Fostering means opening your home temporarily to a Bernese Mountain Dog in need while they recover, decompress, and prepare for adoption. NBMDRN covers rescue-approved medical care, while you provide a safe environment, patience, and love.

We do our best to match foster families with dogs that fit their experience, home environment, and lifestyle. Foster placements are a collaborative decision between you and our foster team, always with the dog’s best interests in mind.

It happens often! Foster families are given the opportunity to adopt their foster dog if it’s a great fit. While we jokingly call it a “foster fail”, it’s truly one of the best outcomes — a foster home becoming a forever home.

Not always. Every dog in our care is unique, and fencing requirements depend on the individual dog’s background, behavior, and safety needs.

Some dogs — particularly those who have experienced trauma, neglect, or unsafe environments — require a secure physical fence to ensure their safety and comfort. Other dogs may do well in homes without a fenced yard, including urban or apartment settings, when appropriate supervision and safety measures are in place.

Invisible or electric fencing is not permitted for many of our dogs. Dogs with fearfulness or traumatic histories may react negatively to these systems, which can increase anxiety or cause setbacks. For this reason, dogs with certain backgrounds cannot be fostered or adopted into homes that use invisible fencing or shock collars of any kind.

Our foster team works closely with each foster applicant to determine which dogs may be a good fit for their home. We encourage anyone interested in fostering — with or without a fence — to apply.

Our highest priority is always the safety, comfort, and well-being of our dogs.

Yes! We welcome foster applicants and onboard foster families as quickly as possible so they are ready when a dog needs a temporary home.

Fostering is a wonderful way to get to know a dog and see if they’re the right fit for your family. If you fall in love, you’ll have the first opportunity to adopt your foster dog.

Please note: once a dog is adoption-ready and listed as available for adoption, they have already completed foster care and are no longer available for fostering.

No. While experience with large breeds can be helpful, it is not required. We provide guidance and ongoing support.

Many fosters have dogs, cats, or other animals. Compatibility depends on the individual dog, and we’ll work with you to ensure safe introductions.

You’ll be assigned a volunteer caseworker who is available by text or phone to support you throughout the foster experience.

Getting started is easy—just fill out an application! An onboarding specialist will then reach out to chat with you and schedule a virtual home visit. We’ll also ask for three personal references to help us get to know you better. The final step is simply reviewing and returning the signed foster contract. Once that’s complete, you’ll be added to our foster database, and a caseworker will contact you when we find a great match for your home.

Once you’re in our database, a caseworker may reach out as soon as tomorrow—or it may take a few months. We welcome new dogs each week, and our caseworkers thoughtfully match every dog with the family best suited to provide the love, care, and support they need.