Foster care requires a dedicated individual or family to take a greyhound into their home, assisting the greyhound to learn behaviours that are desirable in a domestic pet. Foster carers assist the greyhound with the transition from life in a kennel environment to life in a family home.

The foster process can be as short as two weeks, or may be as long as a couple of months, depending on the requirements of each greyhound. The sooner greyhounds start settling into their forever home, the better for them!

The next step: get ready to foster!

Once your application to foster a greyhound is successful, we will arrange a handover session to provide you with everything you need and your greyhound too of course! On top of these items listed we also provide all the information to help guide you through your first foster care experience.

Set your routine!

It is important that once a routine is set for the greyhound, it is maintained. Greyhounds thrive on consistency and settle quite well once they know and understand what is expected of them, where they are going, when they get fed etc.

Provide Feedback

Feedback is a key factor in the success of foster care.  During the foster care period you will be asked to provide regular feedback to the Foster and Adoption Officer to ensure the foster process is going smoothly and any undesirable characteristics or behaviours shown by your greyhound are identified before they become problem behaviours.

‘Grey’ meets world!

Preparing a greyhound for adoption is what the foster care period is all about - getting the greyhound out and about in the real world and introducing it to different environments, people and animals.  This will help ensure your foster greyhound is ready for whatever circumstances it may ultimately encounter in its future home. 

We've found a forever home for your foster greyhound!

Although this moment can be mixed with some sadness (as you have probably grown quite fond of your foster greyhound), it does mean you have done a great job as a foster carer!  Once we have identified a successful applicant for your foster hound, a the new owner will contact you to arrange a 'meet and greet' with you and the greyhound. We will ask you to bring your foster greyhound to GAP SA for a meet and greet with its new family, and if everything goes well, for the adoption!

We bet you are wondering….

The answer is yes! If you do fall in love with your foster greyhound you can keep them – we affectionately call this a ‘Foster Fail’! If you and the family have fallen head over heels for your greyhound and wish to keep them all for yourselves, please let us know as soon as possible into the foster period.