Foster Application – why we do what we do!

Recently we have received comments from people about our foster application process.  I just wanted to take a minute and explain why we do what we do!

First, we must have all fosters complete the foster application.  This collects some basic information: name, address, household members.  This is required by the Department of Agriculture that we have record of our foster homes.  This application information allows us to review to make sure there are no breed restrictions in the residence area and the foster or individuals living in the home do not have any animal welfare citations.

Second, we check 2 provided personal reference and a veterinarian reference.  The personal references are good because it gives us additional insight into foster habits with pets.  The veterinarian reference is very important for 2 reasons.  We need to ensure there are no concerns with resident pets and that resident pets are up-to-date on vaccinations.  The pets we rescue have unknown medical histories much of the time, so we want to make sure our fosters’ own pets have the defense they need against potential illnesses.

Finally, the home visit.  We do the home visit because we want to know what sort of environment our pets are going into for their stay with STLPR.  Trust me, we are not looking to make sure the laundry is folded and the silver polished!  We just want to make sure the potential foster home will be a safe and comfortable place!

There were additional comments about if the pets are going to be put down, why not just get them placed with anyone willing to take them.  Unfortunately, in Missouri, pet overpopulation is a serious issue.  We want to make sure our foster pets go into home where they will be kept indoors (dogs only outdoors with proper containment and supervision), fed a healthy diet and monitored for any health issues that might arise, and if they do, take them to the affiliated vet asap! Our region has been plagued with individuals ‘adopting’ pets off of Craigslist or signing up to foster with rescue organizations, then selling the pets to laboratories for testing.

Thank you for understanding our process so we can safely rescue the pets in need!

Visit our foster page for more information or to find out how you can become a foster.