First Time Pet Owner

What to Consider

Being a first-time pet owner can be extremely exciting but will require much dedication and work. Just like human kids, furry friends don’t come trained. During the first several months you, bringing your pet home will be the most important as you will learn to trust each other, communicate, and set boundaries. Having a pet is like having a new family member. There are things many things to consider:

• If you move, are you prepared to take your new family member?
  • If not, you should refrain from adopting until you are and consider fostering.
• Are you financially prepared?
  • Dogs and cats can have accidents, just like kids. This can get costly.
  • A great way to manage your expenses is by getting pet insurance. They also require annual
    checkups, vaccines, and preventative care.
• Are you prepared to be on a schedule?
  • The best results often require a schedule, at least in the beginning.

When You Are Ready

First, ensure you have all the supplies you need. Here is a list to get you started:

• Food bowls (clean after every meal)
• Food (talk to your vet about what type of food they recommend for your pet)
• Toys (easy to wash, hard to destroy)
• Leash
• ID tag (with the pet’s name and your phone number)
• Collar (if you have a puppy or kitten make sure you check that their collar isn’t too tight as
  they will be growing quickly)
• Crate (make sure this is big enough for your pet to stand up and turn around in
• Bed (a place where they can call their own)
• Monthly heartworm and flea/tick preventative
• Grooming supplies
• How-to books (read these prior to bringing your pet home so you are fully prepared)

House Training

Dogs: House training is much easier when the puppy’s meals, exercise, and playtimes are on a regular schedule throughout the day.

Cats: House training cat is easier as they know almost immediately to go in the litter box once you’ve shown them where it is. Ensure you keep their litter box clean to avoid out-of-the-litter-box accidents.

Their Own Place

Dogs: decide where to put the crate and have it set up and ready for his/her arrival. Where to keep the crate will depend on what’s most convenient for you and the dog’s response. They don’t like to be isolated in one part of the house while their family is in another, but sometimes puppies won’t be settled down in their crates if there’s too much activity going on around them. You might have to experiment with different locations until you learn what
works best for both you and the dog.

Cats: Cat can also learn their area, so keep a bed and play area for them to know where to go when they want to be in their space.

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Flea, Tick, & Heartworm Prevention

Flea and Tick Bites

Flea bites can cause severe allergic reactions, severe itching, and swelling. If left untreated, bites can lead to excessive scratching and chewing that can damage the skin. Secondary bacterial or fungal infections can develop as a result. Fleas transmit parasites such as tapeworms and bacterial diseases such as cat scratch fever to humans.

Tick bites can be painful and irritating, but more concerning is the number of serious diseases they can transmit, such as Lyme disease. Lyme disease can cause significant illness and even death in both pets and people.

Prevention

There are many safe, effective, and easy ways to administer flea control products, and most have tick prevention as well. These products are typically administered in tablet or liquid form or topically by applying the medication directly to the animal’s skin. Fleas can be difficult to get rid of, and you may need to treat your pet and the affected pet’s environment repeatedly. All other animals in the house must also be treated with flea and tick control products, and the house and yard may need to be treated as well.

Heartworm Disease

Heartworm disease is a serious and potentially fatal condition that affects dogs and cats. It is caused by parasitic worms living in the major blood vessels of the lungs and, occasionally, in the heart. Heartworms are spread through the bite of an infected mosquito. Heartworm disease can cause a variety of medical problems affecting the lungs, heart, liver, and/or kidneys. Severe complications or when left untreated, can lead to death. It is virtually 100% preventable with a monthly administered oral or topical medication, yet many dogs are diagnosed with it each year. Whichever heartworm prevention is chosen, prevention is convenient and inexpensive compared to the dangers of the disease for dogs.

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How Can I Get Involved?

If you can’t adopt, foster. If you can’t foster, donate. If you can’t donate, volunteer. If you can’t volunteer, educate. This is our motto. You can help be the voice of the voiceless in so many ways.

Fostering

Our fostering program is designed to make it as easy for you as possible and will cost you nothing. We can cover the bills if you can open your heart and home. You will be assigned a dedicated case manager who will be available for any questions throughout the time you are fostering and screen candidates interested in adopting your foster baby. We thoroughly interview, reference check, and home visit before any stayover to ensure it’s a solid match.

Donating

Love And Rescue takes in many difficult cases of injured and sick animals, which can get very costly. We appreciate any amount you can donate to help their care. 100% of our donations are used for our animals. We are volunteer-based, and our rescues live in foster homes, so we have no overhead expenses. Also, your donations are fully tax deductible. You can donate any time via PayPal to donate@loveandrescue.com.

Volunteer

Case Manager: We always seek dedicated people to join our team. Our case managers are responsible for each rescue from the day of intake until the day they get adopted. He/She is responsible for regularly staying in touch with the foster and ensuring that each animal gets the medical care and attention it needs. He/She is also responsible for screening all potential adopters, including phone interviews, meet and greets in person, checking references, coordinating trial visits, and finally, the formal adoption.

Events: We have a hand full of events throughout the year where we need volunteers to help pass out information, talk to interested parties, care for the animals at the event, help set up/take down, assist with planning, and a few other duties required to organize the event.

Adoption Days: We have adoption days on the weekend at various partner locations, where our foster animals spend the afternoon there so that people can meet them in person. Our adoption day volunteer handles the animal during their designated shift. This will include walking if needed, cleaning up after the animal, answering questions for potential adopters, and, most importantly, having fun with it!

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What to Do if You Find a Stray

Spot

If you spot a stray animal, remember that safety comes first. If you are driving, ensure you can safely park your car from oncoming traffic. You must assess the animal by reading its body language and behavior before you approach it. Remember that an animal that is afraid hurt, or rabid may bite. If you cannot safely park your vehicle and/or approach the animal, call animal control and give them as much detailed information as possible about the animal, the location and time you spotted it, etc. If animal control is unavailable, call your local police department. Stay in your car if you deem it unsafe to approach the animal. If possible, stay with or near the animal until help arrives.

Approach

If you are able to approach the animal safely, try to catch it. Some animals may be jittery and try to run away if you make any sudden moves. Some may come right up to you, and some may need coaxing. Speak in a pleasant and calm tone to the animal. Use food or treats if you have them to lure the animal to you. The next step is to restrain the animal for its safety. If you are able to get close enough, calmly place a leash or rope around the animal’s neck. If you do not have a leash or the animal will not come close to you, make a barrier to close the animal into a small, constrained area where it cannot run away. Call for help if necessary. Stay with the animal, if possible, until help arrives.

Catch

Once you have caught the animal, take her to be scanned for a microchip. Any veterinarian’s office will provide this service, usually without charge. If it is the weekend or after business hours, go to an animal urgent care center/emergency care center. If the animal has a microchip, call the number on the chip, and they will provide you with the registered phone number. Your local animal shelter will also scan for chips, but be aware of their policies about releasing the animal to you if you want to take her home with you.

If you take the animal home with you, provide her with fresh water, food, and a comfortable place to sleep. Keep her separate from your animals and children until you are able to take her to the vet for an exam in case she has something contagious. Take clear pictures of the animal and make “Found” posters to hang around the area and vet clinics where you found it. Also, post pictures and details of her online on local “Lost and Found” pages, local animal shelter pages, your neighborhood’s website, NextDoor, Facebook, etc. Send an email to your HOA and
ask them to email its residents. You never know who may see her picture and help reunite her with her owner.

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Why Should You Foster?

Importance:

The first thing to remember is that fostering saves lives. Our rescues often need an immediate place
to go, either from the streets or the shelter. They need a place to decompress from their current
situation. A foster home is a place that can provide love, care, and some basic training to help our
animals become stellar forever pets.

Expectations:

Some say it’s too hard to be a foster parent because it’s so hard to let go. However, many of our
foster parents find this the most rewarding thing they’ve ever done. Without fosters, we would not
have the time to find wonderful adopters. We want to ensure that our rescues get a forever home and one that is a good fit for them to live the rest of their lives. This can take between a few weeks to a few months. Our adoption process is very thorough to ensure the safety of our rescues. Your foster animal will need a few days to sleep. We suggest you give them a warm secluded place where they will feel safe and can sleep off some of the stress from wherever they came from. Patience is the most important thing when fostering. You must remember they have no formal training and are likely feeling very confused. It is important that they feel safe in your home. It can
take several days for them to adjust and trust that they will not be hurt. Our case managers will walk you through a case-by-case situation depending on how much we know about what that animal has been through.

Requirements:

So what does it take to be a foster? Great question! All it takes is time, patience, and love. Love And Rescue will provide you with all the items and vetting needed to ensure your foster animal is happy and healthy in your home. You will also have a dedicated case manager to turn to for any questions, concerns, updates, and assistance throughout the term of your fostering. If you are interested, please send us an email to: admin@loveandrescue.com.

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