Colorado Pug Rescue

Why Fostering is So Important to CPR:

Colorado Pug Rescue does not have a physical shelter.  We rely on people to generously open their homes and hearts to pugs in need.  This allows CPR to move pugs out of shelters or surrendering homes and into a safe, secure places while a new forever home is located.  Foster families may be the first stable environment for some of our pugs.  Foster families may be the support that a pug needs when going through surgery or being evaluated medically and/or behaviorally.  Foster families are often directly involved in both the intake and adoption of pugs.  A foster family’s impact is vital in preparing the rescue pug for a smooth transition to a new adoptive home.  Without a network of foster families, CPR would absolutely not be able to serve pugs in Colorado.  We need you!

What You Can Expect from Your Foster Experience:

We’d love to tell you that fostering is easy, but we know that’s not true.  Foster pugs often find a special place in the heart of their foster family.  You can expect to feel a range of emotions while fostering.  You may fall in love.  You may get frustrated.  You may feel proud of how you’re changing the life of a pug.  You may even feel a bit heartbroken when your pug leaves to live with a new family.  You’ll also experience the joy of seeing that new family excited to share their lives with their perfect match pug.  Fostering is a truly wonderful thing! Here are some of the things foster care providers help CPR to accomplish:

Intake:    This can mean picking up a pug from a shelter, or from a surrendering family.  When doing an intake, the foster family will help us collect all of the history and information about the pug so that we can continue care and make a good adoption match.  This process involves completing some important paperwork for CPR.

Care:   Most pugs need at least one visit to the veterinarian for a check-up and routine medical care.  Some of our pugs need surgery (spay/neuter, dentistry, or even orthopedic procedures).  Our foster families may need to provide supportive care while their pug recovers from these procedures.  Many pugs need daily medications.  All of our pugs need love.

Socialization, Training, and Evaluation:  Some of our pugs need help learning what it’s like to live in a loving home.  While in foster care, the foster family helps to build up the dog’s self confidence, reinforce basic obedience commands, and reinforce good behavior (including housetraining for some pugs).  We rely on our foster families to help us learn if the pug likes children, gets along with other dogs (and cats too!).  Since you’ll be living with the pug, you can tell us a lot about the pug’s unique personality.  Foster families help to evaluate the pug’s behavior and temperament.  This important information is needed to help us find the best possible forever home for him/her. 

Adoption:  In order to place our pugs, we hold regular adoption events.  As a foster home, we hope that your pug will attend as many of these events as you can so that the pug is showcased to potential adopters.  These events are fun, and you’ll have an opportunity to network with other foster families and CPR volunteers.  Some of our foster families are also directly involved in the final adoption process.  This involves doing a home visit with the new family, completing adoption paperwork, and transporting the pug to its new home.

Anything else important I need to know?

You bet!  Colorado Pug Rescue will cover the costs of all veterinary care for your pug, including vaccinations, microchip, heartworm testing, and monthly preventative.  CPR will also pay for necessary surgeries, prescription medication, and prescription food that may be needed by the pug.  The foster family will be responsible for the cost of non-prescription food.

We know that fostering isn’t for everyone.  We recognize that being a foster family for CPR requires all of those same qualities that we would hope to find in a new adoptive family – but so much more.  Fostering is not a way to “test drive” pug ownership.  And, because so many of our foster families do fall in love, we have implemented a policy that foster parents may not adopt until volunteering for CPR for six months.  If adoption is your goal, we encourage you to complete an adoption application **link to “Adoption Application**.

Great!  Now how do I get started?

• The first step in becoming a foster volunteer is to complete a foster application.  This will tell us about you, and help us understand the type of pug you are willing and able to foster successfully.
• Next, you’ll have a home visit by a CPR volunteer.  This is the time to discuss any concerns or questions you have about fostering.  In this one-on-one meeting, you’ll also receive training to help you with the intake, care, and adoption parts of the foster experience.
• Finally, our Foster Coordinator will contact you with a list of pugs that are waiting to be placed.  You can choose a pug from the list that is best suited to your home.