FOSTER APPLICATION

Thank you for your interest in becoming a foster home with Summit Dog Rescue. Please read the foster information below and then answer the following questions to the best of your ability.

As a foster parent, you would temporarily take an animal into your home and care for it, and give it love.

SDR pays for needed medical attention (at our veterinarian) and food (if you can pick up in Boulder area). Your foster will come with a Freedom Harness, a tag, and a supply of heartworm prevention pills. We can also supply a crate if needed (but please return it after).

We ask that you will do some basic positive reinforcement/force-free training to help make the pet more adoptable; this may include house training (but if you don’t want to work on housetraining, please let us know and we CAN find a dog that has those skills - but it could take longer).

Most of the animals will be coming from shelters. We ask that you be patient with them and try to help them transition to their new roles as “adoptable dog" in any way needed. You can tell us the size, type, age, etc. and we will try to match you to your preference.

Because we are a small, hands-on rescue, we need to tap into many of our limited resources whenever a foster situation doesn’t work. Inevitably sometimes a foster placement doesn’t work - so we all work as a team to optimize everyone’s experience; you are never stuck long term with a dog that isn’t the right fit.

You will be expected to read and know all of the information in our foster guide, so please access it on our website and read it .
INSTRUCTIONS:

èClick in the grey field and type your answer.

--Fields will expand as you type.

èSave the file as a .pdf or .doc ONLY (other formats will not be accepted).

--You must also ADD YOUR NAME to the file name.

èEither email the file back to us as an attachment, or print and scan it.

THANK YOU!

Name (Guardian Applicant):
Address:
City, State, Zip:
Home Phone:
Cell Phone:
Personal Email:
Occupation/ Employer:
Co-Applicant (Spouse, significant other, roommate):
Cell phone:
Personal Email:
Occupation/Employer :
I have read and understand SDR’s policies as listed on the website / Yes or no

Please list pets in your household. Include both current AND past dogs.

Breed / Age / Gender / Spay/Neuter? / Temperament / Residing with you?

For any pet no longer residing with you, please describe the reason:

Is everyone in the household on board with fostering a dog? Please note each person’s level of commitment to the new dog using the following 1-to-5 scale: 0 indicates “don’t want a new dog in the house,” 1 indicates “I will be ok with having a new dog in the house but do not intend to be responsible for his care”; 5 indicates “I am excited about adding a new dog to the home and look forward to being responsible for his happiness, training, and wellbeing.”

Person / Age / Commitment Rating
Self

Please describe your residence:

Urban, suburban, or rural?
Do you own or rent?
If rent, include property owner’s name, address, phone number, and email
How long have you resided at this location?
Do you have a fenced yard? yes no
If you do have a fence, please describe:
Height:
Material:
What kind of dog food do you currently feed, or have fed in the past?

Approximately how many hours per day would your dog be alone?

Where will your dog be when alone?

Where will your do be at night?

Will your dog be allowed on the couch or bed?

Would you be willing to deal with a dog that had an unknown history (from a shelter situation), or would you only like to foster a dog previously in a known home situation?

Why do you want to foster, and do you have any big plans coming up in the near future (i.e. travel, moving, roommate moving in etc.) ?

Would you rather an active dog that needs lots of walks and mental stimulation every day or a mellow one that just needs a home and a quick walk daily?

What activities would you ideally want your foster dog to participate in?

e.g., hiking, running

Please identify behaviors you would NOT be willing to work with:

-separation anxiety
-socialization issues
-aggression
-leash pulling
-shyness
-housetraining accidents
-counter surfing
-other (please specify)
Additional comments or questions about behavior:

Have you previously worked with a trainer? If so, who?

Please provide a veterinary reference if you have one.

Clinic:
Veterinarian’s name:
Address:
Phone: / Email:

Please list three personal references (not a relative or household member), whom you have known for at least three years, who can vouch for your character as a pet owner. Give name, address, phone, and email.

Reference 1:
Name and relationship:
Address:
Phone: / Email:
Reference 2:
Name and relationship:
Address:
Phone: / Email:
Reference 3:
Name and relationship:
Address:
Phone: / Email:

Many trainers use “mixed” or “balanced” training methods that are actually rooted in dominance theory, which is an outdated training method that has been debunked by modern behavior science. Visit our website for a more in-depth explanation and to explore our training resource library.

Have you ever had a dog with behavior problems? If so what behavior(s) and how did you work with your dog on this issue?

Summit Dog Rescue requires positive reinforcement/force-free training. Do you agree to ONLY use positive reinforcement/force-free training methods, and work with one of our trainers if needed (we pay for this).

Please answer yes or no.

We are happy to give you more information and recommend trainers to work with on positive reinforcement training.

If you were consulting with a training website or television program and it said to use the following methods, which do you believe to be positive reinforcement only techniques? Please check the appropriate box for each example.

Using treats to get the dog to focus and to reinforce desired behavior / positive only not positive only
Dropping a paper bag filled with chains onto the ground to get the dog’s attention / positive only not positive only
Pushing the dog with your knee if he jumps on you / positive only not positive only
Walking the dog with a prong collar if he is leash reactive to other dogs / positive only not positive only
Using a clicker or particular word to mark the exact moment the dog demonstrated a desired behavior / positive only not positive only
Walking the dog in a harness rather than collar to help with leash walking / positive only not positive only
Shaking a can filled with pennies to startle the dog when he counter surfs / positive only not positive only
Ignoring the dog when he jumps on you when you come home, and teaching a replacement behavior such as sit or throwing treats on the ground to distract him from the jumping behavior / positive only not positive only

I understand and agree to the need for screening of fosters. I certify that the information supplied on this application is true and correct.

Signature: / Date:

For electronically-submitted applications, please type your signature.