Salisbury dog foster carers needed as ‘unprecedented’ animal numbers given up
Could you help a dog find its forever home?
Last updated 22nd May 2023
The Dogs Trust centre in Salisbury is calling for more people to become Dog Foster Carers as they are receiving an unprecedented level of requests to relinquish dogs into their care.
But the 42-kennel site is already at capacity – and not all dog adapt well to living in a kennel.
Neil Barker is the Assistant Manager at the Newton Tony centre, he said: “Our kennel’s are full and we have a huge waiting list. Having more foster carers, allows us to help more dogs and manage our kennel space more carefully for dogs that need more specific rehabilitation work.”
The facility on Amesbury Road has three buildings with different setups to cater to the needs of individual dogs.
“Our priority is the welfare of the dogs in our care,” Neil says. The centre has facilities for groups of dogs to be together or to be alone, for quiet time, with areas for play and training.
Becoming a foster carer
There are not any real requirements for becoming a foster carer, more a willingness to support the Trust’s work in rehoming a dog.
“We never rule anything out, but it’s always based on what the individual dog can cope with. Even if a foster carer has no experience, we cans start them off with easier dogs and build up their experience,” Neil says, “We would also love to have some foster carers who have some dog training experience.”
And with a greater variety of foster carers and environments, Neil says their profiling of the dogs can be more accurate, the ensure the best match possible when it comes to rehoming.
Anyone interested in becoming a foster carer can apply to do so, with training being provided and a home visit to ensure the environment is suitable.
Dog-by-Dog basis
Everything the team the Dogs Trust do is based on the individual dog and its needs. Neil says they have to be advocate and the voice of the dog: “ We will profile what the dog can cope with, what the dog can’t cope with and then we’ll profile what type of home the dog is looking for, based on the assessments we’ve made during the time that the dog has been in the centre.”
Neil recommends that those looking to rehome a dog is to consider what they want a dog to be like and how the dog fits into your lifestyle. The Dogs Trust team will then find a suitable match for your needs.
The team however can only assess behaviour in kennel’s, making the role of foster carers incredibly valuable to the Dogs Trust.
“Foster Carers provide us with a lot more information about how a dog is in the home, how it copes on walks, how it copes with meeting other dogs, can it live with cats?” Neil said, adding:
“They can provide information that’s harder for us to obtain in a kennel environment.”
The Dogs Trust provide food, vet care, training and behaviour support and the Foster Carers get to enjoy sharing their home with a dog, while getting the fulfilment when the dog gets rehomed, knowing they played a major role in the process.