Every day we receive requests to re-home purebred Bullmastiffs. These requests come from families who cannot keep their companions anymore, from caring people who have found a Bullmastiff on the roadside, and, overwhelmingly, from shelters throughout the States. Many of these dogs find their way to our local and regional foster homes. We continue to have a constant and desperate need for reliable, caring temporary housing for our dogs to go to until they are ready to be adopted.

A dog coming from a shelter typically needs a great deal of love, medical care, and attention before it is ready to be adopted into a family. We rely on our foster families to provide this care.

ABA Rescue is always actively recruiting foster homes. Despite these efforts, many bullmastiffs are fostered by the same volunteers who often times find themselves overwhelmed with multiple foster dogs at one time. We need more foster homes to give each dog the time he/she needs to find his/her forever family.

• Long-term fostering (1-3 months) is our greatest need.
• Short-term fostering (1 day - 2 weeks) is also a great need. Many people find it rewarding to be a 'stop-over home' for a new dog, or an 'evaluator' for dogs we have just met.
• Transporter - help take dogs between the vet and their foster homes or pick up dogs from shelters and transport them to the available foster situation.
• Recruit other foster homes and volunteers.

• Provide a safe and nurturing environment for your foster dog.
• Provide healthy food and routine care (bath, ear cleaning, brushing, nail cutting, etc.) for your foster dog.
• Attend social events or visit public areas with your foster dog when possible (this will help prepare the foster dog for "normal" family life and helps to evaluate the dog's temperament in different situations).
• Communicate with the foster and adoption coordinators about your foster dog to help facilitate adoptions and medical care.
• Meet and communicate (mostly thru email) with prospective adoptive families. Foster homes always have the final say as to whether or not an adoption can proceed.
• Many foster families provide toys, treats and basic training for their foster dogs.

• All medical treatments and care.
• Routine flea and heartworm preventative medications.
• Information and support.
• Applications from potential adoptive families are provided by the National Rescue Coordinator.

• Fill out the Foster/Volunteer Application form. On the form, indicate that you are interested specifically in fostering.
• An ABA representative will contact you to arrange an interview and home visit.
• You will be asked to sign our Foster Home Agreement outlining the foster responsibilities and procedures.

One of the greatest joys of fostering is the day when your foster dog goes to his forever home. There is nothing to match the feeling of getting your first Christmas card from a family who adopted one of 'your' babies - with the dog in the center of the family photograph. Having the occasional photos and stories arrive in your mailbox about how this particular dog has changed someone's life. The reward is endless.

But sometimes after you have fostered a dog for a while, you come to realize that he has already found his forever home - and that it is your home! While we love to see foster dogs move into new homes, we know that sometimes a dog never leaves his foster home - it has happened to us all at one time or another. Since as a foster you have been accepted as an adequate environment for one of our needy dogs, we are delighted to know that another of our dogs has found a wonderful home.

The length of the foster period varies greatly. Some dogs stay in foster care for only a few weeks or so before they are ready to be adopted into a family. Some dogs need more time and attention either physically or psychologically or both, and some dogs just take a while to 'click' with the perfect adopter. The typical foster period is 1-3 months. You are never required to complete a single foster period, however - if you find your availability to foster is growing short, we will find another foster home.

IMPORTANT NOTE:
Settling even the most equable of dogs into a new home takes time, patience, and a structured environment. Our foster homes all rely on crate training (kenneling the dog in a indoor kennel, often called a 'crate') to provide their dogs with essential 'quiet time' and to make housetraining easier. We have found that our dogs settle into their new homes much easier if they continue to have the security of a crate or kennel. We therefore suggest and require that foster homes have a kennel or crate in the home when their new bullmastiff arrives.