Fostering dogs

Hi,

Just wondering if I can foster dogs in Japan. I live close to Nagano city. I don't want to buy a dog as I don't know how long I would stay in Japan and may travel a bit. Fostering dogs seems to be a good option.

Thanks

Email the Tokyo branch of ARK (http://www.arkbark.net/?q=en/node/75), and they can put you in touch with foster services around your area if you're too far from Tokyo to foster for them. They speak English and Japanese, and are usually really helpful in answering any questions.

If you can communicate in Japanese, there is "adopt a pet" website listing that I can suggest to you... but somehow I don't understand the reasons you've got. Be it that you meet a dog in a pet shop or at a shelter, it is supposed to be for life, you are giving them a permanent home, and the shelter/shop will expect you to move with the dog when you leave Japan? Also if you intend to travel, you'd want to be prepared with a pet-sitter/pet hotel near where you live.

To the guest poster above and anyone searching this thread later who doesn't understand what the OP means, to "foster" a pet is to give an animal a temporary home until a permanent one can be found for them. Foster parents usually work with a shelter or organization (like ARK) that arranges the fostering for the animals in their care, and meanwhile search for a permanent home for the animal.

There are many reasons fostering is necessary. Often young dogs or kittens are too young to be separated from their mother, but most people can only take in 1 or 2 pets at a time, so a foster home would take care of the whole family until they are old enough to be adopted. Sometimes animals are sick and no one wants to adopt them until they're well, so foster families take them until they are better. Or, an animal doesn't respond well to humans because of living by themselves, or abuse, so foster families can get an animal used to people and give them a better chance of finding a permanent home. Fostering can be used for shelters that are overcrowded, and often mean the difference between life or death, because it gives an animal extra time to be adopted before they are killed. There are many reasons animals are fostered. And sometimes foster families fall in love with an animal and do end up adopting them!

Fostering is perfect for people who love animals, but aren't sure of their situation, either financial or because as in the OPs case they may not live in Japan a long time. Foster parents get the joy of having a pet but are assured that the animal will eventually find a permanent home and therefore will leave. This can actually be really difficult for both animal and human, but of course the alternative is often destroying the animal, so overall fostering is usually a very positive thing, and always there are more animals needing foster homes than homes available for them. Also, even if you already have a pet, you can often still foster, so if anyone is interested, I urge you to check the link I posted above and get in touch with ARK (they have a Kansai branch too, in Osaka I think) to get some help and advice.

OP, good luck!

scarreddragon,
Thank you for correcting my misunderstanding. I get it now. Then ARK would be the place to inquire.