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Please give a big foster welcome to Chris, who will be taking over the position of Foster Coordinator. Tina will be transitioning to Rescue Coordinator. Chris has been with the City of Dallas for 7 years and has worked in several departments, including Pet Support and Medical. We are excited to have coordinators crossed trained in our outreach programs and to see the new input Chris has to offer.
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Please also welcome Erika Bennett, our new Outcomes Manager. This manager position is over our Adoptions, Foster, and Rescue teams which is focused on positive outcomes for all pets at Dallas Animal Services. Erika comes with a wealth of knowledge from previous positions including supervisor roles in pet support, shelter pathway, and a total of 15 years within the animal welfare industry. Erika says, "[her goal is to] increase lifesaving by moving pets into foster while also increasing the outcomes that are provided for pets through fostering.
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Our team is currently preparing by overhauling our program to fit the current needs of our shelter, we wanted to share a few important updates to the 2023 season.
Same-Day Kittens:
Kittens that are eating independently and are overall healthy will now be available for same day foster or foster to adopt and will be housed in the front half of South cat room.
New Supplies:
We're excited to now offer 4lb paper litter bags, bottle feeding kits, and wide tip feeding syringes. In addition, we are now able to support our fosters with larger quantities sent home.
We hope that you can join our upcoming foster town hall (3/22/23 at noon) focused on the 2023 kitten season here!
Meeting ID: 217 901 241 176
Passcode: wYNiwY
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Hollywood Feed Event
We're excited to be part of another beautiful event hosted by Hollywood Feed. This is a volunteer-led adoption event for eligible fosters through DAS. This event will take place at Hollywood Feed at Lake Wood (2031 Abrams Rd, Dallas, TX 75214) on the second Saturday of every month. If interested in attending, please sign up here: https://DAS.as.me/FosterAdoptionEventHWF, and a volunteer will confirm your attendance!
Upcoming dates:
- March 11th
- April 8th
- May 13th
- June 10th
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Join us on March 11th for our virtual meet-up giving new fosters more insight into the foster program. The main topics covered will be utilizing Adopets and ways to help get your foster pet into their perfect home. This meeting will be lead by long-time foster Sarah Jones!
Click here to join us at 9 am
Meeting ID: 217 901 241 176 Passcode: wYNiwY
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Fostering since 2021, Caroline Ward is a regular face in the foster/rescue office. Her 2022 year is just a snapshot of her contributions to DAS. Caroline has had six fosters, spent 200 hours volunteering, and always has a welcoming smile.
What made you start fostering?
My dog Milo's foster mom, Kayla. She stepped up to save him, and once I fell in love with him, that act of kindness meant so much to me. He wouldn't be here without her. So, I wanted to be to someone else, what she been to me
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Do you have a favorite foster?
I love them all so much for different reasons. But Milo did have a favorite - he fell in love with Bubbles.
What do you think is the hardest part with fostering?
Saying goodbye is always bittersweet. And wanting to foster fail every single one of them. :)
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What is it like working with an adopter out of state?
My experience was wonderful! I had a good feeling about the family adopting Bubbles. Their shelter in Vermont had a shortage of pets, they saw her online and fell in love! We found a really great transporter, who sent photos along the journey, which helped us both feel better about Bubbles making her way across the country! I get happy pup-dates a few times a month, she is so loved and happy- there is no greater feeling than that. It worked out perfectly!
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What words of encouragement do you have for new fosters?
The DAS community is a big, amazing support system. So, utilize it! Others are so willing to help, you just have to ask. There are volunteers who write witty bios, take cute pictures, or help with marketing.
The Facebook group is great for quick questions. When I had a foster with crate anxiety, I didn't know what to do-and I was so appreciative of the supportive responses. Other fosters usually have great tips and tricks and are super supportive!
Last but not least, the DAS foster team is amazing and will help you with any questions or concerns that you have. AND download Anipanion!
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Dallas Animal Services is committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion in all things we do, including pet adoption. Like most other progressive animal shelters in the country, DAS practices open adoptions, which is an adoption philosophy born out of extensive research conducted by industry leaders more than a decade ago. In short, open adoptions means that we are open to all adopters, regardless of experience, knowledge, situation, or resource level.
In practice, open adoptions means that the Dallas90 Team isn’t working to screen our adopters; rather, they are offering themselves as a resource to help them find their best pet match and gain any knowledge and resources that they may need to make their adoption a success.
We understand things can happen that are out of your control and making the decision to return to the shelter can be difficult, but we want to make the process as easy as possible.
When you need to a return a pet for any reason, please utilize the foster surrender link: https://das.as.me/fostersurrender If the issue is more urgent, please notify the foster team immediately at dasfoster@dallas.gov and we can expedite the return. Our Pet Support team handles the intake process, and having an appointment is the easiest way to process a smooth return.
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