There are many reasons why residents in the Toronto/Hamilton, Ontario areas do not buy or adopt a Shih Tzu, even if they love them. For example, in many families today it is essential that both partners work for a living, giving them little time to attend to a pet’s needs.
A great alternative in such cases is to foster a pet instead to see if the dog would be a good fit for your family. At the same time, you would be offering shelter and love to a dog that otherwise would not have those things while waiting to be adopted. Toronto Dogs lists a number of not-for-profit organizations such as 4 Legged Love, Helping Homeless Pets and Caring Canine where you might find a suitable pet to foster in your home.
In Hamilton, foster homes for dogs are urgently needed. By telephone on March 9, Cindy Smith, a member of Ugly Mutts, said this organization conducts an in-home visit to ensure a suitable match for their dogs and potential foster homes. She noted that people who work during the day don’t want a puppy that needs to be let out often to do its business or a hyperactive dog that needs a lot of walking.
“If you have small kids, we won’t want to give you a dog that’s too rambunctious,” she said.
Though the rescue group is called Ugly Mutts, the dogs they receive from shelters in Ontario and one in the United States, as well as owner surrendered pets, are anythng but. Smith noted that Karlene Whitman has worked with the shelter for a number of years and receives about 20 healthy dogs each month, including Shih Tzus.
“Ugly Mutts is very careful about selecting the dogs that go into foster care,” Smith said adding that before they are placed in foster homes the dogs have their vaccinations updated and are “fully” vetted. “If they need to be spayed or neutered, that’s done too.”
Smith has fostered some of those dogs herself and noted that those who needed it are trained before they go to someone’s home. She added that the dogs can even be delivered to your home if necessary.
“I’m open to taking any kind of dog but others should be very clear about what their boundaries are.”
If you are considering fostering a dog, Smith said the best thing you can do is “keep an open mind. You never know what dog is coming through the door.”
However, she noted that Ugly Mutts is careful not to place aggressive or sick dogs with inexperienced fosters. She said one dog that was brought to her was returned to rescue, placed with a more experienced foster and later adopted.
“I loved this dog but she was alpha.” In the right home however she became “laid back.” She’s perfect.”
Potential foster families need to have patience while the dog becomes accustomed to your home and those who live there. They must also be willing to be responsible pet owners making sure the dog’s needs are met.
In return, she said, Ugly Mutts will keep you informed all the way. While you might have the dog in your home for a short time, they know that people often become attached to animals quickly and want to know how they’re doing after they’re adopted.
“They’re really good at staying in touch,” Smith said. “They keep an open line of communication. I am really impressed.”
Ugly Mutts Dog Rescue, a no-kill, not-for-profit organization, is run by experienced volunteers and has been in operation since 1997. Fostering dogs is a temporary solution, of course, with the ultimate goal being to adopt them into loving homes. In the past four years alone, nearly 500 dogs have been placed.
If you would like to become a foster family for a dog in need of a home, send an email to info@uglymutts.com and ask for a foster application form. You can also find the application on their web site.
Although there are no set criteria for fostering, the questions asked on the application form give the organization a good idea as to your prior pet experience and what you’re looking for.
Everything you would need for your foster dog is supplied by Ugly Mutts. The only thing you need to supply is “love.”
Comments
yeah, its sad that there are alot of animals with no homes. But with todays lifestyles, it definitly makes it harder to find time.
What's sad is that Ugly Mutt HAS adopted out sick and aggressive dogs. We rescued our guy from UM four months ago. He was diagnosed with demodectic mange not a week after returning home with us and he has become aggressive with us, our neighbours, our other dog, and virtually anything else he deems a threat, i.e.: bikes. UM fostered our dog for less than 2 weeks before adopting him to us -- a time frame MUCH TOO SHORT to assess any dog's behaviour or overall health. We are incredibly disappointed with Ugly Mutts, and their response to the situation when we approached them for help. We are now faced with hiring a behaviourist to deal with his anxiety and aggression issues, costing us almost double what we paid to adopt the dog in the first place. Do your research before adopting a dog from ANY rescue, but especially from Ugly Mutts.
It's not true--they don't do home visits before letting you adopt.
This is true: we were not allowed to view, handle or bond with the dog for more than 30 minutes before the foster Mom insisted we make a decision. Naively, we trusted UM and their assessment of both us and the dog, and our mutual fit. Needless to say, this was a mistake.
I fostered for UM and found it very disappointing as well. It is great that they are saving these dogs lives but I don't think they assess the animals porperly nor do I feel that they offer much support to the fosters. Some of their dogs are definitely agressive and the foster might have the dog for a day before he is adopted to some unsuspecting family. Not enough time to determine if the dog is safe around children or other pets. Some have been known to bite adults, never mind children. I applaud their efforts in helping these poor dogs on death row in kill shelters, but I do not think they spend nearly enough time assessing the dogs personalities. I also find that the little bios of the dogs on the website are not acurate. They might advertise the dog as being fully house broken or able to remain at home alone for a normal work day and I found that this was absolutely not true in a lot of cases.
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