Foster Homes for Animals and What That Means

What is an Animal Foster Home and why are they important?

When most people here the words Foster Home, they usually are thinking about human children, not animals. But our shelter is currently looking for people to provide a foster home for our dogs and cats. This would be a temporary placement to get eligible dogs and cats out of the shelter into a home environment. A shelter environment can be noisy and frightening to an animal, this means that the animal might not show its normal personality and be passed over for adoption. It’s not fair to the animal or the prospective families who are missing out on wonderful dogs or cats because they are frightened or confused by their environment. A home environment allows the animal to feel comfortable and relax. The dog or cat will start to show its normal personality and allow for it to have more personalized care. All of this makes it easier to adopt the animal and find them an amazing forever home!

How do I Become a Foster Home?

Here is where you come in. If you would like to become a foster home for one of our animals, here is what you do:

Step 1. Come in to the shelter and fill out the application.

Step 2. One of our shelter staff, will call you to set up a home visit. This is state required. All they are looking for is a safe environment for an animal, no chemicals where they could reach them, a quiet place for them to go if they need alone time, etc. They will not judge you on how clean your house is!

Step 3. If you get approved, wait until they have an animal eligible. If you don’t feel comfortable with the current animal or if you don’t feel able to care for them this time around, you can always say no. The Animal Shelter will then contact you the next time around.

Other information it’s important to know!

You have very few out of pocket expenses! You do not have to pay for any medical expenses or food expenses. Thanks to the wonderful and generous Friends of the Emporia Animal Shelter (FEAS) they have covered all medical expenses, and the Shelter will provide the food for your foster animal. You would need to provide a place for the animal to sleep, leash and collar, dog bowls, and maybe a toy. The shelter will take care of screening applications for your foster animal, and will advertise the animal for adoption. Once the have a qualified family or person for adoption, they will contact you and make arrangements for you to bring the animal back out to the shelter to meet its prospective new family! 

As always if you have any more questions please reach out to me or the Animal Shelter.

Meet Rebel! He is currently available for adoption!