SHELTER ZONE
Cutting-edge news and views from animal agencies and rescue groups

THE HOWS AND WHYS OF DOG FOSTERING
by Shannon Chase

No doubt you’ve heard about animal fostering. It seems that animal rescues are always on the lookout for new foster families and you might have asked yourself why there is such a need, what fostering is all about, and if it’s right for you. Here are some of the hows and whys of animal fostering.

The need for animal fostering starts at your local government-run shelter. While private organizations can turn animals away, that is not the case with public shelters, which  must accept every animal that is brought in, whether there is room or not. Thus, public shelters are often faced with difficult decisions about which animals to keep and which to euthanize. This is why most rescues align themselves with one or more public shelters – it’s the best way to make an impact on the community’s euthanasia rate.

Animals at risk of euthanasia can include kittens dropped off without their mother, a puppy with a slight case of mange, an animal with a broken limb, or animals that, for any number of reasons, have sat in the shelter too long. Purebred and young animals are not immune.

By working closely with the shelter staff, rescues can pull the animals with the best chances of finding forever homes. This not only saves these animals’ lives, but it also makes room at the shelter, decreasing the chance that other animals will face euthanasia.

In a foster home, those tiny kittens can be bottle-fed or placed with a lactating mother-cat, the puppy with mange can recover with proper medication and stress reduction, and the animal with a broken limb can undergo surgery and recover in a calm environment. The dog or cat that simply languished at the shelter for too long can have more time – usually just a few weeks or months are needed – to meet the right forever owners through adoption events or websites like petfinder.com.

Most rescues provide foster homes with the basic necessities. Before fostering for an organization, be sure to ask if they provide medical care, cages/crates, food and help in getting the animal adopted. Training and support are key factors to making the foster experience a positive one.

It’s not necessary that you have weeks or months blocked off in your schedule in order to foster. Both short- and long-term foster homes are needed. Providing vacation relief for another fosterer will allow you to see if long-term fostering is right for you.  

If you’re still on the fence, ask yourself the following questions:

1) Do you have patience? As a foster provider, you’ll likely care for animals that have had less-than-ideal lives, so lots of patience and TLC are required. Terri Gregory, who has fostered with Tri-Valley Animal Rescue (TVAR) for nearly 13 years, finds great satisfaction in fostering. “It is very gratifying to take a pet facing euthanasia in a shelter, work with it to resolve any medical and social needs, and then put it in a great forever home. I love it when people send an email or photo with updates on a happy life.”

2) Do you have time for a foster pet? Almost any schedule can accommodate a foster pet, but you should chose the age and type of animal that will fit into your schedule. Very young puppies and kittens require frequent feeding and a stay- or work-at-home caretaker. Adult dogs or cats can generally be left alone for many hours during the day without supervision. Whatever the age, though, a cat needs daily grooming, attention and play. Dogs generally need exercise from a walk or playing catch, as well as a daily routine and some basic training.   

3) Do you have room for a foster pet? Foster pets can be accommodated in most any living situation. Rescues generally provide cages for cats and bunnies and gates or kennels for dogs. You want to keep your forever pets separated from foster animals, at least at first, to make sure everyone gets along and to assure that they all stay healthy.

To find out about available foster animals, contact your local shelter or rescue group (see page 21 for a partial list, including contact info). If fostering isn’t right for you, but you’d still like to make an impact on your county shelter’s euthanasia rate, consider becoming a volunteer. Dogs that are walked daily and cats that are socialized have much higher adoption rates.

Shannon Chase is a volunteer with Tri-Valley Animal Rescue (TVAR) in Pleasanton. TVAR programs include animal fostering, shelter volunteer training (adult and teen), and the Cinderella Fund, which pays for the medical bills of shelter animals. To find out more, visit tvar.org.