I think the fostering system is a scam. How many dogs get placed?
My gf has tried to use this tactic to get us a dog. It aint happening.
older dogs are admittedly much harder to place. puppies tend to go super fast. these guys should be gone by october.
2 of my 3 dogs (the ones that live here normally) were rescues from foster situations. one was a year and a half old the other was a puppy.
honestly- puppies are easy to place especially for a family that wants a dog and doesn't want to pay 'purebread' prices. when in foster care it helps socialize them and gets them started on their training.
for example- the dogs that i have trained myself (for me, my family, and a few friends) all get a buzz word to go to the bathroom. I usually use "Andiamo" (lets go) so they dont get confused with everyday speech. People who adopt animals, especially puppies, like to know that some of the training and work is done for you.
as far as it being a scam- i am very much pro rescue (as i said- 2 of my 3 dogs are from rescues). there are too many dogs out there that need homes. there are huge networks of rescues in this country and they place thousands of animals a year. they do good work. yes some people fall in love with their foster pets and end up keeping them, but mostly they go to good homes. It is actually harder to get a dog from a rescue than it is from a pet store or a lot of breeders- because rescues tend to do background checks and in home inspections before allowing you to adopt. Rescues want to know that an animal that had a questionable past will end up in a better situation where it will spend the rest of its days. Lastly- the rescues get the pets spayed and neutered. They even pay for vet visits and inoculations. The prep work that goes into getting a dog into a home is huge.