So you’ve been quietly looking at our social channels, and seeing how awesome fostering looks. We’re sure you have a lot of questions! Whether you’ve fostered before–for us or another organization–or this would be your first time, let’s learn a bit more about how Muddy Paws really works!

Let’s start from the beginning. How does the foster matchmaking process work?

Muddy Paws sends two reminders per month to our foster parents: one asking fosters to submit monthly availability and share upcoming transport dates, and the other to remind fosters to update/submit availability if anything’s changed. On the back end, our team filters our database by fosters who are available for 3 consecutive weeks. We look at the population of dogs in our partner shelters and choose as many dogs as possible for our foster parents. Then we strategically match incoming dogs to available fosters based on a foster’s weight preference, building weight or breed restrictions, age preferences, and any other notes they may share with us (i.e, they want a short-haired dog, or maybe they have a senior resident dog who does best with other older dogs, or maybe we have a foster who enjoys running with dogs who’d like a higher-energy adult).

By strategically matching foster parents, we’re able to maximize the number of dogs we can save while doing our best to give fosters a dog they would also feel is a good fit for them. Of course, we have minimal information about our pups, and we can’t always guarantee energy level or certain behaviors, but our shelter partners do an amazing job at helping to narrow down the dogs who would likely do well in NYC, and with foster parents who may be new at fostering and training.

Why does MPR need to constantly recruit new foster parents?

While we are lucky to have hundreds of foster parents in our system, only about 5-10% of our database is “active” or “available” at a given time. We can only save the number of dogs we have homes for, but we also need foster parents who are:

available to take in dogs when fosters have an availability change
more experienced with quirky pups
outside of the city
able to take on special needs and medical cases.

We always have new dogs coming in and dogs who are currently in our care who need a new or specific type of home. Of course, fosters also eventually adopt, move, or have a significant life change that may put a pause on their ability to foster.

I’ve submitted my availability but haven’t been matched. How come?

The answer here may vary depending on your personal preferences/limitations, our own population of dogs, or how high/low foster interest may be.

For example, if you can only foster hypoallergenic adult dogs under 15 lbs, there are likely going to be fewer options we can send your way. If you are flexible on age, size, breed, etc., there’s almost always a match!

In terms of our population, if we don’t have a transport coming in but only have dogs in need that have specific behavior issues, we’re likely going to search for someone who can best support those dogs, instead of offering them to any open foster.

If MPR has exceedingly low foster interest, we may not be able to welcome a transport of dogs at all for a few weeks. On the flip side, if foster interest is high (like it was in 2020), we may have more fosters than dogs, which is our favorite problem to have. At the end of the day, MPR also has a financial capacity, and cannot always support more than 100 dogs in our care, even if we have 105 open fosters (this is very hypothetical—it would be a dream come true if we had hundreds of fosters all available at once).

No matter what, we always welcome emails letting us know if you haven’t been matched. We will hopefully be able to explain why it may be the case for that week/month, re-clarify your availability, and offer you a dog soon.

What if I don’t have 3 weeks of consecutive availability?

While we likely won’t offer you a transport pup, there are plenty of dogs who need short-term fosters. However, there is no guarantee we’ll have a pup for you if, say, you’re only available for a weekend. Let us know regardless by submitting your availability in our portal, and we’ll be in touch if we need you. You can also keep an eye out for short-term foster opportunities on our Facebook page, as fellow fosters may also look for coverage on their own.

What does “length of stay” really mean?

Length of stay is measured in days, and in the rescue world, it's the number of days a dog is in foster care. It starts on the day our pups arrive in our care and ends when a dog is adopted. Our average length of stay is about 17 days, and it is generally why we look for 3-week availability at minimum. However, there are plenty of dogs who are with us longer, and it is always best case scenario for dogs to have committed fosters that are willing to foster until that adoption day arrives.

Why aren’t all dogs adoptable right away? / When is my dog going on the website?

Different age groups have different “hold” periods before they are candidates for adoption. Generally speaking, young puppies are the most vulnerable population arriving from a shelter environment, and they are more susceptible to break with shelter-borne illnesses up to 10 days after arrival. Older puppies and adult dogs are less vulnerable, may have more vaccinations, or at least will have fully developed immune systems. These dogs don’t need to be held nearly as long for these reasons, but individual dogs may need more time before being adoptable. Simply put, some dogs are more scared than others, and may need more time to decompress before we adopt them out. Other dogs may need more training, vet visits, or specialized care. Prior to any dog being adoptable, our staff will want to feel like we have a good sense of that dog's personality, behavior, and medical needs before matching them with an adopter.

My foster dog’s status online says “waitlist full-pending adoption.” Hooray! I must be off the hook after this weekend’s adoption event, right?

Not quite! While this does mean your dog has adoption interest, it is not uncommon for dogs to meet with several adopters before finding their forever families. Adopting is a big decision, and interest does not mean the adopters will always go through with adopting once meeting a dog in person. Never expect your pup to get adopted at their first adoption event, as it truly can go either way.

I’ve had my foster dog for 3 weeks, and they still aren’t adopted. Why not?

Just like foster interest, adoption interest ebbs and flows. During certain times of year, adoption interest may dip, and dogs may be with us longer than we hope. Some dogs may also need specific homes, and it may naturally take longer to find the right forever family for your pup. While most dogs are adopted in three weeks or less, we’ve had dogs remain with us for several months. These dogs may have specific behavioral or medical needs, or may need homes outside of the city. As a NYC-based rescue, adopters in the suburbs are harder to find, though we are doing our best to expand our foster program, vet partners, and adopter base to quieter areas. If you have friends or family in NJ, CT, Long Island, or beyond–be sure to tell them about us!

How do adoption events work, and why can’t I stay with my foster dog that day?

Adoption events are where we find homes for the majority of our dogs. Generally speaking, fosters will drop their pup off at a scheduled time, our dogs receive booster vaccines and treatments as needed, and before we know it we’ll be open for adoptions! Some dogs will go into the event with pre-scheduled adoption meetings, others will be ready to meet potential families who come by hoping to adopt that day. The goal of our events is to find forever homes for our pups, so fosters are always encouraged to say goodbye at drop off, just in case. The team will be in touch if your pup was or wasn't adopted, and if that day wasn’t their lucky day, we’ll let you know when to pick them up.

Unfortunately, foster dogs don’t always show off their best selves with their fosters present! When foster parents are present, the dogs may be distracted and less likely to form bonds with their potential forever families. Unless your foster dog is extremely stressed/scared and we feel they may benefit from you hanging around (and possibly even taking them home early)--we ask fosters to simply drop off and enjoy their day away from the event.

My dog was adopted! Now what?

Hooray, your work here is done–for now! Please let us know when you’re open for another foster by submitting your foster availability through our Portal.

What happens day-to-day for the Muddy Paws Rescue team?

A lot goes on behind the scenes here at MPR! Thanks to our staff of 10 and our incredible volunteers, MPR operates as a small business. We’re constantly evolving our programs and always challenging ourselves to be the best we can, in hopes that we can give fosters and adopters an amazing experience and save more lives together as a community.

On a given day, our team works on foster placements, has constant communication with veterinarians and trainers, processes applications, sets up adoption meetings, supports our adopters, and stays on top of everything our fosters and their dogs may need to be successful. Our operations team handles our social media, fundraising, special events, tech improvements, and so, so much more.

How do you choose which dogs join your foster program?

With the help of our shelter partners, we choose dogs that fit into the parameters of the fosters we have available. Generally speaking, we welcome a mix of all ages and sizes, and have a capacity for specific groups. Our shelters also may have a specific ask for us during certain times of the year, such as indoor puppies or moms and litters during summer “puppy season,” or large dogs from shelters like NYC Animal Care Centers who are at risk for being over capacity with animals in their care. When we know our shelter partners are struggling with placing certain ages or sizes, we may do specific call outs for fosters to help with these pups. We also look for dogs who are dog friendly and people friendly, but welcome dogs with quirks if we have the right home. At the end of the day, we want everyone–dogs and fosters–to be set up for success.

How many dogs are generally in foster care?

We generally support between 60-90 dogs and their foster parents at a time.

Now that you’re more familiar with our foster program operations, we hope you have a better understanding of how things work behind the scenes. Do you have a question that wasn’t answered here? Start a conversation with us!

Juliette is the Foster Program Manager at Muddy Paws Rescue. You can follow her fosters, resident pets, and favorite MPR dogs (jk.. she swears she doesn’t have favorites!) at @juliesfosterbabies on Instagram.