The call comes, or the email, or the text from your rescue coordinator. Someone has applied to adopt your foster dog. They have been approved. The handoff is scheduled for next week.
And you feel everything at once. Happy for the dog. Proud of yourself. Already a little sad. Maybe slightly panicked that you did not take enough photos. Possibly convinced, at least for a moment, that nobody will ever love this dog as much as you do.
All of that is normal. The last week of a foster placement is its own particular kind of emotional territory, and it helps to have a plan for it. Not just for yourself, but for the dog. Here is how to use that final week well.
First: Let Yourself Feel Whatever You Feel
There is a tendency among fosters to pre-emptively dismiss their own feelings about a goodbye. “It’s not my dog,” they say. “I knew this was temporary.” Both of those things are true and completely beside the point. You spent weeks caring for this animal, learning their personality, watching them grow more confident or more relaxed or more themselves. The attachment is real even when the arrangement was always temporary.
Give yourself permission to feel the goodbye before it happens. It does not mean you made a mistake. It means you did your job well.
The sadness you feel about a foster goodbye is directly proportional to how much you loved them. That love is exactly what they needed. You did not do anything wrong by feeling it.
Take More Photos and Videos Than You Think You Need
If there is one practical thing every foster wishes they had done more of, it is this. The last week is your best chance to capture who this dog has become since arriving in your home. Not the stressed, shut-down dog from intake photos. The real one. The one who figured out your couch is their couch. The one who has a whole routine now.
Take photos in good natural light. Take a short video of them doing something that makes you laugh. Capture them being themselves, not posed for a camera. These photos and videos serve two purposes: they become part of the dog’s adoption story for MAS to share, and they become something you get to keep. You will want them later.
Write Down What You Know About Them
You have learned things about this dog that nobody else knows. What calms them down when they are anxious. Which toys they ignore and which ones they cannot live without. Whether they need a few minutes to warm up to strangers or walk right up to everyone they meet. How they do on a leash now compared to day one. What their morning routine looks like. What scares them.
Write it down. All of it. This is not a formal document; it is notes you pass along to your coordinator and ultimately to the adopter. Even a paragraph or two of genuine observations can make the transition significantly smoother for both the dog and their new family.
Example of Useful Handoff Notes
“Biscuit has come so far since he arrived. He now sleeps through the night without any fussing. He does best with a consistent morning walk before breakfast, otherwise he gets a little restless. He is still a little nervous around men he does not know but warms up within about ten minutes once they ignore him and let him approach on his own terms. He loves a stuffed Kong and will entertain himself with it for a solid thirty minutes. He knows sit, down, and leave it. He does not like the vacuum but has stopped hiding from it. He has been perfect with our cats after the first week.”
That kind of note is gold for an adopter walking into day one with a dog they have never lived with. It tells them what to expect, what to try, and what to watch out for. It is also the kind of detail that helps an adopter feel connected to the dog’s story right from the start.
Keep the Routine Consistent
It can be tempting to make the last week special. Extra treats, more outings, bending the usual rules because you feel guilty about the goodbye. Resist this as much as you can. Dogs find comfort in routine, and an abrupt change in how their days feel right before a major transition adds stress they do not need.
Keep feeding times, walk times, and sleep arrangements as consistent as possible. If there is something special you want to do, like a trip to Shelby Farms or a favorite park, do it early in the week rather than the day before the handoff. Let the final days be calm and familiar.
Prepare the Dog’s Things
If the dog has a blanket or a toy that smells like your home, ask your coordinator whether it can go with them to the adoption. Many rescues and shelters encourage this because familiar scents help dogs settle into a new environment faster. Even a single item that carries the smell of where they have been safe can make day one in a new home meaningfully easier.
Things to Gather Before the Handoff
- Any medications with clear dosing instructions written down, not just what is on the bottle
- The dog’s vaccination and health records if you have copies
- Notes on their routine, personality quirks, and what has worked for you
- A familiar blanket or toy if the adopter is open to receiving it
- The food they have been eating, or at minimum the brand and type so the adopter can transition gradually
- Any training tools that have been useful, like a specific harness or type of leash
Think About What You Want to Say to the Adopter
Some fosters never meet the adopter. Others are present at the handoff and have a chance to speak directly to the person taking the dog home. If you get that opportunity, think in advance about what you most want them to know.
Not a list of warnings or instructions. Just the most important things. The one thing that will help them most in the first week. The thing that will make them fall even more in love with this dog. You have had weeks to figure that out. They are about to start from scratch.
Keep it warm and brief. Tell them something true and specific. “She is shy the first day but by day three she will be following you everywhere.” “He has a funny little howl when he is excited and it will completely make your day the first time you hear it.” Give them something to look forward to.
The Day of the Handoff
Try to keep the morning as normal as possible. A regular walk, a regular breakfast, calm energy. Dogs pick up on our emotions more than we usually give them credit for, and a morning full of tearful goodbyes and charged emotional moments does not help them go into the handoff settled.
When the moment comes, hand over the leash, say what you need to say, and let it be what it is. You do not need to be stoic. You also do not need to fall apart. Somewhere in the middle is usually right: warm, genuine, and clear-eyed about what this moment means. It is a good thing. You made it possible.
After They Leave
The house is going to feel different. Quieter. There may be a water bowl still on the floor or a dent in the couch where they always slept. That first evening is usually the hardest part, and it passes faster than you expect.
Give yourself a day or two before you decide anything about what comes next. Some fosters are ready for another placement within a week. Others need a little more time. Both are fine. The goal is to come back when you actually want to, not when you feel like you should.
And if you find yourself checking the MAS website to see if the dog has been officially listed as adopted, or watching for a happy tails post on social media, you are in very good company. That moment, seeing the photo of your former foster dog in their new home, is one of the best things fostering has to offer.
You Made This Possible
Every foster placement ends with a goodbye. That is not a flaw in the system. It is the whole point. You opened your home to a dog who needed somewhere safe to land, and now they are leaving because they found something permanent. Your home was the bridge between where they were and where they are going.
That is not a small thing to have been. It might be one of the most quietly important things you ever do for another living creature. And the fact that it hurts a little when they go is just proof that you did it right.
Ready for the Next One?
When you are ready, Memphis Animal Services has another dog who needs exactly what you have to offer. Apply to foster and your coordinator will help find the right match.
