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Become a Canine Foster Parent!

Foster parents provide short and long-term care for animals in their homes. By offering your time, love and attention, you prepare your foster dog or puppy for adoption into a permanent, loving home.

Four common reasons dogs/puppies are in foster care:

  1. They are stressed or fearful of being in a shelter environment.
  2. They are too young or underweight to be placed up for adoption.
  3. They need time to heal from an injury or illness.
  4. A female dog and her nursing pups need a quiet home environment where they can feel safe and receive proper socialization.

Your Duties As a Foster Care Parent:

  • Provide daily care and feeding (food is provided by the shelter).
  • Socialize your dog/puppy and give him plenty of TLC.
  • Provide transportation to and from the shelter for medical appointments.
  • Attend adoption events.
  • Attend training classes, if necessary.
  • Be Committed: These puppies/dogs will be in your care until they are ready to be placed for adoption. You could have your foster(s) for a few weeks or several months.

How Foster Care Works:

  1. HSSV receives a dog/puppy who is not ready to enter our adoption program.
  2. Foster homes are contacted. If you are called to foster an animal and are unavailable, we will find another foster home and call you the next time.
  3. The dog/puppy goes to the foster home until ready for adoption. You may need to bring your foster to HSSV to get checked periodically by our veterinarian or to receive any necessary vaccines or treatments.
  4. You may be asked to attend offsite adoption events to help find a new home for your foster dog/puppy. You may also be asked to show the animal at your home to prospective families or take your foster to a designated viewing area until a suitable adoption family is found.

Challenges of Fostering:

  • Fostering is not always an easy job.
  • Fostering can sometimes be exhausting.
  • Fostering is often challenging.

Fostering may sometimes cost you money. It can be painful to say goodbye to a foster dog when he or she is ready for adoption, but, fostering can be the most rewarding and fulfilling thing a true dog lover will ever do to support our canine guests!

Qualifications for Canine Fostering:

In order to ensure that your foster dog receives the care he or she needs, we ask that you:

  • Have basic knowledge of canine care and behavior.
  • Attend our Volunteer Orientation and Foster Care Training session.
  • Have a safe, secure space inside your home to house your foster dog.
  • Complete a Foster Care Application.
  • Have a schedule flexible enough to allow for routine veterinary exams and vaccinations, as well as any emergencies that may occur.
  • Be able to provide transportation for your foster dog to meet with potential adopters on a scheduled basis.
  • Be able to commit time and effort in socializing, training and exercising your foster dog as well as providing ongoing input on any behavior changes.
  • Be at least 18 years old.

Are you ready to get started? Fill out our Canine Foster Care Application.