Foster Family Information

    Have you ever wanted to do something that really made a difference?  Giving a homeless dog a temporary home changes the life of that dog forever.  Many times these animals are 1 step away from being euthanized!  The stories of their lives are heart wrenching, but you can give them a happy ending to their stories.  

What Does HART Do?

We are a group of dedicated volunteers who help local animal shelters with dogs that are not easily adoptable in a shelter environment, need out due to space requirements, or simply have no where to go and find them permanent loving homes. We also get needy dogs from other rescue groups as well as owner surrenders.

What Kind of Dogs Does HART Rescue?

We are 1 of 3 all breed rescues in the state! Some dogs that come into our rescue are housebroken and trained and with some dogs we start from scratch! We get dogs of all shapes, colors, sizes, breeds and ages.

How does it Work?

We will have already asked for a commitment from you about a dog coming in so we know we have somewhere (a temporary home) for them to go. We then arrange a time for you to pick up the dog or we may have the dog dropped off at your home. The average time for a dog in foster care can range from 2 weeks to 6-8 months in many cases. We ask our foster homes to commit to a particular animal until they are placed as it is very difficult (on them and us) to move them into another temporary home.

The dogs are put up on our website and we ask that you bring your foster dog to Adoption Days at Petco or PetsMart in Onalaska, Wisconsin. We generally schedule two Adoption Day events each month on Saturdays or Sundays. People who are interested in adoption fill out an application. Foster families are asked for input on any potential home. While they do not always have the “final say”, their opinion on a potential placement carries a great deal of weight. Foster families are asked to review the application, speak with the potential adopter and then form an opinion on the placement. We value the opinions of our foster parents as they often times know their charge best. HART also screens the applicants and once they are approved to adopt, we make arrangements for the adoption. The adopter fills out the adoption contract, pays the adoption fee and can take the dog home!

What Am I Responsible For?

HART will provide all medical care for the foster dog. We usually have food, a crate, collar and leash to provide for your foster dog. All other supplies must be provided for by you. We ask that you be able to transport your foster to vet appointments (in Sparta or Tomah) and Adoption Day events, however in rare cases another volunteer can help with this if you are unavailable. All other supplies are foster homes responsibility. In the case of a medical emergency you can call another volunteer or the Tomah Vet ER service.

Sorry, only applicants from the counties of La Crosse and Monroe will be considered.  

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I want to be a foster, please give me more information

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