Fostering guidlines

If you would like to foster for Friends of Ben, the following guidelines must be followed:

• You must be 18 years old or over

• A homecheck must be carried out by one of the Moderators or by a trusted member of the forum

• Your house must have a secure garden or an enclosure where the dog can be kept safe when not supervised

• If the dog requires medical attention you will have to notify Friends of Ben immediately

• You must acknowledge the responsibilities of getting a dog with an unknown background and be prepared to face the challenges that this can bring – e.g. you can get a very easy dog that is no trouble at all, or you can get a dog with a severe separation anxiety that barks all night and destroys your house!

• If you have any problem with the dog you must notify Friends of Ben immediately and we will decide what is the best option for the dog

• When you take a foster dog in, you must advised Friends of Ben about your time availability to keep the dog – e.g. let us know if you have any holidays booked, etc.

• If your home is not suitable for the dog, we will take the dog back. However, please note that it might take 1-2 days before we can sort an alternative accommodation for the dog. This is of course if the dog does not represent a danger for you and your family or for him/herself.

• If you have other pets – dogs or cats – please make sure that your pets are dog-friendly and would accept a new temporary member in the family. This is in the best interest not only of the rescue dog but also your own dogs/cats. We also require your pets to be healthy and fully vaccinated.

• If you are fostering a pup or a non-fully vaccinated dog, we ask you not to foster other dogs which have not been fully vaccinated (e.g. dogs coming straight from the pound).

• We do not permit the use of negative training methods on any of the dogs in foster care, e.g. prong collars, choke and pinch collars, electronic collars. Please contact the Admin team if you are unsure or if you have any training issue with the dog in your care.

• Any fosterer can always decide to adopt the dog – in this case please let Friends of Ben know as soon as possible so that a rescue space is not kept when it could be used to save another dog.

• If you know of someone interested in adopting the dog, please pass the details of the interested party to the Friends of Ben team and normal adoption procedures will apply.

• You cannot rehome a dog directly without Friends of Ben permission and without following Friends of Ben adoption procedures.

• Friends of Ben will advertise the dogs in foster care on Friends of Ben forum and other website approved by the Admin team. Please DO NOT advertise Friends of Ben dogs on other website without the approval of the Admin team.

• Friends of Ben has a non-destruction and no-return to the pound policy. That means that when a dog is taken out under Friends of Ben care, the dog will not be brought back to the pound in any circumstance. The only exception to our non-destruction policy is when it is in the best interest of the dog and under recommendation of a vet.