Fostering A Greyhound

Why foster?  Fostering plays an important role in the adoption process. First and foremost, it makes another retired racer available for adoption. CGA is unable to bring a dog into our adoption program unless there is an open foster home available.

NOTE: While we update the website regularly, adoptions are often in progress. As a result, a particular dog may no longer be available. 

Foster Family Role:

A very important role of the foster parent/family is to help these retired athletes transition from the racing kennel to being a wonderful pet and living in a home. There are many things these dogs are not familiar with, such as stairs, glass doors and windows, and housebreaking.

You'll assist adoption counselors by profiling your foster dog's personality and answering questions about what would be the perfect home and family situation for them. You'll also meet with potential adopters when they are interested in your foster dog and answer any questions they have about the dog.

CGA hosts Meet & Greets at several local pet store locations that you and your foster dog can attend. This is a great way to have your foster dog seen by potential adopters, as well as generating public interest in greyhounds and educating people about the breed. It's also a wonderful opportunity to meet other CGA foster parents and adopters and for your foster greyhound to get socialized with people and other greyhound friends. CGA attends several other fundraisers and public events throughout the year as well, where we staff an information booth. These are great venues to show off your foster hounds and help them find their forever homes and possibly recruit new foster families.

How Do I Become A Foster Parent?

Applying to become a CGA foster parent begins by filling out a Foster Application and a Foster Agreement. Fax both of the completed and signed forms to (303) 382-8020. You will then be contacted to schedule a home visit where a CGA representative will more fully explain the foster program and answer any questions you may have. After that you'll be assigned a Foster Representative who will be your mentor and main point of contact for all foster issues. The CGA Foster Reps are very knowledgeable and have a lot of experience fostering greyhounds, many of whom have at least one greyhound of their own.

Once the home visit is complete, you'll be provided with a crate and food and you'll be ready to get your first foster dog. When a dog is retired from a racing kennel, it gets assigned to a foster family.  The foster family takes it home, and the rewarding experience of being a greyhound foster parent begins!  The Vet Coordinator will make an appointment with a veterinary clinic where the greyhound will be spayed or neutered, have its teeth cleaned, nails clipped, and shots updated. Only after the greyhound is vetted, is it available for adoption. 

After you've had your new foster hound about a week and have gotten to know him or her a little, you'll be asked to fill out a profile on the dog. This will help adoption counselors match dogs with prospective adopters, who have also filled out a profile on their families. It's important that we match the dogs with the right family situations, so the foster profile is an important tool for the adoption process.

Qualifications:

Many people ask what the “qualifications” to become a foster parent are. The main things are to have a love for dogs, time and a home. CGA provides foster families with a crate, food, muzzle, leash, collars, and veterinary care for the dogs while they're in foster care, so foster families aren't expected to spend a lot of money.

People often think they need to have a large house with a big yard to become a foster parent, but that's not the case. Our foster families live in a variety of homes. Whether you live in a house, town home or apartment, yard or no yard, fence or no fence, you'll probably be able to foster a greyhound as long as you have room for the crate and there's nothing in your home that would present a danger to the dog. If you don't have a yard, you can exercise your foster dog by taking it on leashed walks.

CGA Support Network:

If you're new to fostering or the greyhound breed, you may find yourself with questions or situations when you're not sure what to do. You'll have access to a large support network within CGA and several valuable resources. Your foster representative, other foster families, and the CGA Foster Vet Coordinator are all available to help you and answer questions. There's a Google group where you can ask other CGA fosters questions by email, and download files on topics such as crate training. There are even a couple of professional dog trainers who volunteer their time, holding free training seminars for CGA fosters, and answering questions about your foster dog.

Email us your questions or call (303) 816-2799 and ask to have the Foster Setup Coordinator give you a call back if you would like more information. Please be sure to provide both a phone number and email address when leaving a message.

NOTE: If you are not contacted after submitting your application, please follow up by phone (303) 816-2799 or email to fosterparents@greyhoundadoption.com to verify your application was received.