Foster

The objectives of Colorado St. Bernard Rescue shall be to provide charitable and educational services in the form of:

• Quality shelter and care of unwanted, neglected and/or abused St. Bernard and St. Bernard mixes until appropriate permanent homes can be found.
• To provide education to potential and current St. Bernard owners about breed characteristics, proper care, health issues, training, and behavior.
• Only purebred St. Bernard and St. Bernard mixes will be accepted into the program. Dogs that are deemed unadoptable due to aggression, advanced age, serious illness or other major problems will be humanely euthanized. Under no circumstances will a dog that is aggressive or is a known biter, be placed. There are no exceptions to this policy.

• The foster home must agree to allow the foster dog to sleep in the house and act as a member of the family.
• The foster home agrees to not adopt their first foster dog.
• The foster home must be willing to accept an untrained foster dog and be willing to start the training of the foster dog. The foster home must also be willing to follow the training recommendations of Colorado St. Bernard Rescue.
• The foster home must be willing to follow the feeding directions set forth by Colorado St. Bernard Rescue and provide food for the foster dog.
• The foster home must be willing to adequately exercise and socialize the foster dog.
• The foster home must be willing to keep the foster dogs’ appearance in a presentable condition.
• The foster home must be willing to transport the foster dog to and from vet appointments as deemed necessary by Colorado St. Bernard Rescue.
• The foster home must be willing to make the foster dog available for public viewing as deemed necessary by Colorado St. Bernard Rescue.
• The foster home must have some dog experience.
• Families new to fostering must be willing to participate in the CSBR Foster Mentor program.
• If the foster family lives in a rental, written consent from the landlord must be provided.
• If the foster family has other pets, all pets must be spayed or neutered and current on all vaccinations.
• The foster family must have Internet access and be willing/able to participate in the CSBR email group.
• The foster home must agree to sign a volunteer agreement stating that the foster home is willing to follow the above-mentioned requirements.

1. To have a good, stable temperament. Dogs that are overly aggressive, known biters, or have other serious temperament problems will not be accepted into the program for placement. If the dog is not accepted due to temperament, it is strongly suggested that the releasing party be made fully aware of the implied liability in their placement of a problem dog. Solutions should be offered to the releasing home, ranging from training to euthanasia. A vicious dog should never be placed in a new home.
2. All dogs accepted into the program must be St. Bernards or St. Bernard mixes. (Subject to space availability)
3. Medical conditions must be treatable.  While we never turn a dog away due to anticipated medical costs, we may request vet records so that we can have them reviewed to determine if treatment is likely to have a positive outcome.

DUE TO LIABILITY ISSUES, COLORADO ST BERNARD RESCUE IS UNABLE TO ALLOW ANY HOME WITH DISABLED PERSONS OR CHILDREN UNDER THE AGE OF 5 TO FOSTER DOGS.

St. Bernards that have been found by an individual party, or roaming as strays, or are abandoned may not be accepted directly into the program. These dogs shall be handled as follows:

1. If appropriate, the representative may capture a loose-roaming or stray dog whose ownership is unknown. It must then be turned in to a local animal shelter or animal control agency, and that shelters and counties policies must be adhered to. When the stray hold has been lifted, the shelter may, at their discretion, release the dog to Colorado St. Bernard Rescue.
2. If a dog is reported as abandoned, the representative shall contact the proper animal control agency within that county and must follow their guidelines. After any holds have been lifted the dog may be released to Colorado St. Bernard Rescue.
3. Any strays or abandoned dogs accepted into the program must have the appropriate releases from the shelter completed and placed in their files.

Note: It is VERY important that we follow these procedures. Strays and abandoned dogs can only be accepted directly from shelters and animal control agencies after the appropriate holds and paperwork have been completed. There can be serious legal ramifications if these procedures are not followed.

1. Upon contact, attempt to determine place ability of the dog. When at all possible, view the dog in person to assure that it is a St. Bernard or St. Bernard mix, in acceptable health and has a stable temperament. Also be certain to get the name of the shelter contact person, and if possible, their direct phone line number.
2. If possible, try to get the background information on the dog -owner release, if so, why? A stray, where it was picked up, etc.
3. Determine how long the shelter will hold the dog. Encourage them to hold the dog as long as possible until rescue can arrange to have the dog picked up. When possible have the shelter do the neuter or spay, as it is usually cheaper and easier. Find out what the shelter’s policies are to release the dog to CSBR. That way we know in advance what the cash outlay will be.

St. Bernards brought into foster care should receive basic training as far as good house manners and obedience are concerned. Sit, Stay, No, No Jumping and “go outside” should be part of the dog’s “vocabulary” before he/she leaves foster care. Learning to walk on a leash should be accomplished – if a basic obedience class is started, all the better. Dogs should be introduced to the crate if needed. Identification tags should be on the dogs at all times – tags are available through CSBR. Foster homes should try to socialize the dog in as many situations as possible, as long as common sense and good judgments are utilized. Any problems should be addressed with CSBR.

While in foster care, the dog will need to be groomed and exercised as necessary. A portion of good quality food will need to be provided – after consulting with our vet we recommend the following foods (in alphabetical order) Eukanuba, Hills Science Diet, Iams, Purina (Pro Plan preferred), and Royal Canin.  CSBR will provide Purina Pro Plan to foster homes upon request.

Common sense and caution should be used when introducing the St. Bernard to new people, children, dogs, and other pets as well as to new situations. It’s not a bad idea to keep the St. Bernard on lead in the home for the first few days until you get a good idea of his/her personality and temperament.

The foster St. Bernard will be on the lead at all times in unfenced areas.

When meeting potential adopters of a dog, it is a good idea to carefully observe the interactions and discuss all the good AND BAD aspects of St. Bernard ownership. Especially with regards to that particular St. Bernard’s quirks and personality.

The rescue carries insurance for third-party incidents – this means if the dog bites someone outside of the rescue or foster family, we are covered. Otherwise, your homeowners’ insurance may provide coverage for your family – the foster agreement you sign states that you agree to accept responsibility for any actions related to fostering a St. Bernard for CSBR. Please be aware that if the dog does bite someone, he/she will be euthanized – although it is a rare circumstance, it is a sad reality of doing rescue.

Fostering is generally a very positive experience, and your responsible actions will result in the placement of many dogs that would otherwise be destroyed.

We try to place all dogs into foster care with necessary vet work already done, but occasionally it won’t be. Once the St. Bernard is in foster care, we will schedule an appointment with our vet (located in Golden, Co) for an initial visit.  Additional visits for care (spay / neuter / gastropexy) will be scheduled once we know the overall health of the dog.

The vet check will include:

• General exam
• Vaccinations
• 4 DX test for tick born diseases and heart worm
• Fecal check

Any other medical concerns should be addressed at this visit. Plans will also be made for spay/neuter if necessary. If your foster dog requires emergency treatment, please contact Nicole McLain right away.

Examples of conditions that require emergency treatment are:

1. Bloat or GVD

2. Broken limbs

3. Uncontrolled or excessive bleeding

4. Extreme difficulty breathing

5. Extremely high temperature

6. Prolonged and uncontrolled vomiting or diarrhea

7. Seizures

Examples of conditions that do not require emergency treatment are:

1. Low-grade fevers

2. Minor or short-term vomiting or diarrhea

3. Coughing

4. Minor scrapes and cuts

Colorado Saint Bernard Rescue believes in getting our dogs the care that they need, however in order to make the best use of our resources, all medical treatment (including emergency treatment) needs to be approved prior to treatment. Unapproved medical treatment for a foster dog will be at the expense of the foster home. If you are not sure if your foster dog’s condition requires emergency treatment or if you feel that your foster dog needs treatment for a medical condition, please contact Nicole in order to discuss the issue and get authorization for treatment.