Fostering – What About Medical?

Saving with Soul works with a handful of veterinarians and vet clinics in our area. Most of these have agreed to discount their services and to be mindful of the financial realities of a non-profit rescue organization. We are SO grateful to these veterinarians for working with us – they all run busy practices and don’t really “need” our business – they work with us due to a desire to help us keep Making Miracles Happen.

All vet care must go through our partner veterinarians. If you choose to take your foster pet to an outside clinic, you may be responsible for the charges. We are almost always able to get medical care for our pets in a timely manner, even though the local clinics are often booked out for weeks for their regular customers.

We have a single point of contact to schedule vet appointments – you will be advised of who that is once you begin fostering.

Emergency Vet Care

In general, Saving with Soul does not pay for services rendered at an emergency vet clinic due to the exorbitantly high cost of care. Thankfully, this is rarely an issue and we are lucky to have reasonably good access to our partner vets even on the weekends.

In case of emergency, you must contact SWS before seeking emergency care. If you can’t reach anyone, post in our private Facebook group and ask for help. Or do both. We have an extremely knowledgeable group of volunteers who are always willing to pitch in.

If you take a foster to an emergency clinic without authorization, you will be responsible for the charges (and they require payment upon arrival).

Kennel Cough (dogs) & Upper Respiratory Infections (cats)

Kennel cough and other respiratory issues are a reality in rescue. Sometimes it seems that every pet we pull from a shelter comes down with kennel cough or URI even if they weren’t coughing at the shelter. Is kennel cough/URI contagious to your pets? Yep. Fortunately, most of us have found that our own pets don’t get it, but it is a possibility, even if your pets are vaccinated. The only way to avoid that happening is to keep your fosters completely separated from your personal pets, and if you can do that – great! But for most of us, it’s impractical or impossible.

So, just know that if you foster shelter animals, you will expose your own pets to kennel cough/URI.

Animals with any respiratory issues are NOT allowed at adoption events or on spay/neuter transport. Period. Not only is it contagious to the other pets in proximity, it makes us look as if we are trying to adopt out sick animals.