Fancy Rat(s) & Mice

Foster Application

Thank you for stepping up and for your willingness to help save an animal in need!

We are always happy to welcome new fosters, as you directly impact our ability to save animals. We would LOVE to have you join our awesome foster crew, so please fill out the questionnaire bellow.

It will help us understand more about you, what kind of temporary home you can provide, duration of fostering, as well as your level of knowledge, and comfort with companion animals.

 

 

FOSTERING WITH EMPTY CAGES COLLECTIVE

 

WHAT WE EXPECT:

  1.  Duration of fostering- We ask for a minimum of two months fostering commitment, but ideally, a foster parent will keep an animal until their adoption. The adoption process varies for each animal, so it is virtually impossible to even guess the time. Sometimes it's only a matter of days, sometimes it's a few months. If we feel that a certain animal isn't getting much attention, we will do a push via our social media and try our hardest to make the adoption happen as soon as possible.
  2. Daily supplies- As a foster parent, you will be responsible for providing rat/mice blocks (to be available throughout the day), two meals a day, and bedding. Unfortunately, our shoestring budget doesn't make it possible for us to cover these daily expenses long term, but we would be able to set you up for the first few weeks with everything aside from fresh meals. We are a 501(c)(3) non profit, all-volunteer organization. We rely solely on the generosity of people like you to continue our work to rescue, rehabilitate, place, advocate for and assist animals in New York City and beyond.
  3. Adopter visits- You are expected to open your home for at least one hour visit to a potential adopter. Once we have an approved adopter, and only when approved, we will put the adopter in contact with you, so they can visit your home, meet the animal(s) you are fostering, and let us know if they are committing to the adoption. An ECC adoption coordinator will also be present for the time of the visit, making sure the adoptive family gets an orientation on handling, diet, housing and overall care. If the family is committed to the adoption, ECC will organize drop off at the new home at a later date after one of our adoption coordinators conducts a Skype or FaceTime home visit, making sure the adoptive family is well prepared with the needed supplies and enclosure. Because animals in foster homes are more relaxed, and can be observed/played with in a familiar settings, people get a really good feel on them, and adoptions happen almost always upon concluding the first visit. It will be highly unlikely that you will need to meet with more than one adopter for each animal you foster.

 

 

WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT:

  1. Setting up- An ECC foster coordinator will visit your home, set up the fancy rat, or mice, enclosure and enrichment items we will be lending you (unless you already have your own, in which case we will be working with you so we can establish cage enrichment that is in agreement with our policies and requirements), and instruct  you about needed out of cage time and space, handling, socializing, diet, and so on. Either during this time, or shortly after, we will bring your new foster(s) to your home. To see some of our standard cages, and play pens, please check out THIS Dropbox pic folder.
  2. Medical- Empty Cages will pay for all medical issues of our animals. Transportation to and from our vets is arranged well in advance and always tightly organized by our volunteers and our fosters. We expect fosters to monitor their foster animals for any signs of illness and to notify ECC immediately if any issues arise. We only use certain vet offices for our animals. Their service and expertise is something we rely on, as well as the substantial discount they give us. Without this discount, our ability to help more animals would be severely challenged.
  3. Satisfaction of helping those in need- The knowledge of helping an animal being rescued, and the joy and fulfillment of providing sanctuary while we work on finding the forever home!

PERSONAL INFORMATION:

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Before you click submit, please note that ALL questions on the application must be answered in order for it to submit. We recommend scrolling trough your application after you finish the questionnaire, in order to make sure there are no red highlighted question boxes (that will signal them being unanswered). If the question does not apply to you, answer n/a, but do not leave the answer box empty.

Once you have submitted the application, an Empty Cages Collective (ECC) foster coordinator will contact you as soon as possible to confirm the receipt.

EMPLOYMENT INFORMATION

HISTORY WITH PETS

FOSTERING EXPERIENCE

HOME INFORMATION