The Foster Dog House

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The Foster Dog House The Foster Dog House is a 501(c)3 nonprofit animal rescue based in Charlotte, NC

Slight change in plans due to tomorrow's forecast. The good news - our event is still on because it's indoors! So when ...
10/09/2026

Slight change in plans due to tomorrow's forecast.

The good news - our event is still on because it's indoors! So when you're tired of watching it rain, go grab a drink and visit Howie who will metaphorically be judging everyone's costumes.

Th Brews & Rescues event has been rescheduled to next Saturday!

We are in the home stretch of the year! For our new followers: these quarterly recaps are our way of showing how we've b...
10/08/2026

We are in the home stretch of the year! For our new followers: these quarterly recaps are our way of showing how we've been fulfilling our rescue mission and what else we hope to accomplish plus transparency of where donations go, which is the only way we're able to operate.

🎉 The Foster Dog House officially turned TWO in August! We will share alum updates in a seperate post because they deserve their own showcase. Seeing former fosters happy & healthy is our favorite!

♥️ 2Q Goal Update: Nova finished heartworm treatment without complications and found her forever family shortly after. We simply need more offers to foster through adoption to help more pups though.

🥇 3Q Highlight: We were honored to be the raffle beneficiaries of the 26th Annual All American Dog Show. I spent all summer sending emails and collecting raffle items and I'm very pleased we were able to raise $840! .photography got some great pictures for us to share and to properly thank all the businesses that helped us (more to come).

🐶 : Hopefully you've enjoyed seeing all the work .nicole has been doing with Duncan (archived in our "Duncan II" highlight if you've missed it). His board & train program wraps up this weekend and I'm excited to share a recap, then resume his two year search for his forever!

🗓️: Two event weekend coming up, which is very rare for us! Hopefully the weather cooperates but find us Saturday 12-4pm. Then go see Howie indoors to kick off costume contest season.

Thank you for the continued support. We're simply still just fosters ourselves doing a little bit more to try to help our area's overflowing shelters and help adoptable dogs find their forever families.

Who else is surprised our resident black dog is still available for adoption?! While it’s been fun to see how much Auggi...
10/02/2026

Who else is surprised our resident black dog is still available for adoption?!

While it’s been fun to see how much Auggie has grown (especially those ears!), he is more than ready to find his forever family. I won’t sugarcoat how much work puppies are. At just 4 months old, he’s still learning everything but here’s what we know:
🧬 Unknown but guessing poodle mix with shepherd or lab
🎂 ~4 months old (est. DOB 6/2/26)
⚖️ 17lbs (expected to be ~50lbs)
💉 UTD on vaccines. Neuter will be covered when 6 months old.
🐶 Excited to be around other dogs but is too afraid to actually play. Doesn’t seem to enjoy other energetic pups (the irony!).
👧🏻 Being around kids wears him out in a good way but need to be mindful that he isn’t aware of personal space and he does have classic puppy teeth.
🎾 Loves toys especially balls for fetch
🚽 Potty Training in progress
⚡ Medium-High Energy (very active then crashes)
🍔 Very food motivated
😴 Sleeps in his crate for several hours during the day when we have to be at the office and always at night. Has adjusted really well to this routine.
🌳 Great in public! Loves meeting strangers.
🚙 Great in the car!

His ideal adopter would be an active family that’s familiar with the puppy stage (or has done their research) and has the patience to continue the lessons we’ve started.

🔗 If interested in meeting Auggie, please complete an adoption application which can be found on our website (link in bio).

Last week Pistachio received a solid adoption application and we moved forward with a phone interview. A majority of the...
09/24/2026

Last week Pistachio received a solid adoption application and we moved forward with a phone interview. A majority of the conversation centered around his need for continuous training and structure due to his hyperactivity. We talked about how he seems wired to please people when given direction and how he’d likely thrive if he’s taught a job (therapy in this case).

Like many other times before, the next day I received a text that they didn’t want to move forward. This time they cited that they weren’t comfortable leaving him crated at home a few days a week while working outside the home. During our conversation, I had mentioned my concern that their plan for doggy daycare on office days may cause him to regress in unwanted behaviors we’ve worked hard to improve (advice I’ve received from trainers).

While I’m disappointed that applicants once again changed their mind after starting the process, I’m not sorry for being honest about what’s best for each of our pups. Of course would much rather waste some time now than have a return down the road.

I’m honestly lost on what we can do differently for Pistachio. He deserves a dog savvy, patient person that channels all his working dog qualities into adventures and companionship or someone less experienced that’s intrigued by what they can learn about dog handling from a professional. I know we will find the right fit for Pistachio eventually but he’s one that has absolutely stumped me for the last year.

We utilized boarding this weekend but if you’re interested in temp. fostering in the future or want to help get him out & about on a daycation, please reach out.

09/24/2026

Last weekend we took foster pup Auggie to Zoom Room Huntersville-Lake Norman | For People Who Love Dogs for their puppy preschool! While we’ve been working on the basics at home, we put his obedience to the test in a room with lots of distractions, strangers, and other bouncy puppies.

He did great! My favorite Auggie quality is actually how good he is in public and how attentive he is when I have treats. He is more than ready to continue learning in his forever home!

🔗 If you are interested in learning more please go to our website.

Pistachio is on the move…to a new foster that is. But we need weekend coverage to make it happen officially. After over ...
09/16/2026

Pistachio is on the move…to a new foster that is. But we need weekend coverage to make it happen officially.

After over a year with one foster, we’re so hopeful that a change in environment is the answer to finally finding Pistachio's forever family. Lots of brewery visits and pics to come!

While his distinct look has resulted in dozens of adoption applications over the year, none have been quite right. Most changed their mind after applying or meeting him, others were our decision due to naiveness with the structure/training he needs or had a feline & apartment combo (we may be okay with one or the other but both made us nervous).

Pistachio is a ball of fluff and energy. He loves people, car rides to adventures, & playing with toys or other dogs. He's generally unaware of personal space with humans and other dogs which some may find annoying...or endearing. He's unbothered by crowds or loud noises. He simply enjoys people watching or taking in the different sights and sounds. Daily walks are really the key to exercising his brain. He finally stops moving when it's crate time and he's surprisingly tolerant when it's time to trim his grinch feet or cut his nails. He is easily excitable so he has to be reminded not to jump but he loves to please when given proper direction. He is no couch potato but Pistachio would be great for someone looking for a dog they can work with or teach new skills and take out and about even if you work 8-5.

While we would love to find an adopter sooner rather than later, temp. fostering is our greatest need at the moment. Please consider helping for a weekend!

The longest member of .foster.dog.house, Duncan, has started a 4 week Board & Train with . This is a really big investme...
09/15/2026

The longest member of .foster.dog.house, Duncan, has started a 4 week Board & Train with . This is a really big investment for our little rescue but we've always believed in quality over quantity. We work hard behind the scenes to make sure every foster (dog & human) has what they need and for Dunc that's been professional training. We know this won't suddenly increase his adoption interest. In reality he's always going to be a big & strong pittie mix and we know not alot of people are searching for that but we are excited for him to learn new habits and for the experience to equip his fosters with the knowledge on how Duncan can be his best self. Read more below about our decision.

WHY: Duncan was pulled from CMACC TWO years ago and has been with his fosters ever since. Simply, we had to do something.

WHY TRAINING: We believe professional training is the best investment one can make for ANY dog. For Duncan, he struggles with impulse control and for a bouncy, strong pittie mix that limits the people comfortable with him. We are hoping this broadens his opportunities for public outings and in turn adoption interest.

WHY A BOARD & TRAIN: We find group or private lessons are great to cover basic obedience or to work on one thing. For Duncan, 24/7 attention in a structured environment felt like the choice where we’d see the most positive change without asking his fosters to sacrifice anymore than they already have.

WHY KEEN: What took us so long to send Duncan to training was finding a trainer that we felt would value Duncan and not put him in a really narrow box of expectations and has a training methodology that we’re comfortable with. I first heard a former adopter mention Keen and after the consult we felt good moving forward. Ultimately it was a mutual decision made with his foster after we felt the Keen team was eager and excited to work with Duncan and saw his toy & food drive as a strength they will be able to utilize.

COST: We’ve been planning for a long time for this likely step. Keen worked with us on a special price that is more than fair for the time they will invest. We are spending $3,800 for this program to set Duncan, his fosters, and eventual forever family up for success . We thankfully have a really big fundraising opportunity coming up at The All American Dog Show on 9/27 which hopefully will help offset this investment.

09/09/2026

Auggie earned his name after visiting a shelter on August 1 and deciding to bring him home to be our next foster. Over a month later and he’s still looking for his forever home!

He is the definition of puppy. Thinks everything is his. Voices his big feelings when he doesn’t get what he wants. Goes to the bathroom outside but then goes inside 10 minutes later (thankfully he usually finds the potty pads atleast). Has baby shark like teeth that he uses often to “explore”. He is not a snuggler, he is an adventure buddy that likes to go! He has loved getting to walk outside more and doesn’t mind the car. He is more interested in meeting people than the dogs they may be walking. He does nap often which is the best part of any puppy. He’s the future star of an obedience class.

While he has certainly grown, he is all legs, fluff, & ears. I do think he’s a poodle mixed with terrier or shepherd which results in wirey hair and a size estimate of ~50lbs. I picture his future family could be those that have raised a Tasmanian devil…I mean puppy before, have pr***en kids he could chase around and help encourage to put their shoes away, or a first time dog parent eager to mold a scruffy pup. Not limited to these options though! Help us find whoever it may be by sharing him!

Though we rarely have open fosters, when we do we feel particularly lead to help rural shelters. This is a great descrip...
09/04/2026

Though we rarely have open fosters, when we do we feel particularly lead to help rural shelters. This is a great description of why.

09/04/2026

Just a glimpse of how Howie has kept COOL this summer! ☀️🌊🍉

Howie has made immense improvement in the last year thanks to trainers, vets, & his foster fam but one thing that hasn’t changed is his love of water! Lake days are his favorite! While Howie is an adoptable pup, he does have some special needs so we are looking for a very specific forever home (a patient & understanding one to start). We’re content to simply enjoy these clips of a happy dog in the meantime.

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Charlotte, NC
28201-28237, 28240-28247, 28250, 28253-28256, 28258, 28260-28262, 28265-28266, 2

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