Be the safe place between Romania
and forever.
You give a dog a safe home for a few weeks or months. We support you, and we can cover any veterinary bills if required.
When a dog comes off the Lucky Bus, they need somewhere to land.
Some of our dogs go straight from Romania to their adopters. Most need a few weeks first. They've been in a shelter or on the streets, then on a 1,500-mile drive in a transport van. They need to decompress. To learn that food turns up at the same time every day. To meet a sofa. To take in the new environment. To adjust to the new smells of the flora and fauna. To trust a person.
Foster is where that happens. You take a dog into your home for as long as you can: two weeks, two months, sometimes longer. You feed them, walk them, send us photos, tell us what they're like. When we find their adopter, you hand them on. Then you do it again, if you want to.
What each side brings.
We cover
- Vet billsRoutine and emergency. Including the awkward ones.
- Transport in & outLucky Bus arrival to your area. Adopter pickup arranged.
- The matchmakingWe pick a dog that suits your home. Not a random allocation.
- Backup, day oneBehaviour advice, vet advice, anything. WhatsApp open.
- If it doesn't workWe move the dog. No drama, no judgement.
You cover
- A roof & a routineIndoor space, not a kennel. Walks, feeding, time on the sofa.
- Food & day-to-dayTheir meals. Treats. Toys you don't mind getting destroyed.
- Patience & observationTell us what they're like with kids, cars, postmen, cats.
- A few photosAdopters fall in love through your camera roll.
- The hardest partWaving them off when their forever home turns up.
We do all our own home checks. Online. In teams of two or three. We never outsource it. In three years we've had under five dogs we needed to move. That's a really good ratio, and it's all to do with the fact that we do our own home checks.
We're UK-wide.
We have two main foster networks plus individual fosterers scattered from Yorkshire to Bristol. We'd take a foster from anywhere in the UK as long as we can transport the dog safely.
The North West
Around our Southport base. Strong network across Merseyside, Greater Manchester, Liverpool.
Hampshire & the South
Anchored by Debbie's network in Basingstoke. Fosters across Hampshire, Berkshire, Surrey.
Apply & we'll match
One-offs in Yorkshire, Bristol, the Midlands. Tell us where you are and we'll work out the logistics.
Debbie didn't plan to adopt Mack.
She'd taken him in as a temporary foster. A Romanian rescue, off the Lucky Bus, who needed a soft place to land before his forever home. A few weeks turned into a few months. Mack stayed.
So she fostered Mabel instead. Then Rosa. Then Maria. Then Dexter. Then Dottie. Each one passed through her house on the way to somewhere else. She runs a fundraising auction in Basingstoke now and is the anchor of our Hampshire foster network.
You can do this more than once. Some dogs you'll keep. Most you'll wave off when their forever home turns up. Both of those matter.
We move the dog.
The unspoken worry about fostering is what happens if it goes wrong. The dog's anxious, your other dog hates them, the routine isn't working. You feel terrible, the dog's stressed, no-one's having a good time.
That's our problem, not yours. The matchmaking is in our hands and we take it seriously. No match is perfect. If it's not working we'll find another foster. No drama, no judgement. We've moved under five dogs in three years; the system holds.
One form. We come back to everyone.
Tell us where you are, what your home's like, and what you can offer. We'll come back within a few days.
Submissions go straight to our team via Animal Shelter Manager. We don't share your details with anyone else.
Rather fill it in by hand? Download a printable form (PDF)
Form not loading? Use the standard application
Things people ask before they apply.
Do you pay fosterers?+
No, we don't pay you. We cover vet bills if needed, including emergencies, so the big unpredictable costs are not all on you. You cover food and day-to-day care, and many fosterers chip in on some of the smaller vet costs too.
How long does a foster commitment last?+
Two weeks at the short end, several months at the long. We agree a minimum length with you when you start, and we'll never extend without checking in first.
Some dogs need a fortnight to decompress before going to their forever home. Others wait longer for the right adopter. Tell us what you can manage. We'll match a dog accordingly.
What if I want to adopt them?+
Many fosterers do. It's common enough that we have a name for it: foster-failed. Debbie did it with Mack; Mabel's foster is currently working out whether she'll do it with her.
If you want to adopt your foster, you go through the same adoption process and donation as anyone else, but you're at the front of the queue.
Can I foster if I already have a dog?+
Yes. Most of our fosterers do. We'll match a dog whose temperament fits your existing pack, and our home checks are specifically designed to work out things like that.
What we'd ask of you: an honest description of your dog (reactive on lead? doesn't share food? cat-friendly?) and a willingness to do slow, structured introductions. We'll talk you through it.
Can't foster right now? Sponsor a dog.
From £5 a month through Zeffy. A small, steady kindness that keeps one of the sanctuary dogs fed, safe, and named. No taking them in, no time commitment.
Sponsor a dog