We are a nonprofit, no kill rescue run solely by volunteers. We foster homeless animals in our homes until permanent homes are found. We are funded totally by donations and adoption fees. We appreciate your interest and support in becoming a great foster! We receive food by donation and can provide it to our volunteers when available. If you are fostering a thin, young or lactating animal, we strongly encourage you to feed it puppy food. If it is overweight, try light food to help it lose weight. When you come to the adoption days, you can find out how to get free bags of food. If you need a crate (a plastic kennel), a collar, a leash, or a training collar, please let Angela know. Continue to use these items over and over again. Use bleach and water in the crate between fosters. If you decide to no longer fostering, these items must be returned to one of us so that we can reuse them. Please bleach them out before returning to Angela. Last Hope dogs must wear a Last Hope tag at all times.
First, the dog coordinator, Angela will call you with a possible foster dog. She will explain all she knows about the animal. If you agree to foster the animal, you will pick the dog up at our Vet. All dogs are spayed or neutered if they are over 6 months of age. If your dog grows to be that age in your care, you need to get the procedure okayed and to return the dog to our vet for the surgery. The animal is vet checked, given distemper, rabies boosters and is heartworm tested and wormed. Medicine for ears, eyes, etc. will be provided. Do not take an animal from anyone unless it has been vet checked.
When you pick up the animal at our vet, ask for the health record. This goes with the animal until it becomes adopted, when it should be turned over to the new owner. On the health record will be the vet number and rabies tag number that you will need when you place the animal. Another important number is the Last Hope Internal ID number which will be assigned to the animal by calling Angela (651) 451-7603 or at a Pet Adoption Day.
The dog coordinator is the only one that can okay a dog into Last Hope. We do accept surrenders as well as strays but they must pay a surrender fee. We also do not take every breed. For instance, we do not take Wolf Hybrids! We do not take large dogs over 4 years old and small dogs over 6 years old. We do not take dogs that have bitten people or with severe health problems even if you are willing to foster it! We will usually take dogs with broken legs, pregnant, thin or kennel cough if we have room! You must remember that we cannot save them all and by filling up foster homes with unadoptable dogs, we are turning away very adoptable ones!
You have the joy of naming the animal if it doesn’t come with a litter. Behaviorists encourage using a name with an “E” sounding ending like Honey or Suzie, which sound cheery to an animal. Professionals suggest that you do not use names with the “O “ sound at the end of the name like Ringo, or Oreo, because it sounds like no. When you get the animal home or place an animal in a home call Angela and tell her the vital information about your new dog like color, sex, age, name, breed, fixed or not, etc. She then will assign a Last Hope number. If you move your animal to a different foster, please let her know.
If you lose a foster dog, you must begin to look for it. Call your city or county and report it. Put up posters, and watch your local newspapers. Also, call Angela to repost it missing. You will be asked to pay its adoption fee if it is not found within 2 weeks. If you suspect your foster dog is sick it is important that it receives vet care. Call Angela or Bev at (651) 453-8747 to arrange for a vet visit at our vet only. If you go to your own vet, you will have to pay the bill yourself!
We have adoption days every Saturday, currently Petco in Apple Valley and Petco at West St. Paul. We would like you to attend as many as possible so that you can answer questions to the potential homes about the dog(s) you are fostering. Please come on time and stay until the end. Our best adoption times are from 10:45 to noon and then again from 1:30 – 3:15, however adoptions occur throughout the four hours. If you are unable to attend, it would be great if you could drop off and pick up your fosters. Bring the health records! Also, bring a nylon or leather leash and a training collar since a teenager may be required to hold your foster dog. Please do not bring chain leashes: they are hard on the hands! Let Angela Stefani (651) 451-7603 know so we can place your dog and have enough adult dog holders available.
This is the only day we take pictures of your foster dog so it can be on Petfinder.Com. Pictures really helps the dog find the right home! Please do not bring your children to the Pet Adoption Day unless they are old enough to help. This would include walking large dog, putting kennels together and picking up feces. Do not bring your own pets either. We do not have the room! Wear a Last Hope badge during the time you are at a Pet Adoption Day. Otherwise when you hold a foster dog, potential owners will pass you up thinking that dog is adopted! If you forget your badge, use one that says “Volunteer” but return it at the end of the day. Puppies are to remain in the puppy pens so people will see them! Also, at Adoption Days, you can pick up forms, flyers, and adoption day schedules and drop off money from adoptions you have made during the week.
The animal shall not be given to anyone until the adoption fee and application is completed and received by you. The adoption fee in non-refundable and must be CASH. We do not take credit cards or offer payment plans. Sales tax is included in the adoption fee that has been previously set. These fees include the initial vet check, fecal, distemper/parvo vaccines, heartworm test and rabies. If the dog is over 6 months of age it also includes pay or neutering.
We do not allow trials. Once the animal is in Last Hope, it is no longer legally the property of the previous owner. If the previous owner wants their pet back, and we still think it is a good home, they must pay the adoption fee! Also, if you as a foster fall in love with a dog, you must also pay the assigned adoption fee and complete the adoption form as soon as possible or you are expected to come to adoption days with the animal!
At any time we have over 150 animals looking for homes and we need your help with this! Turn in your white form and the money with the vet number and Last Hope number as soon as possible. If you are unable to come to the next Adoption day, we expect you to mail it to Last Hope, P.O. Box 114, Farmington, MN 55024.
Adoptions can be refused if you feel it is not a good home or a good match. We ask that any refusal be done tactfully. There are many reasons why you may feel uncomfortable with the adoption. The most common reasons are refusal to adopt to families with children under 6, people living in apartments unless proof of lease acceptance and deposits have been made, lack of fenced yards for large dogs and a history of surrendering dogs because they didn't work out.
If you feel the dog has a behavioral problem contact Angela. We have many tricks to help your dog become the best behaved dog and have ideas to help with housebreaking, barking, submissive peeing, chewing, jumping, dominance, etc. We have a lot of experience with socializing and training.
Miscellaneous: If you are going on vacation or want to take a break, give us some notice. We are all volunteers and cannot move animals with less than 3 days notice. Don’t accept a new dog if you know you are unable to care for an additional dog. When introducing your dog to a foster dog does it in a neutral place. If you have a foster dog that has come to 3-4 complete adoptions day, and has not been adopted, please call Angels to have an ad run.
Keep track of you volunteer miles and if you itemize your taxes, you can get .45 cents a mile when you file your income tax.
Last Hope, Inc. PO Box 114, Farmington, MN 55024 651-463-8747 All rights reserved copyright 2006