WAZ Foster Application form

WE ARE ZEUS (WAZ)

A 501c3 non profit providing support and services to SC Animal Shelters, Rescues, and Communities.
PO Box 1851

Lexington, SC 29071

info@wearezeus.org

https://wearezeus.org

PH: (833) 363-9387
Full Name*

First NameMiddle NameLast Name
SPECIFIC ANIMAL TO FOSTER*

First NameLocation
E-mail*
Address*

Street Address

Street Address Line 2

CityState

Zip Code
Phone Number - Home*

Area CodePhone Number
Phone Number - Cellular*

Area CodePhone Number
Phone Number - Work*

Area CodePhone Number
Do you live in a:*
Do you:*

OwnRentLive with ParentsOther
If Renting: Please indicate landlord contact information*
Household Setting*

RuralSuburbanUrban
Describe your Homes Activity Level*

Busy/NoisyModerate Comings/GoingsQuiet with Occasional Guests
Please List all People Living in the Household (Include Name, Relationship, Gender and Age)*
Does Anyone in your Household have Allergies to Animals?*

YesNo
Are all members of your Family agreeable to Fostering a Dog?*

YesNo
Please List any Pets you have Living or Deceased (Please include Name, Breed, Age, Altered, Sex, UTD Vaccines, Heartworm, and specify Living/Deceased)*
Are you willing to give your foster 3-4 weeks to adjust to their new environment?*

YesNo
Are you willing to take your foster dog to vet appointments at a convenient time for you?*

YesNo
Do you drive or have access to a vehicle to bring your foster to events and appointments*

YesNo
If No please explain*
Are you willing and able to medicate your foster, even if it just a monthly heartworm preventative?*

YesNo
We cannot guarantee a dog to be housebroken, are you equipped to train with love and patience?*

YesNo
Have you had any experience with with an emotionally or physically neglected or abused dog?*

YesNo
If Yes please explain*
Do you have a fenced yard?*

YesNoPartial
If fenced, please give details on height, material, # of gates, are gates locked or lockable?*
How many hours in a day would the foster be left alone?*
What are you plans to exercise your foster? Please list any parks near by or trails, how many walks a day, approximate length, and activities such as agility.*
EXPERIENCE Previous experience with dogs: (check all that apply) **

Never had a dogHad a childhood pet dogHad one or more dogs as an adult.Have experience with powerful breedsHave experience working with on-going medical problems with a personal dogHave experience working at a boarding kennel/resort/pet sitting service, etc.Have experience working with behavioral problems with a personal dogHave experience working at a veterinary hospitalAm a professional dog trainerHave previous foster/rescue experience: (please describe in other)Other
Why would you return an animal (check all that apply)*

Excessive barkingDestructive chewingNot HousetrainedDiggingEscapingResource (food/toy) aggressionShy, fearful, undersocializedNot good with childrenNot good with other dogsNot good with small animals/catsScratching/BitingAdministering medicationsProviding on-going trainingVery high activity levelDeaf/blind dogsOther
Previous experience with dogs: (check all that apply) **

Excessive barkingDestructive chewingNot HousetrainedDiggingEscapingResource (food/toy) aggressionShy, fearful, undersocializedNot good with childrenNot good with other dogsNot good with small animals/catsScratching/BitingAdministering medicationsProviding on-going trainingVery high activity levelDeaf/blind dogsOther
*List experience with specific breeds: *

Other
Vet Reference: Full Name*

First NameLast Name
Phone Number*

Area CodePhone Number
Address*

Street Address

Street Address Line 2

CityState

Zip Code
Vet Reference: Full Name

First NameLast Name
Phone Number

Area CodePhone Number
Address

Street Address

Street Address Line 2

CityState

Zip Code
Please list 3 personal references with names, addresses, phone numbers and how related. We prefer it not to be all relatives. Are you ok with this?*

YesNo
Reference #1: Full Name*

First NameLast Name
Relation to applicant(s):*
E-mail*
Address*

Street Address

Street Address Line 2

CityState

Zip Code
Phone Number*

Area CodePhone Number
Reference #2: Full Name*

First NameLast Name
Relation to applicant(s): *
E-mail*
Address*

Street Address

Street Address Line 2

CityState

Zip Code
Phone Number*

Area CodePhone Number
Reference #3: Full Name*

First NameLast Name
Relation to applicant(s):*
E-mail*
Address*

Street Address

Street Address Line 2

CityState

Zip Code
Phone Number*

Area CodePhone Number
I permit We Are Zeus to obtain information regarding my criminal background and care of animals*
Let’s talk about DECOMPRESSION.

We have lately started requiring this for dogs because it works so well, but we found that a lot of people don’t know entirely what it means. Decompression is basically what we might term “crate rest” for a period of days while the dog is allowed to observe the home, other animals, and people while being offered a chance to collect themselves emotionally.

Thinking about it in human terms: if you have ever been an exchange student, you may have experienced something like this... but imagine you didn’t know the language, or any of the customs, and didn’t know where you were. It can be incredibly disorienting and distressing! Humans are adaptable, and many pick up the “local norms” as they are with time and observation. Dogs are the same! Allowed time to observe and relax, they pick up the “norms”, schedules, and behavior of your household. It works especially well for dogs that have been in a shelter because it affords them time to decompress from the stress of a shelter environment.

Here’s how to do it:

1. Before a dog comes to your home, set up a crate in an area where the dog can observe your family but is not in the “middle” of the action. Partially cover the crate with a blanket so that your foster dog has a “cave” to retreat into if needed, and make sure the crate is up against a wall so the dog can feel confident no one can approach from behind.

2. When you get the dog home, after pottying, allow them to hang out in the crate with fresh water. They go out to potty, and then back in the crate for food, water, etc. This is usually a 72 hour decompression process but can take as long as two weeks for an especially challenging dog or one that is having trouble integrating into the foster home.

3. Allow members of your family and other pets to greet your foster in the crate, but don’t hang around it too much. My dogs usually cluster around the crate at first but I call them away and give them treats until everyone is calmed down and it’s “no big deal” to have the guest dog in our house.

4. If you are expecting company, please relocate the crate to a quiet area temporarily or disallow guests to greet the dog - it’s important that the dog’s circle is kept small in the first few days.

5. Slowly begin integrating the dog into your household by allowing short periods of freedom in your home and yard, always kept leashed or dragging a leash at first. Walking introductions with dogs are a great way to introduce a dog to existing pack members. You want this to be as low stress as possible, and go slowly, until the dog is fully integrated over the next 3-4 days.

Why do we do this? There are lots of reasons to take this approach for foster dogs but the biggest one is that it allows dogs to relax before having to learn a whole new household. Personally, I’ve had dogs that come in snapping and growling at other dogs and being difficult to handle that come out of decompression another dog entirely - playful and friendly - and it only takes a few days. Without decompression, integration can take much longer and if dogs “get off on the wrong foot” with each other, they can occasionally fail to recover as time goes on. It’s best to take it slow the first few days so that everyone can be friends later on.
TIPS FOR HOW TO INTRODUCE A NEW DOG
TO YOUR HOME

Here are some guidelines for how to make the introduction of a new dog into the home as successful as possible.

“Too Much, Too Soon” Syndrome
When a dog moves to a new home, either from another home or a shelter, it is a VERY stressful event! The dog needs time to figure everything out and feel safe again. It is critical that things are kept low key for at least the first 24-48 hours.

• No block parties, tours of the neighborhood, trips to friends, or inviting the whole family over to meet the new dog.

• If a bath is not mandatory, hold off for a few days. But eventually BATHE THAT DOG unless the dog has already been groomed!!! It is a great way for you to check for sores, lumps and bumps, and for you to see how the dog reacts to gentle handling.

• No overstimulating play. Shorter, quiet walks are best, where you’re not likely meet many other dogs or people – this is your bonding time. After the first few days good exercise becomes much more important – great for stress reduction and overall health.

Introducing the new dog to the home

The most effective way to do this is to keep the new dog leashed to you with a 6’ leash while indoors for at least the first day. This helps the dog feel secure and is tremendously calming. Free interaction of any kind in the first few days is a bad idea, as is letting them wander around the house on their own.

The new dog should never be loose with your cats until you first observe its reaction to cats while he’s securely leashed to you. With a leash, you can also check and correct verbally if the behavior is unacceptable.

Never underestimate the power of fear. New dogs will do things and show behaviors in the first 3-4 days that you may never see again, all out of fear. Take it slow, crate or leash, and keep contact with your own dogs limited or non-existent.

Use that crate!!!
Make sure that you and eventually the adopter have a wire crate set up someplace where the dog can observe the rhythm of the home – how the humans interact, the family routines, the temperament of the other dogs, the cats, everything. The crate should be set up so that a dog or child cannot walk around the back of the crate (so the dog does not feel that he/she is always having to watch their own back).

Feed the new dog in the crate and immediately pick up the bowl when the dog is done – don’t allow any opportunity for guarding that half-eaten dinner! And don’t worry if the new dog is not super hungry – stress is likely the cause!

Introducing the new dog to new people

Protect yourself by handling and speaking gently, don’t grab at collars or tug at them— touch a collar only enough to attach the leash.

Limit interactions with other family members, especially children, unless the dog voluntarily approaches. Don’t bend over the dog so that your face and upper body are in the dog’s air space when you brush or pet them or attach the leash, and don’t allow others to: this is very threatening behavior to a dog. Stand upright or sit to interact with the dog, or kneel next to them.

Once the dog knows the routine (who hands out the food, where he sleeps, where he potties, etc), he/she should calm down and be less reactive.

Introducing the new dog to other dogs

It is critical that we know how our foster dogs interact with other dogs – is the dog playful? Friendly? Curious? Dominant? Into “peaceful coexistence”? Without this information we cannot match our foster dogs to their best adopter-families.

This process starts by making sure that you are introducing your new foster to the dogs in your home (and a lot of the tips will be useful for the adopters).

To start, don’t take two dogs that are new to each other, each on leash, and let them strain toward each other. This is asking for “end of leash aggression”. There is something about the tight leash, and a new dog, and the owner-human standing behind the dog, that just begs for a bad outcome.

As most of you know, you always have the option of not introducing new dogs to the household dogs for a day or so. It’s much less stressful to come home and leave the new dog in the car while you put your dogs out in the yard or wherever you can confine them temporarily. You then get the new dog out of the car, do a brief leash walk for pottying (apart from the other dogs), show he/she the living area (wherever your dogs aren’t at that time) while still on leash, offer water, and then crate the dog using the setup described earlier. Once the dog is in the crate, let your dogs back into the house. There will be some sniffing through the crate: try to keep your dogs from crowding it, call some away if needed, and crack down on any lunging or barking.

Repeat the separation and pottying process in the evening and again the next day, and by the end of the second day, try them out in the yard together or do the walk on leash The interaction should go much more smoothly than if you do it right when the new dog arrives.

It’s a good idea to pick up all toys, bones, rawhides and so on, for at least the first week. Innocent curiosity on the part of the new dog may make the personal dog crazy with possessiveness, or vice versa.

Others prefer starting with the brisk walk technique
Take the two dogs for a brisk walk with a handler for each dog.

Do this on the street or sidewalk away from familiar territory. Walking on a paved surface also allow you to move at a good clip.

Keep the dogs on your outside leg and the two handlers walk parallel to each other but far enough apart that the dogs cannot reach each other. Stand straight, talk with one another, and just ignore the dogs as you walk briskly. Don’t let the dogs interact. Keep choking up on the leash if you need to, to keep them from pulling across in front of you to get to the other dog, and check them if they bark, whine or growl. You should notice the tension level and the drive to get to one another diminishing as you walk. When you see that, turn back with each handler doing a U-turn to the inside. Now the dogs will be closer to one another but still don’t let them connect.

Continue to walk briskly, keep the leashes short, and the dogs at your sides. Another few minutes of this and the dogs should start to pay less attention to each other and start to show an interest in their surroundings. If the dogs seem relatively calm and aren’t reacting to the other, you can start to loosen the leashes. If one dog puts his nose down to sniff and the other wants to follow suit, that’s a good way to transition to regular contact.

If all goes well on the walk - the dogs are able to move closer to each other, touch each other and sniff each other in a friendly way - you are ready for the yard! If not, just default to the crate method. One way or the other, a proper introduction can happen unless there is a much more serious issue here that requires a consult.
AGREEMENT

By sending this electronically, I acknowledge that I have completely read this questionnaire and comprehend it fully.

I understand that applying does not ensure approval and that untruthful answers or failure to comply with the requirements of this application can result in the forfeiture of any We Are Zeus RESCUE animal fostered by me.

I certify that the above information is correct, and I understand that the information will be verified.

I understand that by submitting this form electronically, I agree to release and covenant to hold harmless We Are Zeus RESCUE and it's members from any claims, damages, costs, or actions incurred because of the care or actions of the foster dog.

I understand and agree that I have read, and will follow how to Decompress and Introduce a New Dog to My Home.

I accept full responsibility for the dog(s) actions at all times, and release We Are Zeus RESCUE from any liabilities or damages that may be incurred because of fostering such dog(s).

I agree to have We Are Zeus RESCUE complete reference call checks and conduct a home visit inspection to be able to approve my foster application.

I agree that the foster animal belongs to We Are Zeus RESCUE and any and all supplies, medical care, treatments, and veterinarian appointments must be purchased and/or scheduled by We Are Zeus RESCUE. If a foster makes any purchases and/or takes an animal for any medical care, treatment or veterinian appointments without prior permission of We Are Zeus RESCUE, the foster is soley responsible for any all and expenses associated and there will be no reimbursement as We Are Zeus is a tax deductible 501c3 non-profit.

I agree that if my foster animal has a pending or approved foster application, I will continue to care for the animal until We Are Zeus expressly informs me that I am able to release the animal to the adopter.

I agree that if I'm unable to foster the dog(s) anymore that I will return the dog(s) to We Are Zeus RESCUE and give We Are Zeus RESCUE at least a 2 week period to try and find another suitable foster for the dog(s).
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