COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — The Foster-to-Adopt program at the Franklin County Dog Shelter and Adoption Center has been in place for years.
Late in 2021, the shelter began using the program regularly. It has become a great way for potential adopters to find their forever four-legged friend. Plus, fostering a dog helps the shelter gain important information to help the dog get adopted.
The shelter’s first choice, in most cases, is adoption. The fostering program is a great way for interested adopters to figure out if a pup is going to fit in their home and with their children or other pets.
The reasons dogs need fosters are pretty basic. Each dog that comes into the shelter must get a medical evaluation. Sometimes, the dogs need serious treatment, which can range from surgery to isolation. The foster program gives the dog time to recover from a procedure and get extra loving attention from a family. Of course, the family may just want to adopt him or her.
“People can foster to adopt. So that gives them the opportunity to make sure everything is good at home, the dog gets along with their other pets, and that it’s a good fit for them,” foster coordinator Ivy Dorow said. “Fostering doesn’t cost anything to the foster; we supply all of the supplies along the way.
The dog will need time to understand the rules of the home and need time to decompress while getting a break from the shelter.
“So that gives us a lot of information that really helps people picture the dog in their home versus seeing them in a more stressed state,” Dorow said. “It gives us a better picture of what their true personality is like.”
The information from the fosters is then used in descriptions on the dog’s profile page on the shelter’s adoption website.
More than 200 dogs are being fostered in Franklin County. There are more than 100 dogs at the shelter during any time period, so fostering an animal can help greatly during any time of the year.
You can learn how the program works and even find dogs that are available to foster by clicking here.
