Foster homes play an integral part in the success of rescuing Rottweilers. We do not use a shelter to hold our dogs. Instead, all the dogs must spend a minimum amount of time in foster care.

RRUFF's dogs come from many different situations. Animal Control Officers call us on strays, shelters call us when Rottweilers are brought in to a shelter, and occasionally we will also take on a limited number of owner surrenders when the circumstances are extreme. Many dogs enter our program under weight or over weight, under socialized, and in need of basic training & medical care.

Our Evaluation Team performs a rigid temperament evaluation on each dog in order to determine whether or not the dog is a suitable candidate for our program. RRUFF does not knowingly take a dog from a shelter or individual that has bitten anyone or has aggression incidents, as we do not, and will not; place a dog with aggression issues.

Once a dog is accepted into the program it will be moved to a foster home. Occasionally a dog will be temporarily housed at a boarding kennel if there is not an open foster home at the time. Vet appointments are immediately set up for the dog to get all of their vaccinations, heartworm tests, fecal tests, spayed/neutered if needed, and have any other medical needs examined.

Foster homes provide the dogs a second chance to find a forever family. RRUFF dogs are placed in a foster home for a minimum of two weeks before being adopted, sometimes dogs are in foster care for much longer until that perfect family comes along. Being in foster care allows the dogs to learn how to live harmoniously in a family environment, the dogs are taught house manners, house training, crate training and some basic obedience. Training guidelines will be provided and you will be kept in contact with certain Coordinators. If you have Internet access, RRUFF has an email list for foster care providers that enables the entire foster group to communicate with each other quickly and efficiently. You will be responsible for filling out the foster update questionnaires, taking updated photos of your dog for the website and keeping the dog's bio up to date. We hold events throughout our coverage area and you may be asked to bring your dog to events within your area so the dog can be seen by potential adopters. If we have an approved adopter that is interested in your foster, you will be talking to the family to give them more information on the dog and to set up appointments for the family to come meet your foster.

Dogs are matched to prospective foster homes in the same fashion they are matched to permanent homes, including reference verifications and a home visit. We ask that you carefully communicate what types of situations are acceptable to you, and have all members of your family understand their importance in fostering a dog. Kids in particular play a very important role in foster homes as they give so much of themselves to these animals. They are also the saddest in the family to see their foster dog go. However, children should NEVER be left alone with any animal, particularly the foster dogs. Our goal is to have these dogs succeed.

If you should decide to apply to be a RRUFF Foster Care Provider, your application will take 2-3 weeks to process.