on to Greyhound Gap in September 2003 when I was searching the net for house collars for my dogs and they haven’t been able to get rid of me since. I’ve been fostering for Gap for about 18 months now. So far I’ve cared for Maggie, Tilly, April, Penny and Jasper, Having 3 cats I tend to get the known cat friendly adults and the puppies who, 9 times out of 10, just want to play with the cats.

Each fostering experience has been very different and if I take my fosters one at a time I’ll explain why.

Maggie was our first foster and a puppy of about 12 weeks. After we’d picked Maggie up from Anna she slept all the way home in the car, ‘what a sweet little angel’ I thought.
When we arrived home Brad stayed outside with Maggie and I brought my own dogs out one at a time. Henry is 13 and an old grump so he was the one I was most worried about accepting another dog. Molly is 5 and tends to get on with other dogs quite well as long as she has had a chance to approach them in her own time.
Well, both Molly and Henry were fine, they had a good sniff of Maggie and she of them and we gave them some time outside the house together, so off we all trotted into the house.
By this time Maggie had really woken up and as soon as she got in she was off whizzing around the lounge, jumping all over the settee, off that and on to the chair, back around the lounge, all the time with Henry trying to follow her and work out what this whirling dervish was, whilst Molly decided she needed the safety of mother so she staid glued to my side.
So not 10 minutes in to this fostering lark and already I’m about to break the dog, but there was just no way you could stop Maggie, she was full of beans, loved life and everyone she met and was on the go for what felt like 24 hours a day.
When it was time for bed we settled Maggie in the crate in our bedroom and she just plopped down and went to sleep. Over the next few days Maggie and Molly became very firm friends, they loved wrestling together, tugging on toys, doing slaloms around the garden and dragging mud and grass back through the house. Henry cooled off with Maggie the next day (as he does with most foster dogs) and told her with a brief growl that she wasn’t to disturb his 23 hours of naptime.
Maggie was fun but she was also a lot of hard work. Not having had a puppy for a few years you tend to forget just how hard it can be at times. We started house training straight away, out every half hour, when she woke up and after she had eaten (we were very lucky in that Maggie was a puppy who slept through the night), we had to puppy proof the house and garden, put things we didn’t want chewed out of her reach, introduce her gradually to the cats (2 of which will bop boisterous dogs on the nose and 1 who adores all dogs), someone had to be with her at all times she couldn’t just go wandering by herself round the house as our adult dogs do, she needed time out on her own so as not to develop SA, we had to get her to the vets for vacs and a check on how she was doing, there was basic manners to be taught, she learnt to sit and lay down when asked and that not all food put down in bowls on the floor were for her, once her jabs were all done there was getting her out and about to meet lots of new people, places and dogs, and acquiring a steady supply of stuffed toys which she shredded at an alarming rate, most days my lounge resembled an explosion in a toy shop.
But Lisa was there every step of the way, she called me at least once a day if not more to check how Maggie was, how things were going, how we were coping, did we need anymore food, vets bills reimbursed, were Molly and Henry ok with her, how was she through the night, how was our mental health! There was also the forum where I could share Maggie’s mountain goat behaviour with everyone and some of her more unusual sleeping positions.

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At not one point did I ever feel worried or as if I had been left to fend for myself with this energetic beastie.
After about 2 months a very nice couple offered Maggie a home and I got a call from her mummy to be to have a chat about Maggie, something Lisa likes all her fosterers and potential adopters to do. As the home wasn’t too far from us Lisa asked if Brad and I could do the homecheck and take Maggie along to see how the potential owner and she got on together.
Well things went swimmingly on that first meeting, they adored her and she took to them straight away. They showed us and Maggie great hospitality and we were there for a good couple of hours. At the end Brad and I took Maggie for a walk at the fabulous park over the road to leave the adopters to talk things over and to give Brad and I a chance to chat together about how we felt.
With Lisa’s permission at the end of the day we came home without Maggie. We left her with her new and forever mum and dad to begin the rest of the life she deserved. And I didn’t walk away crying, in fact Brad and I were grinning like loony’s all the way home and I felt tremendously happy inside because I knew that’s where Maggie belonged, in a wonderful home with people who adored her and now we had a space for the next dog that needed us.

[Lisa]

LisaJ & Brad reply

And that next dog was Teeny Tiny Tilly! Another puppy only a few months old Tilly was a stray and had to do her 7 days in the pound. When Lisa became aware of Tilly she made sure she would come into Gap’s care at the end of her time, and she also noticed a problem with Tilly’s leg. Through all her time at the pound Gap paid for a vet nurse to go in and see to Tilly’s medical needs and once her 7 days were up Tilly came to us and she was the tiniest puppy I had ever seen, so much so that she kept taking herself off through the cat flap and into the garden!
We did everything as described above with Maggie, all the intros, all the work you put in on a puppy but Tilly was slightly different. For one things she was no bouncing Maggie, she was timid at first and it took her a good couple of days to settle in. We gave her as much time as she needed and her own space (as far as you can with a puppy) and gradually Tilly began to relax. She adored Molly and would have loved Henry to adore her, in fact never gave up trying to get Henry to adore her, but the old grump was having none of it.
Tilly’s care took on a much different aspect for us. Because she was a stray there was no history as to what had happened to her leg. Could it be an old fracture/break that had set wrong, had another dog bitten her, had someone abused her?
When I had taken her out for her first wee upon arrival I had gone to pick her up and she’d done a very grumbly growl at me. She was on Rymadil for any pain she may be having in the leg and I thought at first perhaps her painkillers where wearing off. I noticed Tilly also had lots of tiny, puss filled and scabby spots on her tummy so we took her straight off to the vets to check what they were. Tilly then had some anti-biotics to take as it was felt the scabby spots were a result of her perhaps laying on concrete in the pound.
When Lisa phoned that first day I told her about the vets visit and she asked me to send all bills to Angela. Then I mentioned the growling and Lisa felt there was something more going on with Tilly and we needed to get to the bottom of it. Over the coming weeks Tilly’s growling got worse and at times she would snap at us if she didn’t want to be handled. More vets visits followed, x-rays were taken, she went off for a little holiday to Aunty Lisa’s to see her vets and a specialist and, after many tests were done, eventually we had an answer.
It was felt that at some point someone had given Tilly such a hefty kick that it had caused her pelvis to move half an inch across from where it should be and that the ball joints of both her back legs were almost out of the sockets. When this happened it was felt that she had probably screamed so loudly another dog she was near at the time had attacked her, which is why she had scars on her back legs.
As shocking as all this was to discover I was also amazed as Tilly was another one of our foster pups who loved nothing more than rough and tumbling with Molly and we never heard a squeak out of her at this time. However, over the time she had been with us her growling had become worse, and at some points she had actually snapped if we had gone to handle her.
Spending many calls talking it all through with Lisa we worked out that Tilly had been through so much and was a real survivor, but the only way she had learned how to survive was by defending herself with growling and snapping, the result of which the person backed off. It was clear we had to sort this out before she went to a home, so as adorable and lovely as she could be for most of the time the NILIF treatment was put in to place. Soon Tilly began to learn that she couldn’t have her own way all the time, people wouldn’t back off and eventually the growling began to be few and far between.
Again Lisa was there throughout all of this worrying along with us and even getting her own special show of the Tilly growl. When my dad’s 60th birthday came round and we had a few days of fun planned Anna and David looked after Tilly for a weekend and enjoyed their share of puppy sitting too.
Tilly was with us for quite a while and we have some wonderful memories of our time with her, one of them being when we attended the Thornberry Animal Sanctuary 2004 show with some of the Gap members. Jack and Tilly made a great team in the ring and went on to win Best in Show. One very tired puppy and 2 proud foster parents went home that day.
Tilly now has a fantastic home with Pete and Jan and their dog Ricky in France. The Gap transporters came to her aid many times getting her to Lisa’s and back when she had to see the specialist, visiting Anna and David and finally getting her down to the ferry port and off to her new life.
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Tilly and foster daddy, happily foster daddy’s beard has now also been rehomed as well - in the bin.

[Lisa]

LisaJ & Brad

After Tilly we had a short rest and then Greyhound puppy April joined us all the way from Ireland. April had been found wandering at the side of a road, taken into a pound and then pulled by Alyson and Mary who brought her to Gaps attention. Greyhounds and lurchers in Ireland have no chance of finding a home so what could Lisa do but bring her into the Gap fold.
Again the transporters jumped into action and April’s huge journey to us began. She spent a night in an emergency foster home and then resumed her travels the next day with a stop for a long break at Veronica and Alison’s and lots of little ones on the way.
When she first arrived she tried to get Henry to play with her, which he did for a while, but he soon wobbled off to his bed again. Molly wasn’t too sure but in the end they did start to interact together a little. For all she loved the dogs, April was quite shy with new people, and loved nothing better than snuggling herself away under the computer desk and watching what was going on.
We took things slowly with her and had a very quite first few days, deciding to leave introductions to the rest of our family and friends until she was more settled. She showed a little interest in the cats but left them alone when they showed they’d had enough.
At the time April came to us we had just had a new lounge carpet fitted. As expected with puppies she had a few accidents and christened our carpet good style! So there was plenty of mopping up and strategic placing of rugs, but hey it was a cheap carpet and my own fault for choosing such a light colour.
Over the next week or two we took April out to meet lots of new people and places, making sure to build her up slowly. Her favourite place was our local pet supplies shop; she loved wandering round there with us, getting fussed by the staff and deciding which treats to take home.
Very soon April found a loving home with Maxine and her family and is now called Molly.

April getting to know dog-lover Alfie.

[Lisa]

LisaJ & Brad

Sometimes cats safe Greys and lurchers just cannot be found in rescue, other times they’re like buses and 3 come along at once. So if you’re a fosterer that has cats, you can wait quite a while compared to the other fosterers before another dog comes to you. This was the case between April leaving and our next foster Penny arriving.
Penny for me was one of the rare fosters that just melted my heart. I’ve loved all my fosters but knew by letting them go to their forever homes I would be opening my home to another dog in need; space number 3 was for foster dogs. But Penny… Penny really tested this philosophy.
Penny was an adult whippet/beddy lurcher and she came to stay with us the day before Christmas Eve 2004. Christmas is a hectic time of year for almost everyone, but more so for rescues. Dogs just seem to flood in around this time and rescues are soon full to overflowing before the festive season is even upon us. At Christmas 2003 this is why I first offered to foster for Gap, because the enormity of it all suddenly hit me.
So at Christmas 2004 Penny arrived. Penny had been staying at Lisa’s as her owner had to re-home her due to personnel problems, which of course poor Penny couldn’t understand. Once she had been spayed she was on her way to us.
Again some brave transporters gave their time and petrol and headed out into the appalling Christmas traffic conditions to get Penny to us, in fact Amanda got stuck in a traffic jam for 3 hours trying to get to the pick up point where Brad was waiting; but eventually she got through.
Although Molly and Henry were interested in getting to know her Penny was just bewildered by everything. She was in a strange home with strange people and dogs, she had just been spayed and was irritated by her stitches, thus she had to wear a muzzle, which she hated.
She decided that under the computer desk was the best place to be. We had to keep a very close eye on her as she was doing everything she could to get her muzzle off and get at her stitches.
She was whining and panty and just seemed very uncomfortable, whipping round every few minutes to nibble her wound then fighting against the muzzle. Brad and I took it in turns to get down on the floor with her, talk to her softly and distract her from thoughts of the muzzle and her spay wound.
That night was a sleepless one for me. Penny came up to the bedroom with us where all our dogs sleep on various beds (or ours!), but she paced and whined and just couldn’t settle at all. I think between us Penny and I got maybe a couple of hours sleep, but the next day and night were a lot better for her and she had the muzzle removed for short periods.
On Christmas Day me, Brad and the dogs all went to my parent’s house to spend the day with my mam, dad and 2 sisters. Penny was a little shy at first but the family had rushed out on Christmas Eve to get her some presents and as soon as they were unwrapped she seemed more interested in things. She was such a good girl that day, her spay scar didn’t seem to bother her so much and she spent longer amounts of time without the muzzle and leaving her wound alone.
She tucked into Christmas dinner, had a nice long walk with us all and then zonked out by the fire with Molly and Henry whilst we all zonked out in front of the box. My family loved her and there was much asking of the ‘are you keeping her’ question. We’d only had Penny with us for 3 days which I felt wasn’t enough time to answer that, although I had felt myself becoming rather attached to her.
Over the next few weeks I really had to wrestle with this question. Penny was a shy, gentle soul who liked nothing more than to curl up next to you and just feel your hand resting on her. Brad was quite busy at this time, so Penny was mostly with me and I feel after a while we did form a bond.
I loved having her around, once her spay scar had healed and the stitches were removed the muzzle was discarded, and she stopped being obsessed with licking that area and really came out of herself. She fitted into the routine of the house so easily, loved the cats, especially washing their heads, and both Molly and Henry liked her.
I knew if Penny stayed I really would have to stop fostering, I just couldn’t manage with 4 dogs in the house and there was no way round that. So I had to choose between offering Penny a home or offering more dogs a temporary home. It was a very, very hard choice but I knew that when I decided to foster I had given space number 3 to foster dogs, and fosterers are so hard to come by at the best of times.
Penny was a wonderful dog and I knew she was also a very rehomable dog, there would be lots of people out there who could offer her everything she needed, whereas on the other hand there were not a lot of fosterers.
So almost on the day I made my mind up that Penny would remain my foster dog Lisa rang me to say Penny had a home and a short while later off she went. I will admit to shedding a tear on that day. When Brad went out to sort her bed in the car Penny and I waited in the hall, had a big hug and said our goodbyes and I just felt at that moment I had made the right decision.
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The lovely Penny. ;D

[Lisa]

LisaJ & Brad

And by making that decision we were able to offer Jasper a place to stay whilst he was waiting for a home. I’m sure you all know about Jasper, the monkey noise making, Coronation Street howling, big, cuddly bear of a boy we have with us now.
Jasper has been perfect in every way. OK on the first night he woke us all up by howling along to the radio at 1am, which had me rolling about laughing and Brad trying to quiet Jasper and me at the same time, but he has really been a dream of a foster dog.
He just strolled in and made himself at home, and over the first few days Molly and Henry really got to like him and Jasper now loves having mad playtime with Molly. The dog-loving cat can’t get enough of rubbing against his big, fluffy stick legs and Jasper loves to hop around in front of the other 2 cats trying to sniff their bums and making monkey noises.
He’s come with us to a couple of shows and met various Gap members and adoring members of the public, whilst enjoying himself a lot and trying to scoff down as many jumbo sausages as he can get. He loves people and has a bark that could rattle a bin lid at 50 paces; I know we’ll miss having this cheeky character around when he’s gone.
His only problem has been a bit of SA but we’ve been working with him on that and over the last few weeks, as he’s settled down a bit and got used to the routine of the house, he seems to have improved.
Jasper now has the offer of a home so I know he’ll be off soon, another Gap hound finding his forever home.

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If you’ve got to the end of my posts well done, I know it’s been very long but I wanted to explain truthfully what fostering is like and how different it is with each dog. Some are like Tilly, an intense experience that is hard work for you and the dog, and some are like Jasper, hardly a worry at all and a laugh a minute; but all of them have the same thread running through them; they’re all dogs that needed someone just for a short amount of time. I hope if you can you’ll at least consider being that someone.

[susiek]

I would like to be considered as a foster mum - how do I go about it?