Wanting to help Bernese Mountain Dogs?

The role you have within the organization is very important to us. We are a volunteer run non profit; a group of caring individuals dedicated to helping Berners find their forever homes.We need volunteers from transporting to fostering across the United States & Canada. ​

---

Remember: Whether transporting or fostering, it is hard to take in an animal, love them & then let them go. It can be stressful & heartbreaking. If at any time you feel it is too much, please call us. Keep the BIG PICTURE in mind, which is the animals & placement of these animals. This will allow us to save more Bernese Mountain Dogs. The more we can work with & train them, the more attractive they are to adopters. There are some animals that need the socialization & playtime of a home environment. This is where we need you the most. Not many people can love an animal as their own & then relinquish it to someone else. You will become attached. Remember though, by fostering you are putting the animal in a home situation, a stable & loving environment, something it might not have ever known. You are saving its life.

Volunteer: Transport & Foster application

Volunteer: Transport & Foster Agreement

Volunteer Positions

TRANSPORTER

Driving the dog(s) in your vehicle from one location to another. (Dogs may be fearful, flight risks, or not groomed)

FOSTER

"Dog sitting" in your home until they find their forever family. You're a key element in showing them what love is. 

PROCESSOR

 Assisting with applications, checking references & helping add info into an organized system based on location

COORDINATOR

 Assisting in figuring out appropriate routes & arranging transport trains or foster homes based on location

Volunteer: Transport / Foster application

Volunteer: Transport & Foster Agreement

Foster Guidelines

Fostering is "dog sitting" in your home until we find their forever family. You're a key element in showing them what love is! We're able to do vetting, learn about their personality, & what their needs are; so, we can place them in their ideal environment. Length of stay varies by dog and their needs, if you are limited on length of stay, please tell us that if you decide to apply. Please, keep in mind that some dogs could be extremely fearful & have not had much human interaction. It is *not* like dog sitting for a friend's dog.. however, it is SO rewarding.  We do occasionally have "foster fails", in which the foster family is given the opportunity to adopt because they can't imagine life without them anymore! 

Introduction of Your Foster Dog into your Home: Always use caution when introducing two animals. The new animal should be slowly introduced, kenneled, and/or separated from your pets. Introduction of dogs can be handled on neutral territory such as a park or neighbor’s yard. When you must leave, make sure the foster is in a secure area. *Extreme Flight Risks will need added security measures.

Housetraining and Confinement: Some of our BARC babies have lived in cages their entire life or had large pens with no shelter. It absolutely depends on your foster on whether to attempt crate training. The introduction of a crate will tell you whether it will be too stressful for your foster to attempt. If crate training is not an option, try confining the dog in a kitchen or tiled room that has quick access to the outdoors.

Training: Always take into consideration that this animal needs to fit in to another home. Work with them on the basic commands, such as sitting, walking, etc. (if you need assistance on training these commands, please ask!!). We absolutely do not believe in aggressive training so if you have behavioral problems that you don’t know how to handle, please call your foster coordinator. We want the dog to have fun and feel safe.

Veterinary Care: BARC wants to make sure that your foster baby stays in tip top shape or in some cases, comes back to health. With your help, your foster coordinator will keep the dog up to date on vaccinations, heartworm preventative, and flea and tick prevention. When you receive your foster dog, you will be provided with heartworm preventative and flea and tick prevention. If while in your care, your foster dog becomes ill, is injured, or “just doesn’t seem to be acting right”, please call your foster coordinator. Your coordinator will help with suggestions, tried & true homemade treatments, or will instruct you to seek a veterinarian’s care. While in veterinarian’s care, BARC will pay for microchipping, vaccinations (including rabies, bordetella, & distemper combination shot), fecal float, deworming, parasite removal, ear treatment for mites or infection, or any other treatment deemed necessary to bring your foster back to its optimum health. We can’t stress enough that all medical intervention needs to be authorized by your foster coordinator.

Adoption and Saying Goodbye: This may the hardest part of fostering. You are an ambassador of BARC. You are encouraged to show, walk or do anything to help place your foster. All adoptions and fees must be handled and approved through the BARC board. If you happen to find a wonderful home for your foster, call your foster coordinator and she will have the board get in touch with that person.

Record Keeping: You have been supplied some records you must keep accurate and current. Also, please include an evaluation of your animal. Please list things that will be helpful to the dog’s new family. Those include feeding schedule and food, medicine, personality traits (likes to play, shy, loves balls, gets along with other dogs, etc.) and any other traits that they will need to be aware of.

Foster Coordinator:
Barb Sherman     
(815) 383-2087   (text or call if urgent)  
bgs82@sbcglobal.net

Any issues or questions?
​Medical advice & approval available!
Are you wanting to foster fail? (aka: Adopt)
Let me know!

Volunteer: Transport / Foster application

Volunteer: Transport & Foster Agreement

How else can I help?

Tax-Deductible Donations, Friends of BARC Fundraisers, Ways & Means, Sponsorships & Vendors Supporting BARC.; ​HELP RESCUE BERNERS BY MAKING A TAX-DEDUCTIBLE DONATION TO BARC!