Fostering a Golden

How about sharing your love and home with a Golden in need? We have a lot of Goldens coming into our care…around 200 each year! Every Golden who comes to us needs a foster home. Fostering a Golden (from a few weeks to a couple of months, sometimes longer…you can specify your time commitment) and helping them through a transitional phase is an incredibly rewarding feeling because you’re the first step towards their new life. We need foster homes throughout Canada.

Foster Application Form

We appreciate your interest in our foster care program. Golden Rescue is always looking for loving, caring people to foster our Goldens and to assess them while they are waiting for their new forever families.

We particularly need foster families who:

Are willing to foster Goldens with medical or behavioural issues (we will provide as much support as you need)
Are willing to foster a pair, as we will not split up bonded pairs
Don’t have other pets in-house

If you are interested in fostering, please fill out the online foster application. Once you’ve filled out the application, a volunteer will contact you to clarify any points, answer any questions you might have, and arrange a home visit.

Watch What it Feels Like to Foster

Voir le formulaire en français

Foster Application

Preliminary Agreements

BEFORE completing this application, please check the agreement box below to indicate that you have read and agree with each of the following statements:

In the best interest of all concerned, we feel it is prudent not to place foster Goldens in a home with small children under 8 years of age.
I understand that some of the Goldens come with little or no history and that although Golden Rescue screens all intakes to the best of their abilities, behavioural issues still may appear.
A home visit is required where all family members are to be present before a foster Golden can be placed in your care.
As a foster parent for Golden Rescue, I commit to fostering at least 3 Goldens before I adopt one of my fosters.
A securely fenced yard is necessary, unless you are committed to having your Golden on a leash at all times while outside. Goldens with poor recall cannot be placed in homes without fenced yards.
The Golden must not be left alone longer than eight hours at any given time. Dog walkers or neighbours are a great solution.
I acknowledge that the information contained in this form is true and correct to the best of my knowledge. I understand that any misrepresentation of facts may result in the removal of the fostered Golden from my home by Golden Rescue.

I have read and agree with all of the statements above

Personal Information

Full Name Email address Country Street Address City

State:

Province/Territory:

Postal/Zip Primary Phone Cell/Secondary Phone

Family & Household Information

Number of people in the home Occupation(s) and age(s) Is anyone in the house allergic to Goldens? Is everyone in the house in agreement to fostering a Golden? How many hours is an adult home during the day? Do you have a fully fenced yard? What style of house do you live in? Please describe the size of your yard (or the fenced area) How high is the fence? Please tell us about everyone’s experience with dogs (or other pets) If you have children: Have they been exposed to dogs before? On a scale from 1-10 (1 = No Experience), rate how Golden savvy are they?

Golden Care

Where would the Golden be kept during the day? Where would the Golden be kept during the night? How many hours per day would the Golden usually be left alone? Do you have a dog-walker/sitter picked out?

Who will be responsible for training and care? Who will be the caregiver in the event of vacation or special circumstances? What would be a reasonable amount of time per day that you could exercise a Golden?

What adjustments might you need to make to your present lifestyle in order to accommodate a Golden? Please describe your experience with dogs with respect to raising, housetraining, etc. What experience have you had specifically with Golden Retrievers? Have you been involved in dog-related activities? Would you be willing to attend educational seminars/classes to improve your knowledge of Golden behaviour? Describe your attitude towards training a dog and modifying unwanted behaviours.

Current Pets

Do you currently have dogs?

If so, please provide breed, gender, spaying/ neutering and vaccination information.

Do you currently have any pets besides dogs?

If so, please let us know what kind of pets:

Please let us know the details of any pet or pets you have had that have died due to an accident or infectious illness

Fostering and Training Questions

How long (days, weeks, etc.) might you be willing to keep a Golden in foster care?

Would you foster a pair of Goldens?

Would you foster a Golden with special needs?

Would you foster a Golden with behavioural issues?

Would you be willing to have us visit you? Please note all family members would need to be present. Where did you hear about Golden Rescue? Would you be interested in becoming a volunteer with Golden Rescue?

References

Vet Reference

Please discuss this with your vet ahead of time, and ask them to put a note on your file authorizing them to speak with Golden Rescue as a reference for you. Full Name Office Email address Country Street Address City

State

Province/Territory

Postal/Zip Phone Fax Years of Use

Personal Reference

References may include co-workers, neighbours, friends, and relatives. If this is a secondary vet reference please discuss this with your vet ahead of time. Full Name Email address Country Street Address City

State

Province/Territory

Postal/Zip Phone Fax Relationship