Thinking about Fostering?

Thank you so much for thinking about fostering for Axarquia Animal Rescue (AAR).

Fostering really does save lives.

We only have a very small emergency place of safety for dogs and the use of a small private kennels. We therefore rely heavily on Foster carers to take our animals into their homes and give us the time we need to find their forever homes.

AAR will pay all veterinary expenses for fostered animals and we an supply any equipment that is needed. Many of our fosterers supply their own food, but we will happily supply this too. We can also contribute towards your fuel costs for any trips you need to make for your foster animal.

There are now many different options if you want to foster for AAR. You can foster full time with all our usual AAR support until your foster animal is adopted AND you can now join us as a FOSTER BUDDY!

What is a FOSTER BUDDY

• Are you keen to foster but have regular commitments that make it difficult?
• Do you need to leave your weekdays or weekends free?
• Are you keen to foster but nervous about the full time commitment?
• Would a week or 2 on and a week or 2 off suit your work pattern?
• Would it help to have ‘doggie/kitty’ day care for your foster from time to time to give you a break?
• Would you just like to offer ‘holiday’ cover for our current fosterers?

Have you thought about joining our FOSTER BUDDY scheme?

Under this scheme you’ll foster for AAR with all our usual support, but we’ll find you a foster buddy who can help with ‘doggy day care’ from time to time or take your foster on a more regular basis – maybe a week on, week off would suit you? or maybe you would just like to foster at weekends? Maybe you and a friend or neighbour would like to buddy up sharing the foster role between you?

This scheme will give you much greater flexibility to fit fostering in with your day to day life. We build the foster arrangement around you and the needs of your foster animal.

We’ll be very careful which of our dogs we match to the Foster Buddying scheme to ensure that the dogs and pups benefit from it as much as the humans. This scheme will not be suitable for our really timid and nervous animals, but many more of them will benefit from the additional socialisation and even more people to love!

Remember AAR will provide all foster equipment, food and can even contribute towards your mileage for any vet visits.

By becoming a FOSTER BUDDY you can make a real difference and enable us to help more dogs and pups in desperate need.

If you would like to help please contact us, or call Diane on 691 961 429 and we can chat through the options that will work for you.

Why Foster For AAR?

Fostering an animal is one of the most rewarding experiences you can have (other than adopting of course!). By fostering you:

• enable AAR to take that animal on our books and do our very best to find it a forever home
• free up a kennel space so that we can take on another animal in desperate need
• help us learn more about the animal so that we can find them the best possible forever home
• socialise the animal in your home environment and give them the very best chances of being adopted

What is a Foster Home?

For a young puppy or kitten a foster home is a very important place. It’s the place where he will learn love, trust and will feel safe and secure, the main things he needs to grow into a great companion for his future forever family. And you, the foster family, will have a wonderful experience watching him grow, learn and develop as well as enjoying his company.

For an adult abandoned dog or cat, a foster home will be the place where he will begin to feel loved again and to trust humans again.

You will have the support of the AAR Team, a dedicated caseworker for 'your' animal who will be in constant communication with you, and we will provide you all the necessary equipment and food for the animal’s care.

We are looking for different foster homes according to what you feel you can manage, but mainly in Axarquia Area.

Please, if you feel you can share your life with a foster dog or cat and give him love and a temporary home, just let us know.

Take your pick from the many animals we have:

• Puppies: male/female hand-rear (we only home these in 2's) or older big/small sizes, single placement or more
• Dogs: male/female, large/small, single placement or more
• Cats/Kittens: male/female, single placement or more

If you would like to help please contact us telling us a little about yourself, your family, your home, your experience with animals, and your preferences, and we will make an appointment to visit you.

Many thanks.

What Makes A Good Foster Carer?

There is no perfect profile for a foster carer. You may already have pets or this may be the first time you have shared your life with an animal. You may live in a campo house with lots of land or you may live in an apartment in a town or village. The most important thing a good foster carer has is the willingness to open up their heart and their home to a foster animal.

All you need is a heart of gold. We will help with all the practical issues, cover any direct costs for the animal and provide you with any guidance that you need.

What Type Of Animal Is Best For Me To Foster?

AAR will work with you to identify the best match. We will get to know you and your lifestyle and preferences and then match you up with the right foster animal for you.

For example if you live in a small apartment then a big and bouncy dog may not be the best match, whereas an older and calmer dog could be perfect.

Your preferences about the type of animal you want to foster are very important to us and we will do our very best to meet them. Some people only want to foster ‘bottle feeding’ babies, others want to foster active and healthy animals, others want to help an animal with special needs to flourish and overcome their obstacles. Some of our foster carers only do emergency care (for just a few days), others do short term (few weeks) or long term care. Some only do one month every few months. Fostering is totally flexible and we will work with you to fit it around your existing commitments and lifestyle.

How Does It Work In Practice?

First we talk with you to identify your experience (it doesn’t matter if you don’t have any!), preferences and the best fit for your lifestyle. We always do a home check for all new foster carers. All our animals are precious and it is vital to us that we get to know you a little better. We also look at practical issues during the home check – for example if you have low fencing then a Podenco may not be the right dog for you. If you have two males then a female may be a better fit. We will also put you in contact with other foster carers who are more than happy to share their experiences with you.

Once the home check is successfully completed we will take all the information and discuss the best fit foster animals for you. We will of course take on board your time constraints and preferences. We then issue you a foster contract for that particular animal.

Depending on the case, it may be possible for you to meet your proposed foster animal beforehand. For example, if you already have a dog, it is often a good idea to meet with the foster dog in a neutral area and just go for a walk to see how the dogs interact.

Once your foster animal is at home with you then their AAR Caseworker will be your main point of contact. Our Caseworkers are responsible for all aspects of the animal, from making sure you have any equipment you need, such as leads, harnesses or puppy/kitten crates; to arranging the animals vaccination schedules, advertising them for adoption and arranging their travel to their new forever homes. Your Caseworker will also be able to give you advice and guidance on anything you need such as how to feed a tiny puppy through to the best ways to motivate and stimulate an older animal.

We also have comprehensive guides such as Successful Fostering, Bottle Feeding, Socialising Puppies, How to Take Great Pictures of your Foster Animal and many more.

For additional support we have a Foster Carers Group on Facebook. This is a closed community just for our foster parents and is a great place to exchange ideas, views and just chat about your foster animal. We also hold a monthly foster meeting at Trapiche Market (near Torre Del Mar) where all our fosterers and their foster dogs are welcome for a chat and coffee – it’s a great way of socialising the dogs as well.

As a foster carer, aside from caring for the animal as you would your own pet, we do ask you to do a few things for us. Make sure your foster dog is out and about with you as much as possible – we will provide you with an AAR ID tag for them and an ‘Adopt Me’ coat/bandana. Visiting local dog parks and markets is a great way to get people interested in them. Get as many good pictures and videos as you can – these are invaluable for helping us advertise your foster animal. Keep your Caseworker up to date on your animal’s progress, their character and personality and little stories of their day to day lives. Expose your animal to as many different experiences as you can – for example get a dog used to the car, walking on a lead and learning basic commands. Get cats used to a cat flap, interacting with other animals and getting used to other people. If you get any enquiries direct about your foster animal then pass them onto your Caseworker. We have a strict adoption process and your Caseworker will follow up all enquiries.

AAR will pay for all your foster animals vet treatment, vaccinations and neutering. We will provide you with any equipment you may need such as puppy crates, bedding, lead/harness and can even provide food if you need us to.

Once your foster animal is reserved for adoption, we undertake home checks no matter what country they live in. Your Caseworker will work with the new family to arrange any travel or transport, keeping you in the loop at all times.

How Can I Bear To Let Them Go?

This is the question we most often get asked. To be a good foster carer you need to give that animal your time, love and care, and a natural and positive consequence of that is that saying goodbye is hard.

The sad fact is that if our kennel spaces are full, and we cannot find a fosterer, then we are unable to help an animal in need.

Remember it is easier to say goodbye to an animal who is starting the rest of their lives with their wonderful forever family. In many cases if you had not fostered that animal then we would not have been able to help them. You really are saving a life.

Our network of foster carers, as well as AAR and your Caseworker will give you all the support possible. Remember, fostering is a wonderful way to help more than just one animal. Many of our fosterers go on to foster time and time again. Their hearts break a little each time their foster animal goes to their new home, but the next foster animal quickly fills that gap with love.

We also have a Foster Co-Ordinator who is on hand for any questions and queries that you may have.

There are no hard-and-fast rules for how many animals you have to foster or how long you must wait before taking in a new foster. You're doing a great thing by opening up your home, so don't feel guilty when your dog gets adopted and you suddenly find yourself with a little more free time. You tell us when you are ready to foster again.

Many of our foster carers develop friendships with the new parents of their foster animals (even when their animal is adopted outside of Spain), and receive ongoing updates and pictures – even Christmas and Valentines cards from the animals themselves! It is hard to remain sad when you can see the love and joy of their new families and how loved, happy and settled the animals are.

From time to time foster carers find that they just can’t part with their foster animal (and that is OK!) so long as you tell us as soon as you are considering adopting.

Next Steps?

We hope you have found this information on fostering useful and we will be keeping our fingers and toes crossed that you decide to come and join our fostering team.

Thank you, and remember: Fostering Saves Lives.

Here are just a few comments from some of our existing wonderful foster carers: