[ANEIRA]

We live in the country on 10 acres and in our backyard we have a small fish pond..about the size of a large swimming pool. Are we going to have to build a fence around it?? I was reading that all bodies of water over 12 inches have to be inclosed..

If this is the case I dont think we will be able to foster because I cant afford to put a fence around the pond!

We are wanting a child under 1 so its not like they are going to be playing outside by themselves anytime soon..so I wouldnt think a fence would be necessary...but i guess i could be wrong.

Anyone else had any experience with small ponds on their land?

[la vida loca]

I have a multi-tiered fountain in the back garden and I was told I would either need to remove it, put a fence around it or drain it before they could approve me. It sits there devoid of water (and they check it periodically).

[ANEIRA]

I was afraid of that...
Well our DT traiiner is coming to our house tomorrow so I guess I'll see what he says.
Draining the pond is not an option and putting a fence around it would be very exspensive...

[sarah3015]

I am sure it is different in every state. We have a river in our back yard that is about 3 feet deep in the middle. The only thing that we had to do what put up high locks on all our doors, door to the garage, deck door, basement door, and that is all they needed. Like you we have a lot of little ones and they are never outside ever without adult supervision... Let us know what they say..
sarah

[greenrobin]

We have a small fish pond in our side garden. It's not as big as yours--more like a little kiddie pool! It's about 8 feet long x 5 feet wide x 2 ft deep. We have a fence around it, but not all of the required locked gates.

The agency wrote a safety order on it. Kids must be supervised, locks on exterior doors. We just get the renewal with every inspection. It has never been a problem.

Good luck.

[ANEIRA]

Well the trainer didnt sound too happy with me when i called. He said it would need to be fenced in and I told him we couldnt afford to fence in the entire pond. He told me that his supervisor would call me..and said thanks for calling..he didnt say anything about keeping his appt w/us tomorrow and of course the sup hasnt called me.

[xxsurroundedbyxy]

Could you put up a barbed wire type of fence? Not one with actual barbs I guess since kids aren't livestock (although this week at my house does seem more like a petting zoo). But just a cheaper metal one with wooden posts so many feet apart? It wouldn't even have to be that tall for little ones. Kind of like a chicken fence or garden fence?

Kim

[ANEIRA]

Well i guess they consider the pond the same as an inground pool so it has to have a fence of 5 feet high around it. The problem is is that the pond is about 75 feet from my front door so its in our yard and considered a hazard i guess.
I just never considered it a problem until i realized that the CW thought our pond was in a pasture or something..instead of our backyard.

[CaddoRose]

In Texas you can't even have a bowl of water on the floor for your cats or dogs. That's how serious they are about water here.

[lazshay]

That's weird. I've never had anyone mention not leaving out water for pets, and I've been fostering for 3 years. The rules seem to change depending on who you talk too.

[ANEIRA]

Ok the supervisor finally called me back. She said she had to ask her supervisor to see what they could do..I guess they are going to let us write out a safety plan for the pond..and/or we can set up a small fenced in play area for toys.

[brookejohanna]

when i first looked into fostering i read something about not having food or water out for pets....

[greenrobin]

We've had everybody from the GAL to the CASA to the DFPS workers to the agency workers. Not even one time did anybody say anything about the pet food and water left out for our pets--and we're in Texas.

[Howdy]

Well kids don't stay under 1 forever and they run awfully fast and it sounds like they could drown in the pond. If it were me I'd feel better in that situation if I had a fenced yard with high latches/locks. It does seem unrealistic to fence off all the ponds in the world, much better to fence in the children.