Foster families provide temporary animal housing for a number of reasons: some animals are too young to be in a boarding facility, some animals need to work on their human interactions and manners, some need a quiet place to recover from treatments, the biggest reason is because we are overflowing at our facility.
Fostering provides a taste of the “good life” for so many animals who never knew what love was, preparing them to transition to their forever homes. Foster homes allow us to care for many more animals than our facility can hold, giving us the chance to save more lives.
Your duties as a foster include:
- Sharing your home and your heart with one (or more) of our cats or dogs
- Teaching your foster how to live in a home environment
- Taking your foster to vet appointments
- Giving your foster any medications that might be prescribed to them
- Taking your foster to adoption events and intros
- Sending us adorable photos of your foster and bio updates as your foster grows
Other foster tidbits:
How long does foster care last? Foster care can last from a couple days up to a year or more.
Are there location requirements? Yes, by law our fosters must live in the state of Kansas. We prefer them to be in Wichita or a manageable driving distance (if you live outside of Wichita you must be willing to drive your foster in for vet appointments, meet and greets, and events).
How do you decide who goes to foster? Choosing who goes to foster care depends on a lot of variables. There are people who foster our medical cases who need some extra TLC. There are people who love to foster puppies and kittens. There are people who love to foster senior dogs and cats. There are AMAZING fosters that step up and make sure the lives we save never see the inside of boarding and take them straight from the shelter. We do watch for signs of our boarding dogs becoming stressed, if we start seeing signs we try to get them into foster. One kennel cleared in boarding means one more life we can save from death row.
Can I say no if I don’t feel the suggested foster is the right fit? ABSOLUTELY! We would never ask you to foster an animal that you didn’t feel comfortable with. In an effort to find the right fit we do a meet and greet and do intros with your current pets and family members.
What if I take in a foster and it just doesn’t work out? It happens, and that is fine. We will try to make alternate arrangements in a timely manner. If it is just a matter of training we will provide some training for you. Should one foster not work out don’t get discouraged; fostering for any length of time helps us save lives.
Who pays for the vet care and supplies? We pay for the vet care, but there are certain vets that we use. We will also provide you with any supplies needed. Anything you provide can be considered a donation to the rescue.
What if I fall in love? Well, then, you just became one of us! Our crew is full of foster fails. Generally the fosters get first dibs on adopting our fur babies. Just don’t foster fail too many times, we still need you.