Foster Responsibilities

Understanding the Responsibility

Each animal has unique needs and personalities. Bringing a dog, puppy, cat, or kitten into your home means taking on the responsibility of meeting their physical and emotional needs.

• Companionship: Animals, like people, need companionship. They benefit from positive interactions and consistent routines. Your presence helps them feel safe and secure.
• Routine: Dogs and cats do best with a predictable routine that includes feeding, playtime, and rest.
• Medical Care: Fosters are responsible for giving 2 weeks notice for medication refills, keeping up with medical appointments and re-checks, and/or special diets an animal may need.
• Communication: Fosters are required to digitally fill out a weekly survey about their foster animal(s) in addition to sending regular updates about your foster’s progress to help us determine the best placement for them. Regularly sending updated photos and videos and adding them to our database helps to advertise them to adopters in the best light. Sharing their quirks and personality can also help match them with a suitable adoptive home.

If You Have Pets

All pets in your home, especially if they are the same species as your foster, should be healthy with up to date routine vaccinations. All pets should be free of parasites, and cats should have tested negative for Feline Leukemia Virus (FELV) and Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (FIV) if your foster is negative. Contagious Diseases in Foster Pets and Risk to Existing Household Pets. It is always a health risk to expose your animal to other animals or humans to animals. It is always recommended that you keep your pets separate from the foster animals whenever possible to minimize the risk of spreading anything to your pets, but if the foster parent’s resident pet(s) are current on vaccinations, maintain a healthy diet and lifestyle, and are not elderly or very young, the health risks are minimal. Any known potentially contagious diseases will be identified and communicated to the foster parent prior to the animal’s placement in your home, which would require separation. Please see our “Common Diseases” section for more in-depth descriptions of common illnesses and how they could affect other animals and/or humans.

Where Should Your Foster Pet Stay While in Your Home?

Cats/Kittens Indoors only! Do not let your foster felines outdoors. Keep them in a cattery separated from any resident animals.

Dogs Indoors! Keep your canine companion in an exercise pen (x-pen) or crate while in your home. When outdoors, dogs should be kept on TWO leashes at all times, one leash secured on a harness and one to the collar. *THIS IS FOR SAFETY PURPOSES AND WE REQUIRE ALL FOSTERS TO FOLLOW THIS PROTOCOL* unless in a securely fenced-in area that you are sure the dog cannot jump, climb, squeeze under or escape from. If you have a fenced in yard, only allow your foster dog in your yard while supervised as you are responsible for the health, safety and well-being of your foster pet.

Puppies – Indoors ONLY under 5 months old (not completely vaccinated)! Puppies need intense socialization while being left in your care. They should NOT be isolated in your home with limited contact. Puppies should never be walked outside on a leash or introduced to other dogs because they are not fully vaccinated. They should be carried around your neighborhood to be introduced to sights and sounds and always supervised by a responsible adult.