Become A Foster Home

New Hope Dog Rescue is a network of foster homes – loving families that are willing to give temporary homes to rescue dogs. Unlike conventional shelters, we believe that the best way to help abused, neglected and abandoned dogs is to heal them with a caring and loving home environment. Instead of being locked up in a kennel or vet hospital, rescue dogs spend their time in New Hope with a family – and they are treated like family members. This teaches dogs that haven’t had any socialization to trust people, and makes them well adjusted when they’re adopted to their permanent homes.

Being a foster home is one of the most kind and beneficial things you can do for dogs in need. If you’re interested in joining our foster homes, please go ahead and fill out the application form. You can also get in contact with our foster home co-ordinators by email.

Frequently Asked Questions

How Long do Dogs and Puppies Stay in Foster Care?

The average stay for one of our dogs is about 45 days. Sometimes, dogs are adopted out to permanent homes within a week or two of being in foster care, and other times, it can take several months to find the best home. It’s not usually possible to predict exactly how long a dog will be in foster care, but we’re usually able to match you up with dogs that we anticipate will get adopted within your suggested time-frame.

What happens my foster dog needs medical care?

We cover all approved medical expenses of dogs in foster care. This usually includes vaccinations, deworming, microchipping and spaying / neutering. It’s asked that foster homes provide transportation for their dogs to our chosen vet clinic, which is usually All About Cats and Dogs Veterinary Clinic in Saskatoon.

What about my other pets?

Before you take on a foster dog, we ask that you carefully evaluate the pets at your home and judge if they are likely to accept a dog for a few weeks or months.

What about vacations?

Foster homes are volunteers and are under no obligation to keep foster dogs until they’re adopted to permanent homes. We ask for as much notice as possible before you go on vacation, and we’ll send your foster dog to either another foster home or a boarding kennel at our expense.

How do dogs get adopted?

After a visitor sees a dog they like on our petfinder.com pages, they fill out the adoption application form and it’s sent to our volunteer adoption co-ordinators. If the adoption co-ordinators think that the home would be a good match for the dog, the application is sent to the foster home for their input. After everyone’s happy with the new home, the applicant pays the adoption fee (and spay/neuter deposit, if applicable) and takes the dog home.

How many dogs can be fostered at once?

As many as you have room for! Fostering dogs takes a lot of time and energy, so most people only foster one or two adults at a time. Puppies usually come in litters, so fostering an entire litter of 10 to 15 puppies is fairly common as well.

Can I choose a foster dog from your petfinder.com pages?

In most cases dogs on the website are already in foster homes. We will not move a dog to another foster home unless the foster home can’t look after the dog for some reason. Dogs are moved into foster homes as soon as they’re intake is approved by the rescue, so usually there’s not much choice in which foster dog you get.

What if I want to adopt my foster dog?

Then adopt them! Unless we’re in the middle of approving the adoption of a foster dog to another home, you can adopt your foster dog right away. The only thing to think about is that you probably won’t want to keep fostering dogs after you’ve adopted one. This means that we can’t take in as many dogs that need help. One of the hardest parts of being a foster home is saying goodbye though – we leave the choice up to you.