Foster a Pet

Fostering is a rewarding and enriching experience that provides pets with a loving, temporary home while they’re waiting to be adopted or while their owners are experiencing housing insecurity, hospitalization or other personal crisis.

Schedule and time commitments range from a couple of days to several months depending on the pet. Pet foster parents will receive more information about available fosters and can commit to taking pets home based on their schedule and comfort level.

Check out our Foster Spotlight to read about the experience from our foster parents.

Become a Pet Foster Parent

Thank you for your interest in becoming a foster parent! If you’re at least 18 years-old and would like to get started fostering, check out the details below to learn more about the kind of foster homes we’re looking for and how to apply.

We are so fortunate to have a large pool of foster parents that are wonderful caregivers to the pets that come through our doors. At this time, we are only in need of foster homes for our pets that are harder to place. Healthy pets with no behavioral quirks are usually adopted within a few days of arriving at the shelter, so the pets that need foster are often those with challenges. 

We are currently only recruiting foster parents that are willing to foster the following populations of pets: 

DOGS 

  • Mom dogs + their puppies
    • Litter size can vary from 2-12! 
    • Need space that is private from other pets in the home 
    • Care consists mostly of reducing stress for the mom dog and providing care to her so she can care for her puppies.
  •  Puppies
    • Require potty training, can be noisy, expect accidents in the home, may chew on furniture, high energy level. We highly reccomend fostering at least 2 puppies at a time as they keep each other busy! 
    • Highly fulfiling to foster as you can help raise a healthy, well-adjusted adult dog! 
  • Large dogs with behavioral challenges
    • The most common challenge being reactivity to other dogs. Dogs that are reactive may whine, bark, or growl at other dogs when being walked on leash. Some dogs may even pull or lunge on their leash.
    • These dogs do wonderfully in a foster home with a fenced-in yard. However, that’s not a requirement! If being fostered in an area that is dog-dense, prepare to walk the dogs at less populat times of day, if possible.
    • Dogs with separation anxiety that require someone to be with them at all times until progress is made in behavior modification. 
    • Foster parents without other pets and no kids are highly suitable for this population! 
  • Ringworm dogs or puppies
    • Need a space to live in that’s separate from other pets and people that can also be fully deep cleaned.
  • SPOT dogs
    • Usually need up to 90 days in foster. Our SPOT program Supports Pet Owner’s in Transition. This is a temporary foster program that helps pet owners that find themselves temporarily unable to care for their pets. Learn more about SPOT here.

CATS 

  • Diabetic cats
    • Require BG monitoring and insulin given via needle and syringe. Require special diet 
  • Cats with behavioral challenges
    • May require more cautious handling. Most suitable for adult-only homes.
    • Some cats with behavioral challenges ae not comfortable around other cats, so foster parents with no cats are super helpful for this population! 
  • SPOT cats
    •  Usually need up to 90 days in foster

SMALL ANIMALS 

  • SPOT small animals
    • Usually need up to 90 days in foster 

If you’re interested in fostering one of the populations above, get started on our volunteer orientation.

Don’t see the population you’re interested in fostering? We recommend you check with shelters and rescue groups near you that may be in need of foster parents!

Questions?

Please email volunteers@seattlehumane.org or visit our Volunteering page to learn about other volunteer opportunities!

 

FAQs