Why foster?
The why is simple—it saves lives and helps the neediest of homeless pets through tough times. Shelters are crowded and can be stressful even for the most well-adjusted pet. In times of severe overcrowding, it’s literally a race against time to find safe placement. Fosters often focus on helping the most shy, the most sensitive, and the most vulnerable dogs and cats. Without foster care, those animals would be lost in the shelter and few would get the chances they deserve to find forever homes. As a foster parent, you can offer shelter pets an opportunity to blossom and show their beautiful personalities in a safe home environment. You can offer hope!
What we ask of you.
Love them, hug them, take them for walks (if they’re old enough) and teach them how to be wonderful, happy dogs! You take care of the love and food, we provide you with support and basic medical care. Become their paparazzi AND their agent! Take oodles of cute photos and videos to highlight their best personality traits and write a fun, flattering bio for their web page. Fosters are invited to share photos and videos of their foster pets on social media to promote adoption, and also in our private group on Facebook to network their fosters to trusted rescue partners throughout the West Coast. Our Foster Coordinator will screen adoption applications and rescue inquiries, and will work with you to schedule meet-n-greets. Of course if you decide they are a perfect fit for your home, you can also adopt and make them a permanent part of your family!
How to sign up.
To become a foster parent you can sign up here. Fill out the simple questionnaire, complete our quick training and you’re ready to go! Highlighted animals seeking foster placement are posted on our Trello Board and Facebook group. All dogs available for adoption can be fostered as well. If you see a pet that looks like a good fit for your home, simply email dogfoster@fresnohumane.org or catfoster@fresnohumane.org to let us know. It’s that simple! Soon you’ll be on the road to saving lives and helping out your community in this tough time.
Foster Support
Thank you for being a lifesaver! We are here to help in any way we can. Our Foster Support Team is available to offer assistance during our working hours.
For dog foster concerns or questions: dogfoster@fresnohumane.org
For cat foster concerns or questions: catfoster@fresnohumane.org
For emergencies occurring AFTER hours, please follow the emergency instructions on your foster packet.
Here are our Foster Training Materials, these are important to go over before taking home a foster pet. Print these materials or save the links so you always have them handy.
General Foster Training Slides
La-Meowze Class - Bottle Baby Kitten Info
We encourage you to help your foster pet work through basic behavioral and training issues such as crate training, leash manners, housebreaking & litter box training, etc. whenever possible.
Links to some of our favorite resources are listed below:
Browse the following websites for help with common behavioral or management issues:
San Francisco SPCA Behavior & Training Resources
Marin Humane Behavior Handouts
Austin Pets Alive Foster Resources
To research common pet medical issues:
For kitten care information:
La-Meowze - Bottle Kitten Training
Alley Cat Allies - Neonatal Kitten Care
UC Davis Koret Shelter Medicine Program - Neonatal Kitten Care