We work with foster families in the Waipa, Hamilton and near by surrounding areas only as this is close to where our team, vet clinics, trainers and support network are based.

If you're wanting to foster but aren't in our area, look for rescues close to your home - there are many wonderful rescues desperate for amazing foster homes!

You sure can! Ideally you'd be away from home for no more than 8 hours a day, but if you're able to spend time with your foster pup before you head to work taking them for a walk or having a good play session before you head out, then most dogs will be fine while you're at work.

Some dogs will require someone home during the day but we'll make sure to find a Poundie that is a good fit for your lifestyle.

All of them! You don't pay for anything! Whether your foster dog needs food, vet treatment or training, we cover it all.

Sure can. We'd just need something in writing from your landlord stating that you're allowed to foster/have a dog on the property.

No, not at all.  If you do, that's fantastic! But we don't require it. We provide loads of information and support to all our foster parents and we always make sure to carefully match any of our Poundies to the foster home so that it sets everyone up for success.

Our team are here to help with anything you'll need while you're fostering. You'll be assigned a Foster Coordinator who will look after you, answer any questions you might have and generally support you and your foster dog with whatever you may need help with while you have them in care.

There will be a little bit of training involved, but we're here to support you with that too.

All our Poundies are expected to be crate trained (unless under exceptional circumstances). This gives them a safe place to settle and feel safe and also helps with their transition from foster to forever home.

We love when our foster parents teach the basics manners like sit, down, stay and work on leash training. These commands take time and consistency but we're right there with you to provide full support and help with this.

The main focus for our Poundies is to make sure they're mentally healthy, without anxiety or any other behavioural issues so we provide our foster homes with the tools they need to make sure their Poundie is doing the very best it can. We also have trainers we call on for those trickier cases.

Sure can! Foster homes with kids, dogs, cats and other animals are great for dogs and puppies to learn all about new things. 

We do make sure to match all our Poundies to foster homes that are a great fit for them and this means some may not suit homes with kids, cats or other dogs.

Generally we recommend that you wait till your kids are over the age of 5 before fostering an adult dog, however younger kids can work great with puppies.

As the majority of the Poundies that come into our care are still entire (not desexed) until they're IN our care (we get them desexed pretty quickly once they're with us), foster homes - if they have dogs - with dogs who are already desexed are preferred. We don't want any accidental litters!

Sure do! We have a fab team of trainers we work with that are there to help our Poundies who may need an extra hand along their journey. We also offer support through our Foster Group on facebook and a whole raft of super experienced foster parents who are there to help with support on any training issues you might be having too.

Absolutely! We do have to make sure it's the right fit for you and for the Poundie, but we have some amazing foster homes that have adopted their Poundies. 

Kind of... We only take in Poundies if we have space, but when we meet a Poundie that we'd like to bring into care, we contact our available foster parents who we think may be a good match for that Poundie and ask if you'd like to foster them.

We also have a facebook group that is only for our foster parents. We post up Poundies needing foster homes in there as well, you can put your hand up there too if you think you'd like to take them on.

It's super important to us to ensure we're matching our Poundies to foster homes that are going to be a great fit. This makes it way less stressful for your family and also for the foster dog, ensuring it's a successful and rewarding time for all of you. We want everyone to succeed.

We don't want to stop anyone from enjoying time away so we do our best to accommodate all our foster parents where we can. Sometimes it can take some time to find an alternative foster situation that will work for the Poundie in question, so as long as you're able to give us plenty of notice, we will work really hard to arrange alternative care for your foster dog. Depending on the time of year, the length of notice required will vary.

Some of our foster parents even like to take their foster puppers with them!

The majority of our Poundie are in the pound because they've been found wandering. For this reason you will need to have good, secure, dog proof fencing in order to foster for us. 

HOWEVER, "secure" can be different for every dog - puppies have different needs to large adult dogs and small breed dogs have different requirements to working breeds. This is where matching a Poundie to your home comes in again.

We have town foster homes and foster parents in rural areas also. Tell us all about your property fencing in your application - and if you're rural, how you intend to keep your Poundie secure and on the property - and we can have a chat about whether fostering a Poundie with your fencing will work.

We like our Poundies to live and sleep inside the home with their foster families so they can get used to being a real family member. Some may have never lived inside before but this is where using crate training comes in.

All our Poundies go to homes where living inside is the norm.

We have people who foster for us short term (the ones who take your Poundie when you go on holiday) and those who foster for us until we can find a Poundie's forever home.

We do ask that all foster families (who aren't emergency foster homes) be prepared to have their Poundie in their care until we find that Poundie their forever home. We really can't say how long that would be - some dogs may be with us a couple weeks, some a couple months and some have been with us much longer. As much as we'd love to be able to give people an exact time, many factors can influence this - including how "adoptable" a dog looks (sometimes black or brindle or not so "cute and fluffy" dogs can take longer to find great homes for), time of year, or a worldwide pandemic!

Of course, if it doesn't work out with you and your Poundie for any reason, we will absolutely do our best to find them another spot to stay as soon as possible.