WE NEED FOSTERS

Attention potential foster family:

Daily, we are forced to turn away a huge number of great dogs from high-kill shelters, because we don't have enough foster homes to accommodate them. Many of the dogs would be highly adoptable and would probably be placed quickly, but without the foster openings, we must turn them away.

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Please consider fostering, even if only for one time. Maybe you could only do it for a few nights. If you have friends who are thinking about getting a dog, fostering would be a good first step for them. If you know people who love dogs but travel too much or don't want to make a long-term commitment, fostering might be a very satisfying alternative.

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So many dogs are in jeopardy right now because people are losing their jobs and their homes. Please consider fostering, and please help us to come up with ideas for getting new foster homes.

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Our foster homes are an essential entity of our rescue. Without foster homes, we can not operate. If you are interested in a lab or lab mix this is a perfect way to find out if you are ready. We do have some requirements and an application process. As we need and value you for this rescue to run, we will work with your needs, as well as the needs of your family, to make the transition of fostering a dog easy and smooth. We will also work with your time frames and do as much of the leg work as you need us to do. Please select the links below to see the requirements and fill out an application. The requirements are a guideline and our perfect foster would look like this, however, our lives are hectic and these dogs need to be saved so we are completely understanding and WILL WORK WITH YOU! Keep this in mind while reading.

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What types of animals need foster care?

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Lots and lots of happy, grateful Labs of all ages that are just victims of bad circumstances.

By providing temporary foster care to a Lab in need, you're helping to ensure a bright future. Without foster care, many Labs will not survive. There are little or no out-of-pocket costs to providing foster care, and you don't have to be an 'expert' about animals. MHLRM provides medication and veterinary care, foster training and support, and a fabulous "Meet-N-Greet" program. As a foster care provider, you're asked to give love, food, care, and time in a safe and nurturing environment. Each case is different. The length of time a Lab will spend in foster care depends upon that animal's age, and condition. The success of our organization is directly affected by the number of foster homes we have available. Fosters are essential in providing a loving environment for our rescued Labs, to assess their personalities, and placing them in forever homes. The more active foster homes we have on our roster, the more Labs we can give a new leash on life!

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In ALL cases, you're giving a Lab the second chance he deserves.

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Young or newborn puppies and pregnant females.

With "breeding season" basically never-ending across the country with irresponsible folks that don't spay/neuter their dogs, we need foster-care providers for Labs about to give birth to new litters of babies, as well as young and newborn puppies who are not old enough to go up for adoption. We will move the puppies to other foster homes as soon as their mother is not caring for them any longer.

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Sick, injured, or abused animals.

Imagine having a very bad cold, a broken leg, a serious burn, or other treatable medical condition, but no one to help or no place to go while you recover. That is the fate of thousands of Labs who arrive at area shelters each year. Without a secure place to stay temporarily, and someone to feed them and care for them (and in some cases, administer medication or change bandages) these Labs may not survive. Our rescue vets work hard to give each dog the same loving care you would want your pets to have, but there is a limit to how long they can house our injured Labs. New patients arrive every day; for them to receive the immediate, lifesaving care they need, we must move other recovering patients to another safe and nurturing location such as a temporary foster-care home.

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You don't have to be a veterinarian to care for a sick, injured, or abused Lab. You simply need to provide tender, loving care under the direction of our Rescue Veterinarians and Lead Volunteers. It's important to note that we will never place a Lab patient with a foster-care provider who is not willing or able to provide the necessary level of care.

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Foster home requirements and policies:

Mile High Labrador Retriever Mission is solely dependent on our foster homes. We truly appreciate them and could not exist without them. This is what we ask of our foster homes. We can negotiate from time to time on these requirements to enable all parties involved to benefit. From the time the dog comes to your home, they are a true addition to your home. We wish that you could and be able to do anything and everything as if this dog were your own, but we know that as this isn't your dog we cannot expect this of you all the time. Whatever you can do yourself truly helps us and helps the dog. Some of the things that we need, but are not required, include taking the dog to any vet appointment needed and providing information about your foster dog to foster coordinators approved adoption applicants. We have multiple vets in CO and TX that you can use for your foster dog and we are always looking to add more vets. You are required to use one of our approved vets. This is because we have worked out a particular deal with our vets to save money on any vetting done in the rescue.

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As far as expenses, we will cover the vet bills at the rescue vet and dog food for that particular foster dog. We will supply our foster home with a crate if they need one. If other supplies are needed please contact a foster coordinator.

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We recommend a crate so that the dog does not chew or have accidents in your house. If you do choose to let them sleep loose at night or while you are not home it is at the discretion of the foster home. It is important that a dog gets used to a crate so we highly encourage crate training while the dog is in your possession. This is not only to ensure that wherever they are adopted to can continue on with this without a huge transition but also to ensure that dog's safety, while they are getting used to the new home. If a particular dog is having issues with catching on, we can suggest techniques and ways to handle it. We don't require but encourage the foster homes to work with the basic commands of the dogs. Some dogs come to you without any training at all, and by the time they are adopted out, we aim for them to be housebroken at least. Any commands above and beyond that (sit, stay, come.. etc) are not expected but appreciated. After a major surgery, your foster dog MUST be kept quiet/inactive for the required amount of time. Even if they seem fine after 2-3 days, they are still healing internally and they need to be kept quiet. This means, NO dog park time, leash walks only, and very limited play time in the house. We have had a few dogs take a while to recover from surgery and it's harder than we think for them. We want to ensure they are in the best shape we can when adopted out, so this is very important in their healing process. Whatever the vet recommends, you will be expected to do, whether that's wearing an E-collar, keeping their incision clean and dry, or anything else. We appreciate the time you take to care for them!!!!

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Another minor thing we ask of the foster homes is that once they have had their foster dog for a few days, write up a short summary of your foster dog as well as take some pictures, so the website can be updated. Potential adopters love to read personal things about the dogs as well as see lots of pictures. We appreciate it if you could do this for every dog that comes in. As we grow, it gets harder and harder for one rescue director to keep track of it all. We take great pride in our reputation and because our foster homes mean so much to us, we do everything to ensure that they are involved in the entire adoption process for their foster dogs. We do want our foster homes to be as involved in the adoption process as they want to be. If the foster home is not happy with the potential adopter we will consider that.

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Take the next step!

To become a foster care provider, please click here to complete an application.

Please don't delay... Labs in need are waiting for you! Give a Lab a New Leash on Life!

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