Foster Chins

Our foster chins have been placed in carefully screened and selected homes. They have been placed with the specific needs of the chins in mind, as well as the best qualities of the foster family.

As a former foster parent, I found it odd that most people expect to pay to provide a foster home for a homeless chin. We rewrote the rules, so to speak, so that they better reflect the way foster homes for children work. The family provides a safe home, supportive environment, attention, seeks medical care when needed. The rescue provides a cage, bottle, crock, wheel, shelves, fleece sets, wood house, and then every month supplies food, hay, treats and basic toys. In the event medical care is needed, the rescue covers the vet expenses.

Finally Home retains legal "claim" to the chinchillas in foster care, while the foster homes act as legal guardians for the chins. They are authorized to seek medical care and other things. They are not authorized for seeking a home for the chin in their care, that is the job of the rescue. The rescue is responsible for all adoptions.

The chins in our foster program have a high likelihood of being adopted in the future. In general, they have minor things to work on like adjusting to family life or coming out to play--basically, they need to work on fine-tuning their social skills. We do not place chins with moderate or severe behavior issues, nor do we knowingly place chins with health issues.

Before a chin is placed in a foster home, we perform a home visit to ensure the soundness of the home and the match of the chin and the family. In general, we approach people to see if they will foster for us, though we gladly welcome applications. Because of the chinchillas our rescue tends to take in, we are highly selective when it comes to foster homes and adoptive homes. We take several things into consideration including: time spent at home, whether the applicant has a working relationship with an exotics vet, personal experience, how long the applicant has owned chinchillas, the number of chinchillas the applicant has owned, the permanence of the applicants' residence, the needs of any other pets in the home, and proximity to our rescue.

Current Foster Chins

Poodah Abraham
June 8, 2006

Poodah came to us on July 12, 2008. Poodah's a very energetic chin who loves his wheel. He's always been rather mousy and small, but in the past month and a half, he's put on 100 grams of muscle. His hunch has all but disappeared, and he's becoming much less hyper. He loves to get chest scritches, and loves to come up to me and have conversations. 

We think Poodah would like a friend, but he is wary of others because he was picked on by two chins--a white one and a grey one--and he does hold a grudge from the experience. He would have to meet a chin who is not one of these colors for the best chance.

Poodah loves to watch tv and keep an eye on the other chins. He loves to chew wood and goes through an incredible amount in one month. Poodah has blossomed into a friendly little guy who loves nothing more than to sit and talk.

After getting a thorough medical check up and the "all clear" from our vet, Poodah has been approved for the Foster Home Program and will be arriving to his foster home shortly.