Need A Furry Companion But Not Ready To Adopt? Consider Fostering.

While each organization that works to foster animals may have their own guidelines or orientations, there are some similarities between them. First, foster parents are not responsible financially for the animals; food, medical care, and supplies are provided and/or covered by the organization.

Second, fosters aren’t just left to figure things out on their own; they receive training and support to ensure they are ok throughout the process. Kayla Garland, foster program manager at the Kentucky Humane Society, says they offer an online orientation and video for foster volunteers. “If they have any additional questions, we can discuss those things. Most of the time, I find that our fosters receive the largest amount of information during the first or second foster pickup. That’s when we really dive into the questions they have,” she says.

Foster volunteers may be given a general time frame of how long they will likely have the animal. Kayla says with puppies and kittens, it’s usually three to five weeks. “With adult animals, it really depends on why they need to go to foster,” she says. “We do have some cases that we expect [the animals] to be in foster [care] long-term, and we are upfront about that.”

One of the best things about volunteering as a foster is that it allows a person to set the schedule that matches their lifestyle. For example, a person who is planning a long trip can take a break from fostering for several months. Kayla says some fosters only do so one or two times a year.