Foster
Without fostering, there is no rescue!
Foster homes provide a temporary transition for pets that are waiting to find their forever homes. Foster homes help with socialization and behavioral problems, overcome illness or injury, and help pets be ready for adoption. Someone fostering a pet can help with feeding, grooming, health controls, vaccinations, and taking the pet to medical appointments and adoption events. When you foster, you agree to take a homeless cat or dog into your home and give him or her love, care, and attention until they get adopted.
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Fostering is the most effective way to reduce overcrowding in shelters, thus preventing killings and opening space for more animals to be saved. Because some pets in shelter homes have behavioral and socialization issues, a fostering environment can give them a chance to be prepared for adoption. Here, animals feel the love and support of their foster pet parents and can overcome fears, recover from trauma, and fully express their personalities - all critical factors in increasing adoption rates.
Benefits of Fostering Pets
1. Increases a pet's chance of getting adopted: Since foster families can learn more about the pet's personality, they can teach them house manners and other behavioral tricks to help them get adopted faster.
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2. Improves a pet's social skills: Many abandoned pets have been without a human family for months or even years. Fearfulness that shows up as aggressiveness is very common. But, being in contact with humans and strangers will help your foster pet learn how to socialize.
3. Saves a pet's life: With thousands of pets being killed by shelter homes across the country, fostering a pet can save their lives and give them a second chance in life.
Street Paws provides all the necessary supplies to safely and properly foster as well as covering all veterinary costs.
How to become a foster pet parent :
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Fill out a foster application
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Interview with Street Paws Foster Manager
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Schedule home inspection and complete Dept of Ag documents
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Read Street Paws Foster Manual
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Sign the Street Paws Foster Agreeement and volunteer waivers
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Once approved, we will look for a new foster to fit your home and lifestyle.
Fur Kids Fosters:
Kitten/Cat short-and long-term foster parent
Function: These volunteers provide proper care for kittens/cats and/or adult community cats until positive outcomes can be arranged.
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Core responsibilities: Very young kittens need intensive basic care — bottle-feeding every few hours along with frequent socialization sessions. Once the kittens are independent, the foster parent generally houses and cares for them, and provide care after they have been spayed or neutered. Adult cats will typically require medical care initially, such as administering prescribed medications, cleaning of wounds etc. Adult cats will also require frequent socialization. Both kittens and cats may require long-term fostering until adoption is completed. Basic needs such as food, water, clean litter and safe and loving environment in which to thrive. For adult community cats requiring short-term foster care before being returned to their trapping location (e.g., while an injury heals), the care generally involves basic feeding, cleaning and administering any prescribed medicines.
In addition, several “behind the scenes” jobs are generally done by volunteers, including:
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Completing bio’s for the animals and submitting frequent photo updates
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Attending adoption events, or providing transportation to/from events
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Cleaning traps and transporting animals to/from colony
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Transporting animals to/from vet or clinic appointments
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Participation in fundraising opportunities for Street Paws is optional, but encouraged.
​​Puppy/Dog long-term foster parent
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Function: These volunteers provide proper care for puppies/dogs until positive outcomes can be arranged.
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Core responsibilities: Very young puppies need intensive basic care — bottle-feeding every few hours along with frequent socialization sessions. Once the puppies are independent, the foster parent generally houses and cares for them, and provide care after they have been spayed or neutered. Adult dogs will typically require medical care initially, such as administering prescribed medications, cleaning of wounds etc. Adult dogs will also require frequent socialization. Both puppies and dogs may require long-term fostering until adoption is completed. Basic needs such as food, water, exercise and safe and loving environment in which to thrive. For adult community dogs requiring short-term foster care before being returned to their trapping location (e.g., while an injury heals), the care generally involves basic feeding, cleaning and administering any prescribed medicines.
In addition, several “behind the scenes” jobs are generally done by volunteers, including:
-
Completing bio’s for the animals and submitting frequent photo updates
-
Attending adoption events, or providing transportation to/from events
-
Transporting animals to/from vet or clinic appointments
-
Participation in fundraising opportunities for Street Paws is optional, but encouraged