There are as many different people becoming foster carers as there are pets all you need is a genuine love of animals and a willingness to help.
Fostering a dog, cat, rabbit, horse, or any other animal in need of shelter, love, and guidance can be a lot of work, but fostering is also one of the most rewarding ways to help homeless pets. Pets who are fostered in positive, nurturing environment by people willing to learn some basic training techniques are more likely to be adopted; less likely to be returned to the shelter, less likely to suffer from behavior problems, are less stressed and more able to adapt to life in their new homes.
However, the decision to foster a pet is not one to be made lightly. If you’re considering taking a foster pet into your home, first ask yourself these important questions;
The health and welfare of all individuals in your home - human and animal - must be considered before bringing another animal into the mix. Fostering a homeless pet should never be considered unless your home environment is happy, safe, healthy, and spacious enough to nurture the foster pet adequately. If any of your family members are contending with allergies, excessive stress, other physical or mental health issues, career instability, financial difficulties, or housing or space restrictions, fostering may not be a good option for you.
Fostering a pet is a 24/7 job. Although you may not be physically interacting with the animal every second of the day, you will be responsible round the clock for the pet’s comfort, safety and well-being.
The amount of personal attention needed will vary greatly from animal to animal, but you can expect to spend anywhere from three to seven hours a day interacting with a foster pet. Even more if you’re planning to foster puppies or kittens. Providing an animal with the socialisation, exercise, positive stimulation, regular feedings, health care and training she needs to become happy, thriving, lifelong member of another family is the essence of fostering and this takes time and patience.
Like adoption, it’s important to do the research before you bring an animal into your home. You'll need to talk to your rescue group to help them match you with a foster pet based on your home, lifestyle and experience. For instance, if your family is not very active, a young, energetic border collie probably isn’t the dog for you, but an older pet may be perfect.
Any animal considered for fostering should be healthy, fully vaccinated, behaviourally sound, and disease-free (unless you are specifically fostering 'special needs' animals).