When dogs come to Marty’s Place, we make a commitment that they will either have a home for life at our sanctuary or with a new family when adoption is an option.
Foster Program
The number of senior dogs in need is unending and greater than any of us would like to believe. Our foster program enables us to save the lives of more dogs by offering them an environment where they will receive consistent quality care. Fostering can be a very rewarding experience. It is your opportunity to give senior dogs the love and care they need and deserve. By becoming a foster, you will be helping our seniors experience that safety and love so they can thrive in their golden years.
Dogs that come to Marty’s Place range from being active adults to near hospice care and their length of stay can be weeks, months or years. Some of our dogs have special needs or disabilities and we address each situation with compassion. Every dog is treated with respect and dignity and receives quality care targeted to their individual needs.
The primary focus of our foster program is to identify and place some of our dogs in long-term care environments. For the dogs that are part of our foster program, we will provide medical care, food and basic supplies. Routine medical care will be available from primary care veterinarians that are pre-approved by Marty’s Place. Foster homes must be within 40 miles of Allentown, NJ. In addition to our long-term care program, we may at times have other fostering needs. All of our categories are identified below. It’s important for you to determine which works best for your home environment and lifestyle.
Foster Categories:
Long-term
Based on a chronic health condition or behavioral characteristics, we may determine that a resident would do better in a quieter home environment.
Temporary
Provide temporary fostering during vacations or other absences of other foster families.
Medical
Provide care for one of our residents after surgery or other medical reasons. This is typically a short-term foster.
Hospice
Provide palliative, end-of-life care. Make a pet’s final days or weeks more comfortable, administer pain medications and dietary strategies, if necessary.
If you are interested in opening your heart and home to a senior dog, and being part of our family of fosters, read on about our process.
- You must be 21 years of age
- Complete our application
- A Marty’s Place team member will contact you for an initial interview
- Attend an orientation session where our program guidelines will be reviewed
- A Marty’s Place team member will schedule a home visit. During the visit, all family members and pets should be at home
- Final processing of your application, including reference checks, will be completed
We cannot place a dog in a home with unaltered pets. We also cannot place a dog in a home where pets are not current on vaccinations and/or do not receive heart worm and flea/tick preventatives year-round. We do accept records of titer testing in lieu of vaccinations.
From the beginning of our process and during the length of your fostering, you will be assigned a Marty’s Place team member who will be your point of contact for any questions and/or concerns.
Typically, a dog that comes to Marty’s Place and is a candidate for our foster program will spend about two weeks at the sanctuary. During this time a veterinary wellness check will be completed as well as any further evaluation to determine the dog’s needs.
Our goal is to save more dogs. We appreciate your willingness to share our goal, participate in our foster program, welcome one of our senior dogs into your home, and embrace him/her as one of your own family pets.
For more information on our foster program:
Call us at 609-259-1278
Email us at foster@martysplace.org
Foster Application (click here)