Open Your Heart and Home
Fostering for Paws in the City gives the Animal a Leg Up
Before going on to its Permanent Home
What’s a foster home?
Foster parents provide temporary homes for animals prior to adoption.
Providing foster care is a wonderful and personal way to contribute
to saving homeless pets. Dogs and cats puppies and kittens are
always needing the special care and attention that goes along
with fostering after being abandoned or found as a stray and
taken to the City Shelter.
Would I be a good foster parent?
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 excel¬lent 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
Why do animals need foster care?
There are several possible reasons:
•
Paws in the city does not currently operate a shelter
•
A foster parent provides a temporary home and possible care for
an animal that is not yet ready for adoption due to illness, injury,
stress or is homeless.
• Foster care can help save an animal’s life when
they have been slated for euthanasia due to lack of space from
the city shelter or a costly medical procedure that prohibits them
from being placed for adoption
•
Newborn animals that need to be nursed or bottle-fed will need
foster care.
Whatever the reason, these animals need some extra love and care
before they can be adopted. Providing foster care for a few
days, weeks, or months can be a lifesaver.
How much time will it take?
The specific needs of the animal will determine how much time
is involved. Newborn orphaned puppies and kittens, for instance,
must be fed every few hours. A frightened animal who needs socialization
or training will also require some extra time. You can discuss
your availability with the Paws representative in order to determine
what limitations you require and criteria necessary for this companion
animal to match your families’ need.
What skills are needed?
It’s best to have some knowledge about companion animal behavior
and health in addition to some experience spending time with a
dog or cat, puppy or kitten.
Some of the animals most in need of foster care require a
little extra help or some training. Shy cats often need time to
learn to trust and the quiet of a home environment. Dogs often
benefit from a little obedience training, so if you familiarize
yourself with some basic training techniques, you can be a big
help in preparing your foster dog for a new home.
Just by getting to know the animal, you’ll help Paws in the
City learn more about the personality prior to adoption.
What else is required?
•
You must be 21 years of age or older and have the consent of the
entire family living in the household
•
An approved home check which includes a visit from a Paws Home
Check Team
•
The interest and energy needed to care full time for the animal
•
All current animals in the household must be up to date on their
vaccinations
•
The ability to have the animal available for adoption events at
least once a month
•
A signed contract stating your responsibilities as well as Paws
in the City’s role.
 What about food and medical care?
Paws in the City provides foster parents with all the resources
needed to make fostering a successful experience.
Paws in the City provides for all medical expenses, including heartworm
preventative and flea/tick topicals.
You provide the food, litter, toys and love!
If you go out of town, we will try to find a temporary foster.
We just ask that you give us as much notice as possible as to prevent
paying boarding expenses.
We will provide a list of approved veterinarian offices that you
are able to use in the event that medical attention is needed
Our Foster Contract outlines Paws in the City’s responsibilities
as well as describes the role you play in helping to provide the
most important aspect of saving lives.
I can’t provide foster care, but are there other
ways I can help?
Paws in the City uses volunteer help at adoption events, transporting
animals to and from the vet, returning phone calls, or doing administrative
work. We often ask for someone to photograph pets and promote
them online and through the local media. You could support a foster
care program by raising funds for medical care, food and supplies.
You are embarking on a most rewarding experience. You will be enriched
emotionally for saving the lives of these innocent animals and
savor the love you will receive in return from them. It will require
a time commitment and some of the animals will need special care,
but in the end you will have saved a life and that is the best
reward.
For more information on fostering: contact jim@pawsinthecity.org
Download the Foster Application
|
