Depending on the shelter or organization, some pet foster care programs require that the animal be returned to the shelter after the foster care period is over. Then the pet is put up for adoption. Some shelters give foster caregivers priority in adopting the pet. However, some individuals who consistently open their homes to foster animals do not want to adopt. They just want to help a pet in need, says FosterDogs.com.
Possible Care Situations of a Foster Animal
Those who will give foster care to pets should know the rules of the shelter or network where they get the pet and follow them. In foster pet programs, prospective caregivers work with the animal shelter to determine what animal best suits their living arrangements. Besides breed choices, the situations of the animals vary, including—as specified on the Foster Care Application of the Pennsylvania SPCA (Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals)—the following:
- Nursing mothers with puppies
- Nursing mothers with kittens
- A litter of orphan kittens
- A litter of orphan puppies
- One orphan kitten
- One orphan puppy
- One injured kitten
- One injured cat
- One injured puppy
- One injured dog
Some shelters even have programs for pets who are terminally ill with non-communicable diseases.
What the Shelter Can Supply and What the Shelter Expects From the Caregiver
Prospective foster caregivers should ask what costs the placing agency picks up and what costs they the caregivers pay. Often food, medication and veterinary services are supplied/paid for by the shelter, sometimes they are not. Some shelters pay for toys, litter boxes for cats and other items. Others do not.
Most animals remain in foster care only a short time, usually from one week to two months. It helps if the fostering individual has previous knowledge of animal care, training and grooming, although this knowledge is not necessarily mandatory.
If the prospective foster caregiver has a pet(s) at home, the shelter will determine if the animals can live together in harmony, even though most shelters suggest that the permanent pet and the foster pet not come in contact with each other. Therefore, the shelter could ask the individual to bring his or her pet(s) to the shelter to see how the animals get along. Other shelters will have an employee visit the dwelling where the fostered pet will stay. If the prospective caregiver lives in an apartment, shelters often require documentation stating that pets are allowed.
Where to Start; Written Agreement
The shelter also wants to make sure that bringing a foster animal into a home will not violate any local restrictions on the number of pets allowed. Also, the caregiver's pets must be current with their vaccinations and must have been spayed or neutered.
Those wanting to volunteer as a foster pet caregiver should contact their local animal shelter. Foster caregivers enter into a written agreement with the shelter or another organization or group. Even if between relatives or friends it is decided to provide foster care for a pet, it is suggested that an agreement be signed by both parties. The Humane Society of the United States has a sample agreement between pet owner and friend,
Further Reading:
- Animal Sheltering's " 10 Ways to Become a Successful Foster Parent"
Sources:
- Pennsylvania Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals." SPCA Foster Care Application." 14 September 2009.
- San Francisco Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. "San Francisco SPCA Foster Care Program." 14 September 2009.
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