Foster Home FAQ's
Being a foster parent instills a huge sense of accomplishment because you provide the loving home to prepare the dog and cats for adoption!
Opening your heart and home, you save a life.
Why foster?
- Fostering gives a cat or dog a second chance at life.
- Fostering a cat or dog is a wonderful, life-affirming project for the entire family (although singles and couples can foster, too, of course).
- Fostering a cat or dog costs next to nothing.
- Fostering a cat or dog is fun.
- Fostering a cat or dog is rewarding.
- Fostering can be done anywhere – in a city or suburb, a house or apartment.
- Fostering a cat or dog can take place whenever you are ready.
- Fostering a cat or dog offers the company of an animal to those unable to make a long-term commitment.
In many communities today, foster networks actually take the place of animal shelters for adoptable cats and dogs. The mission of the Center is to prevent animals from entering stressful shelters, instead placing them in foster homes, until they find permanent homes through our foster community network, friends and family, word of mouth, and online of course!
Would I be a good foster home?
If you want to do something to help the animals, fostering can be a flexible, fun and rewarding volunteer job. Here’s why:
- It’s more flexible than volunteer jobs that require you to show up at a specific time for a certain number of hours.
- It’s a great way to enjoy a pet if you are not in a position to make that lifetime commitment right now. Fostering can be an excellent option for college students or military families.
- Would you like to add a dog or cat to your household, but you’re not sure? Fostering can be a great way to find out.
Taking animals into your home, loving them, and then letting them go requires a special kind of person. Your role as a foster parent is to prepare the animal for adoption into a loving home.
What should I consider if I currently have pets?
It’s best to be thoughtful and careful whenever you introduce your foster dog or cat to other animal-this goes for your home and foster pets too! If your pets are current on their vaccinations, maintain healthy diets and lifestyles, and are not immune compromised, then the health risk should be minimal. Your fully vaccinated adult dogs(over 1 year) may interact with our adult dogs under your supervision after a careful introduction.
If someone in your household is immune compromised, consult a doctor before fostering. If you are pregnant (or someone in your house is) or plan to become pregnant, talk to your doctor before fostering cats.
How much time will fostering take?
The specific needs of the animal will determine how much time is involved.
Some animals just need a place until they’re adopted.
An overwhelmed or shy dog or cat will require some extra time. You can discuss your availability with the Center team to determine what kinds of animals you’ll be best suited to foster.
What about food and medical care for the animal?
The Center is responsible for medical cost. We receive in-kind food donations which are passed directly on to our foster homes. We do ask our foster homes to supplement or purchase food as needed. This is considered a tax deduction.
Are purchases made for foster care tax-deductible?
Purchases made for foster care may be considered donations to the Center and could be tax-deductible as we are a 501(c)(3) organization.
Who will find my foster animal a new home?
We’ll be working hard to find a new home for your foster cat or dog, though you can help by telling friends, family and co-workers about your foster animal. If you fall in love with your foster animal, you be first to submit the first application. Final decision is always ours.
But is it fair to the animals being fostered?
Some people are reluctant to foster animals because they are concerned that it is unfair to take in a dog or cat, establish a bond, and then allow the animal to be adopted out into another home. Isn’t that a second abandonment?
Not at all! Being in a foster home can be a lifesaving bridge for a stray or frightened pet. It gives the animal a chance to get used to life in a house, and an opportunity to learn that people can be kind, food is available, and there is a warm, secure place to sleep.
Foster care can help prepare a dog or cat for a new life in a permanent home. There’s no shortage of animals who need this preparation time before finding their own people.
How do I give fostering a try?
When you are ready, fill out our foster application. There is some training involved and some papers to sign, but you should be able to go home soon with a new foster animal.
Foster parents make an enormous difference in the number of animals euthanized each year because shelters don’t have space for them. It is important, valuable work and, best of all, it saves lives.
I can’t provide animal foster care, but are there other ways I can help?
We can use volunteer help transporting animals to and from the vet or helping with administrative work. Join our Center photograph club and help and promote them online and through the local media. You could support our foster care program by raising funds for medical care, food and supplies.
Have more questions about fostering with us?
Have more questions about fostering with us? Please reach out to us at: foster@caccrescue.org We’re here to help!
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