An COVID-19 Update from our Foster Team

At Muddy Paws Rescue, we're always looking for new ways to improve our programs and increase our lifesaving capacity. We recently reached out to our wonderful foster community, and we learned a lot from what you shared.

We're committed to making improvements, and, as a first step, we're taking a moment to briefly address some common feedback we heard from you.

Many of you asked for more transparency on how many fosters we have VS dogs are coming into our care.

Currently, our foster community has grown to an incredible 1,600 fosters, including 900+ returning fosters and 700+ new fosters who joined us this year. With a two-person Foster Staff Team, limited budget, and our mission to only pull dogs that we can responsibly care for medically and behaviorally, only ~100 dogs are coming into our care each month.

Right now, we have the best type of problem where we have more foster volunteers than we have dogs!

Before COVID-19, our team would typically see 50-70 foster volunteers available for 2-weeks at a time. Currently, our team is seeing about 300-400 fosters submitting availability for a 3 week period.

With so many ready and willing foster homes, our team is working on increasing intake, all while managing 80+ dogs in our care at any given time. This is no small feat. Our team of hardworking staff and our incredible volunteers are working around the clock to ensure all the dogs in our care get the medical and behavioral attention they deserve while providing quality support to our foster parents.

If you're already an approved foster with Muddy Paws…

We kindly ask you to continue to update your availability each month, as we know schedules can change quickly. Knowing who is available in a given week allows us to decide what dogs we can bring into our care. We cannot guarantee a timeline for when you will be matched with a foster. There is no list or set order of fosters.

As always, we make our matches based on the foster's availability and preferences and the dog's individual needs. The more flexible you are on age and size, the more likely we will find a match for you!

Our goal is to create an enjoyable and seamless experience for you and set our dogs up for success.

Several fosters noted seeing repeat fosters when they have not yet gotten the chance to foster. In general, those who have fostered several times during COVID-19 have been matched because they have a certain level of medical or behavioral experience needed for dogs we would not place with a beginner foster.

Matching our incoming dogs to appropriate foster homes is a vital step in our process, and it is only a matter of time before we reach out to get you started on your foster journey.

We always strive to be as transparent as possible with our Muddy Paws Pack, and we hope this helps to clarify the process of fostering with us during COVID-19.

As we continue to distill the feedback we've received from our beloved community, please look out for more foster resources, tips, and helpful materials that we hope to share soon!