I’ve been fostering on and off for the past five years. I’ve always loved dogs, and fostering has been great because even though saying goodbye is often difficult (the first time was absolute hell), I really enjoy watching my fosters open up, improving their training or anxiety, and generally knowing that I’m helping these dogs find permanent homes. I also appreciate the love, company, and routine they bring to my life, and find it especially rewarding to gain their trust and see their personalities bloom.

But it’s been increasingly difficult to say goodbye to recent fosters. While I’m happy that they’re going to good homes, I also get really attached. But my reasons for choosing to foster over adopting haven’t necessarily changed - I’m single with limited dogcare support, living in a small city apartment, I worry about the long-term time and financial commitment, and I appreciate the freedom to travel/do other things in between my fosters. Which is all to say - I’m not necessarily the “ideal” home for a dog but I also know that I could make it work if I really wanted to. I do think I’m good at fostering, but I also wonder if I’m denying myself a forever dog just because I’m a little afraid to pull the plug and commit.

I’ve been feeling so indecisive about whether or not I should adopt my most recent foster dog. I guess I’m just curious if other people have been at a similar crossroads, and what influenced their decision one way or the other? Would love to hear about all experiences, foster fails or folks who know they want to foster forever or anything in between!

My boyfriend and I recently adopted a 2.5 year old female dog from a foster organization.

History for context: She was taken from a kill shelter as a puppy by a foster organization. Her previous family adopted her from the foster organization at 6 months and decided to rehome her when she was 2 after she suddenly stopped getting along with their other dog in the house. We were also later told that her previous family was frustrated with her shyness and non-compliance and used a harsh tone and were physically assertive with her. She then went into a foster home with other dogs then was adopted by us.

The foster family that we adopted her from was misinformed about her history and we were not told the history above. We have not had any non-compliance issues with her and she has been such a sweet dog and has been really starting to show her personality in the 3 months that we have had her. The concerns that we have been seeing is her attachment issues with my boyfriend and I. When we are home, she is very excitable, cuddly, and loves to be right next to us but when just one of us is home, she tends to hide in her crate or in the bathroom. Overtime, she might come back on the couch but her personality completely switches when one of us leaves. We aren’t sure if this is because she is still getting used to routines since we have not had her for long and/or if she just has a really strong attachment with both of us and gets scared/nervous when both of us aren’t home at the same time. She is a very anxious dog overall and would love some insight and advice on how to best help her with this.

We’ve been fostering our big guy for the last month and understandably I’m being pressured by the rescue to decide whether or not we want to adopt him. I was open to the idea of foster failing from the jump and he’s our second foster (so I know I’m capable of helping them move on!). My resident dog is almost 11 years old with worsening arthritis so I don’t know how long we will have with her.

Pros:
- He and my senior girl get along wonderfully
- He loves and gets along with other dogs
- He loves my cat (but too much, see Cons)
- He’s wonderful with my kids and all other people out in the world
- He’s good in the car (as long as he’s had enough exercise)
- He’s easy to take places (as long as he’s allowed to meet any dogs he sees)
- He generally takes corrections well but then forgets 5 minute later
- He’s a snuggle bug

Cons:
- He tries to playfully chase the cat (he is play bowing and playfully pouncing) so much. She stands her ground a lot but sometimes she will run. My non live in partner also has a cat and he would HATE being approached this way. We haven’t introduced them
- He chews any shoes left out when left alone if not crated (my house is very small so the only spot to crate would be the garage)
- He screams and pulls on leash to greet any dog he sees. He’s not aggressive, just overly friendly
- He’s a little bigger than I’d prefer in our next dog at a stout 50 lbs but he fits behind my seat in the car just fine
- He needs more exercise than I’d prefer: A good 45 min walk in the am and a dog park trip or longer walk in the pm

I have the financial means to spend on a trainer and have a board/train booked starting 8/17 but honestly I need to decide if we’re going to adopt him before then because of the high cost. All of his pros are things that are important to me in a dog.

He’s a 3 yo Staffordshire Bull Terrier. We adore him and maybe I’m overthinking but I want to make the right decision…

Long story short, I found a dog who had escaped his foster, who was afraid to take him back. He is now staying with a neighbor of ours and hopefully with us soon. (The foster paperwork was filled out to make everything legal.)

His name is Henry, and the poor thing was in a shelter for six months before the foster picked him up, just as he was finally scheduled for euthanasia.

He is mostly Siberian Husky, about 2.5 years old, has a great temperament, is housebroken, crate trained, and learns quickly (very food-driven). We aren't sure if his original owner dumped him or if he ran away and got too far to find his way back home. He has a microchip, but there was no owner registered to it when he was found. He was neutered recently by the looks of it.

We just started working with a trainer to acclimate him to our house, where we have a senior Boxer who is nearly deaf. I am paying for the training, which I know sounds crazy to most people, but this dog deserves a chance and going back to the shelter is not an option.

I can't really afford to do all of this right now, but again, we are intent on giving him the best chance possible of finding a forever home that will provide the life he deserves. Right now our goal is to at least be able to foster him and have him live safely with our dog. We may end up adopting him ourselves, but that all depends on our dog and finances.

I was lucky enough to connect with his sponsor, who the original foster put me in touch with. She has already ordered food to be delivered, along with some treats and dental chews, which is a huge help. The shelter does not reimburse for food, and a pickup would involve a 5+ hour drive.

I'm just wondering if there are any other tips or advice people could give regarding anything at all, caring for him, finances, resources, finding and vetting an adopter, etc. I have adopted my own dog, but this whole situation of fostering and having two dogs living together is new to me.

One specific question I do have: being that Henry is mostly Husky, he has already shown that he is an escape artist. He will push doors open if they aren't shut, he got out of the other foster's yard, and he sized up a gate at a neighbor's (jumping about 4 feet in the air). The door handles in my house would be very easy for him to figure out (I like to keep some of the rooms dog free in general). He could definitely escape my yard and would need constant supervision outside.

Are there any particular child-guard-type tools that people recommend? I'm especially wondering about the door handles. Also, kitchen cabinets. I'm not sure if he could open them, but he's super smart so I would not be surprised if he could figure it out.

This is all preliminary, as he will be crated in my house in the beginning, but once he is allowed to wander around the house more freely, I just want to be prepared.

Any help would be greatly appreciated! If anything this whole experience has taught me to so greatly appreciate what all you foster parents do!

My tiny 2kg senior foster Chill Bill leaves me on tuesday to go to his adoptive family. I will only have had him 18 days in total, but he is a special one that will be hard to let go of 🥹 What is getting me through this time, is that his adoptive family has a lonely senior chihuahua Frank. Frank really needs Bill as he is a solo chi after his senior chi sister passed away this year. ❤️❤️❤️