Animal Welfare Professionals

We had a foster home for a dog and her pup.  Mom went thru the window and ran to the neighbors and shook one of their cats.  We did bring the cat to the vet but the cat did not survive.  I spoke with the owner the next day and she told me she wanted the dog to be euth.  She said she knows we do wonderful work but was shocked that the neighbor even had a animal there.  I asked her to please trust our decision for the dog future.  Not really sure she liked that answer.  I have a person overseeing the foster program and even I was shocked that this woman had past the application process.  I'm trying so hard to let people make decisions so it doesn't always land on my shoulder. 

Anyways we have placed the mom dog with someone else and she seems to be doing well with lots of exercise.  The puppy is with us in our home.  I'm very gun shy in any foster program and/or releasing any responsibility to anyone.  Any suggestions would be helpful.  Thanks in advance

Hi Kim,

That does sound like a nightmare! It's so hard when you've saved a life, and then something like this happens. 

Could you elaborate on what was wrong with the foster home so we can help brainstorm some ideas on how to weed people like that out in the future? Or help them become more responsible foster parents?

I totally understand not wanting to let go of decision-making, but you can only grow your life-saving capacity if you can create policies that others can supervise and enforce!

I work in the Special Education Dept and did know of the some of the parenting skills or lack of skills in the home.  When I mentioned it to the foster coordinator she said this is what she had and she thought it would be fine.  When I did ask about how it was going it wasn't taken well.  I don't know exactly where things went wrong, if it was not enough exercise or what.  We do have an application.  Not sure if their was a home visit or not before these dogs went into the home.  Like I said I tried to "let go" and be less controlling.  It seems that when I do let go of things, it seems to do more harm than good.  I'm not perfect in any means and I've learned the hard ways like we all have.  It just is hard when you know this could of been prevented.

Hey Kim!
When there is any kind of violent incident in a foster home, the first thing I do is ask a lot of questions about exactly what happened. How did the dog get loose? What did the dog's day look like? Where did she stay most of the time? Was there anything in particular that led up to her jumping through the window, or was it a surprise out of the blue?

Sometimes even the most experienced and trustworthy foster home can experience a terrible accident through no fault of their own, so having a calm and compassionate conversation with the foster to gather more information is critical before you decide what is next. Without having more details about the situation, I can't say whether or not the accident could have been prevented! You can have a list of questions you ask following an incident, or create an "animal incident" form that is completed by the coordinator any time there is a serious negative interaction between one of your foster pets and another animal. 

I have never done a home visit before placing a foster pet. I look at someone's application for red flags, then have a conversation with them about anything that doesn't look right to me. Lots of times providing information, training, or other support can help someone become a fantastic foster parent, even if they don't have a lot of prior experience with pets. 

In this field you can do a lot to mitigate risk, but ultimately when you are dealing with live animals there will always be factors beyond your control. When something tragic happens, you can try to analyze exactly what went wrong and implement new or revised policies to do better in the future. 

Did you already have policies in place that your coordinator didn't follow in this situation? 

I'm not sure what was done and what wasn't done.  Like I said I just let someone else do that position.  I've sent information to her from the Maddie's Foundation and other organizations.  Not sure if things were read or not.  I have reached out to the foster mom to see if she's alright.  People get defensive so I'm a little slow  in asking further questions.  I've only spoken with the next door neighbor once.  Should I reach out again  or leave it alone and let them heal. 

I just want to add that I completely concur with JKRoper and Karen Green. Bad things are going to happen no matter what we do. The best we can do is to try to implement protocols and training that limits them and then when something happens find out all we can and make adjustments as needed. I firmly believe that most people who sign up to foster come to us wanting to do a good job so instead of screening them out we should work with them to help them be successful. The truth is we need them all. At APA! we do very little "screening" and we have never done home visits. Like JKRoper we review the application and follow up on any red flags. In 10 years I have to say that I don't think any of the unfortunate incidents that occurred are things that could have been prevented with more screening. In most cases they were the sort of accidents that can happen to any of us. If we learn that it was something that perhaps could have been prevented we address it with the foster and also consider revising protocols and training. For example, we developed a special protocol for dealing with scared dogs after one too many escaped their foster home. It's an example of "expert" knowledge that we have about these dogs needs to be shared with our fosters, so that they can do all they can to keep them safe. . 

In addition to the compassionate conversation with the foster I would do the same thing with your foster coordinator. Help her understand this is not her fault either and have an open discussion about anything that perhaps could have been done differently. I'll also put in a shameless plug for considering having her attend our Maddie's Dog Foster Apprenticeship. We know how hard it is to find time to transfer all your knowledge to someone taking on these responsibilities. The apprenticeship is not only a way to give someone a solid base in building a foster program there is a huge benefit in learning from people doing the same work across the country. It might help you feel more comfortable with delegating - which BTW congrats to you for doing! It can be very hard to let go!

Regarding the question about speaking with the neighbor again I think it depends. If you are in a position where you could perhaps offer to cover the cost of the vet bill (or even something towards it) that might help. And/or you might offer to allow her to adopt a cat at no cost - understanding that you can't replace a pet it can still be a positive gesture. Lastly, explaining that you are taking this very seriously and implementing steps to prevent something like this recurring might also help. Overall I would trust your gut on whether or not talking to her again will help or make things worse. 

We paid for all vet costs.  I would never expect anyone to do that .

I have forward all information to the coordinator about different things we can do.  Not sure how far it has gone.  I know I sound judgemental and I'm sorry for that.  More disappointed in myself than anything else.  I never vocalize these things with anyone else except for all of you but it might show in my attitude.  So thank you for pointing that out for me.

Kym, don't be so hard on yourself. This was a tragic situation, hard for anyone and I think you're to be commended for reaching out. To me that's the purpose of this forum and above all I hope you feel supported by this community. One other suggestion is to possibly reach out to your foster coordinator by phone, or if possible, in person. Some things just don't come across as well in written form or an e-mail. Hang in there and focus on all the lives you are saving!

I talk with the coordinator on a daily basis.  She is trying to get me to take some other fosters.I'll see if  I can meet with them and have her come over to be with the dogs .  Thanks everyone for all your help

What a sad situation! It sounds like you have concerns about the foster home, and it's hard to tell what all is going on there. I can see how something like this could happen even in a very responsible foster home. If the dog has enough drive to go through a window, there's a lot of cat access out there. So it's hard to know if the foster home screening was even a risk factor in this particular case. 

In trying to figure out what happened, the approach I try to take in sensitive situations is to treat everyone involved with an abundance of compassion and respect, assume that they were trying to do their best, and recognize that they are likely feeling vulnerable. You may find the foster more open to a questions if your conversation is positioned around a mutual understanding that what happened was heart-breaking and stressful for everyone concerned, that you're wanting to check in on her and see how she is doing, and that as part of consistently trying to improve your organization's programs, you're trying to understand what happened best so you can see if there are any opportunities to put measures into place that might help prevent future occurrences. From that perspective, she may be more open to talking you through her understanding of what happened. It may be that this was just a tragic accident and there isn't anything that could be done, or it may be that you'll find something that will be helpful moving forward.

In any case, I support you continuing to let things go. It isn't sustainable for you to try to manage everything yourself! 

I have been very sympathetic with all parties.  It has been about 5 days.  I will wait a little longer and then reach out to foster mom again.  Thanks