Foster

Fostering means that an animal stays with you on a temporary basis. The animal continues to belong to Friends For Life, so you do not adopt it. You’re like a waystation on the road from one place to their forever home. And for that, they will always hold a special place in their heart for you.

Fostering includes bringing the animal to some adoption show hours or events (you never have to stay with them – we do that), helping with transport to the vet (when/if possible – if not, we have transport volunteers who can help), and generally giving them a safe, loving place to be while they seek that forever home.

Puppies, kittens, dogs and cats! We need fosters for nursing kittens and puppies, senior animals, animals recovering from injuries and medical issues, and healthy animals just needing temporary ‘digs.’

We work with you to decide what type, species, size and age you would like to care for and we’ll be sure you never end up with an animal you can’t handle or that isn’t a good fit for your life. The opportunities are limited only by what you have training and desire to do.

Short answer: nothing.

While any foster may donate any portion they feel inclined (hey, we’ll never turn down help…) Friends For Life pays ALL costs for food, milk, supplies, toys, bedding, wellness/vet care… you name it related to the animal. You supply the love!

Absolutely not.

We want to be sure, just like with adoptions, that the animals in our program are in a safe place, with minimal anxiety. If your foster animal exhibits signs of distress while in your care, please talk to us (we are super communicative with our fosters, so don’t worry about us not getting back to you).

We want to keep you as a foster. If your experience is less than stellar, you won’t be back to help us with another animal. But ultimately our decisions always focus on what is best for the animal. Being in a place that causes them anxiety (most of the time, that won’t be your fault), doesn’t put them in a good place to find their forever home. And we won’t put them through that.

You get the unconditional love of an animal who needs you in order to stay alive. You get to be a life-changing force for good.

Yes. More than you can imagine.

Friends For Life gets almost 100 requests for help with animals each day. The unvarnished truth is this: the number we can save from staying in abusive situations or dying in other shelters is directly dependent on how many foster homes we have.

Let’s make sure you are in the right place, first. If you found an animal or are surrendering an animal and are willing to foster it, go here to be directed to the correct resources.

If you have room in your heart and home to help an animal already in the Friends For Life program by providing a foster home, please fill out our foster care application form below.