What is a Foster Home?

A foster home is a temporary living situation for pets while they are awaiting their forever home.  Foster families provide shelter, food, care and love. The number of animals we can save depends entirely on the number of people who open their homes and hearts to foster them.

 

Why Foster?

Because the number of new animals exceeds those being adopted,  the only way that we can save these animals is with the help of foster homes. 

In some cases, a foster home is needed to help an animal transition from the stress of having been abandoned at a shelter.  For most dogs and cats, they will need to stay in a foster home until they are adopted.

Being a pet foster family has rewards beyond the essential value of helping a pet in need find a new home. For some, it is a chance to have an animal companion without a lifetime commitment, or to try new companions for an existing pet. For others, it is the special challenge of helping an animal recover from an illness or injury, the trauma of losing a beloved owner or home, or to overcome a behavioral issue.  Occasionally, it’s the joy of giving extra TLC to kittens and puppies too young to be adopted.

 

How Long Can I Expect to Foster a Pet?

We can not know how long the pet will be with a foster family.  We will keep you posted on the adoption process.

 

What are the Responsibilities of a Foster Family?

• Provide a safe, clean, caring environment

• Provide exercise and socialization as appropriate

• Monitor any medical and/or behavioral problems

• Transport to/from any necessary vet appointments

• Transport to/from offsite adoption events​

• Transport or administering testing, treatment, and preventatives for tick and flea borne illnesses, intestinal worms, heartworm (dogs) and FeLV/FIV (cats)

• All animals are bathed & groomed as needed, and fed a well-balanced diet to improve their health and appearance.

 

All animals are re-socialized in our foster homes to become good family members. This includes:     

• Crate Training     

• HouseTraining     

• Leash Training   

• House Manners (e.g. no counter surfing, no jumping on visitors, no mouthing   

• Basic commands (sit, stay, come, paw)     

• Meeting new people (including children)   

• Meeting new animals, including both dogs and cats