Sleepover club

You need to be over the age of 18 with access to dog-friendly transport, and have no children living in your home or visiting on your days off.

We will offer as much support and advice as we can about the dog in your care to help you both settle in.

If you have any free time available to give to one of our dogs, we would love your help. On your days off, you will be booked to come into the Rehoming Centre to meet with your “Underdog” to build up a relationship. Any time away from kennels whether it is a sleepover, a day out, or just spending time with their foster carer is beneficial for the dog.

An Underdog is a dog who has been in our care for 6 months or more. These dogs unfortunately get fewer adoption enquiries as they may be undergoing training.

The first step is to complete a fostering application form. If you have already applied to become a foster carer, thank you so much for your offer and support; It really means the world to us, and our Foster Coordinators will be in touch if there is a suitable dog for you to foster. If you have any questions, you can get in touch with our fostering team.

We will advise you on everything you will need when we match you with a suitable dog. All our foster dogs go home with food, a collar, a harness, and a lead.

Being a foster carer gives you all the joy of adopting a rescue dog without the long-term commitment. It’s perfect for dog-lovers who aren’t ready to adopt a dog yet. Also, becoming a foster carer today means you will be helping fellow dog lovers who have to give up their dog for various reasons. You’ll be giving a dog a loving home when they most need it.

There are only a select few dogs that we are looking to match with foster carers on the Sleepover Club. Our Foster Coordinators will match you with one of these dogs based on your application to ensure the best experience for both the foster carer and the foster dog. You will always have the final say on whether you want to take on that specific foster dog.

Under our usual foster programme, foster carers always have first choice to adopt their foster dog. Our adoption fee is €220 for adult dogs and this fee helps us to cover the costs of caring for over 1,500 dogs every year. Our fee for adopting a puppy is €270. This includes the €220 rehoming fee and a reduced €50 online Dog School fee. However, given the nature of the Sleepover Club, and that we are looking for temporary, weekend foster care, your dog may not be able to be adopted if you work full time. If you do find yourself with more time on your hands where you may be a suitable candidate for adoption, please bear in mind that the bond you may have with your foster dog will need to be gradually built up over time. Our Underdogs are a very special group of boys and girls who need a lot of time and patience for them to settle. Good things come to those who wait, and this is no exception!

Once you start to take your dog on sleepovers, we will monitor the dog’s behaviour closely on return. Once the dog is still happy and comfortable to come back and forth from your home to kennels then you can foster them as often as you like until they find a new home.

Some dogs can become so attached and love your home so much that they can become stressed when they return to the kennel. If the dog is showing signs of stress in the kennel environment where they are housed for the majority of the time, we will have to reconsider if the Sleepover Club is what is best for that dog.

Yes! We would love your feedback to help us match a dog to their forever home. If your foster dog is adopted, we will be more than happy for you to get to know a new Underdog.

No! However, an Underdog will require multiple meets in the rehoming centre in Finglas, so you must be willing to travel. If that does not suit you, then the foster team will match you to a regional dog outside of Dublin who will be just as happy to stay in your home.

No. If you do not have a secure garden, we will only match a dog that would suit that environment. All of dogs will need to be kept on lead and muzzled (if required) when they are outside of the home and even for short toilet breaks. If there is no Underdog at the time that suits, we can match you to another dog.

Some of the Underdogs have been in our care a long time and although they are alone in kennel, we do not know how they will cope in a home environment. We ask for you to take your dog on days off when you are around to prevent stress on the dog and damage to your home. If it is going well, the Training Team can advise you on how to get your dog used to gradually being left alone for longer periods of time.

We do not know how the Underdogs will feel in a new home which is why we need you at home to make it easier for them. Some may cope fine being left alone once it is done gradually with advice from the Foster Coordinators. We will advise on a case-by-case basis.

If you are based in the greater Dublin area, we require foster carers to be able to drive to the centre. This is so they can bring the dog to necessary vet appointments or to bring them to meet their forever family.

Yes. Some of our dogs would love a pal, but it is a case-by-case basis and the foster coordinator will do their best to match you to a suitable dog.

We do not always know the history of our dogs before they come into our care, and they may currently be living in a kennel, so we cannot guarantee you that they dog will not have accidents in the home while they are settling in. We will provide you with training resources and support if this occurs.

Most of the dogs in the Sleepover Club have been living in a kennel environment for quite some time, so a foster home with children wouldn’t be suitable. There are other dogs looking for foster homes that would suit a home with children and the foster coordinator will work to match you to a suitable dog.