SAVE A LIFE - Become a Foster Care Provider

In the United States, approximately 6 million dogs and cats are still euthanized (killed/”put to sleep”) each and every year in animal control facilities, county pounds, and shelters. Why? Because many people do not invest the time and energy into an animal to make it easy to live with - and then they blame the animal for not being the animal they expected. In addition to this, statistics show that only 20% of all pet owners adopt their animals, yet, an astounding number of people turn in their dogs and cats to shelters when they no longer want to or are able to care for them.

When this sizeable number of animals are relinquished or abandoned to shelters and only a small percentage are adopted, the rest have no where to go....unless they are rescued by organizations like A Caring Place Humane Society. A Caring Place actively works with county pounds rescuing these dogs and cats who are at highest risk of being euthanized. We then rehabilitate them by providing veterinary care, wholesome food, housing, and TLC through our fostering program. Lastly, we work to rehome them through adoption opportunities.

Becoming a Foster Care Provider

A Caring Place is an all volunteer, no-kill, non-facility, charity....meaning, we have no paid employees, no building or facility to house animals in, and we subsist exclusively on the generosity of donors and modest adoption fees. It also means that we keep our animals until they are adopted - we do not euthanize healthy, adoptable animals! So, you may then wonder then how we operate. That is where foster care providers come into the picture. Foster care providers are people, like you, who open their heart and homes temporarily to an animal in need. Now don’t panic - it is not as scarey as it sounds.

It is very important to us that we do not harm or frighten members of your household, and that includes your pets. So, we learn about you, the animals in your home, and your lifestyle. We also learn about how much experience you have with animals. By learning about you, we are able to do a better job at matching potential foster animals with you. Granted, nothing is perfect, but we will always work with you to provide a positive fostering experience. Here is how our foster program works:

All of the dogs and cats we rescue are evaluated at the pounds and are deemed “friendly.”
All rescued animals go to a licensed veterinarian for exam, inoculations, tests, and removal of parasites like fleas, ticks, and worms; fosters are not responsible for these vetting costs!
Fosters are provided start-up supplies like crate, bowls, toys, food, litter box, etc. for each animal.
A Caring Place rehomes the animal, not the foster.
And lastly, support is provided throughout your fostering experience - you are not alone in this.

Sure, there are responsibilities too but they are not overwhelming. We simply ask that you take the animal to our veterinarians, when needed, for medical attention or required vetting; you bring the animal to adoption showings at the Petsmart or other event, and work with us when we are working to complete the animals adoption.

Being Realistic

We need you to be realistic. We don’t get the elegantly coiffed, classically beautiful, completely trained, perfectly behaved animals. We often get the leftovers that other people have incompetently bred, inadequately socialized, ineffectively “trained” or not trained at all, and badly treated. Most rescue dogs have had it; they’ve been pushed from one lousy situation to another. They seldom have had proper veterinary care, kind and consistent training, or sufficient company. They often have lived outside, in a crate, or in the basement. They are scared, depressed and anxious. Some are angry. Some are sick. Some have given up on life. BUT.....we are a Rescue and we don’t give up. We never give up! AND, we need you to not give up either.

Foster Care Providers don’t simply provide a new living space. These animals need you to care for them as if they were your own, and this is something these dogs or cats have possibly never experienced before. Fosters often help an animal heal from illness and neglect (and sometimes abuse), gain weight through consistent nutritious food, and emotionally blossom through your love, attention, and care.

When working with dogs, what is equally important is training efforts. As a foster care provider, part of your responsibility is to make the dog more adoptable. That can mean working with your foster dog on housebreaking, walking well on a leash, becoming crate trained, on basic manners like not jumping up on people. This may sound like a tall order, but it is essential to help dogs get adopted. Most people looking to adopt a dog are looking for dogs they do not have to invest a lot of time into.

Resources

To help you as you foster, we provide you with a foster care manual which includes printed materials from national organizations like the ASPCA and HSUS on housebreaking, crate training, behavior, and appropriate training methods. Additionally, A Caring Place provides a fantastic DVD put together by professional trainers to assist you on basic training methods. We also have behaviorists and dog trainers working with us that we can utilize should there be a particular issue you or your foster dog is struggling with.

If you are like many of us, the rewards far outweigh the inconveniences. Feel how incredibly rewarding it is to temporarily share your life with an animal who would otherwise be killed. You actually save a life of an animal by opening your home - and that is an amazing gift!

You see, we feel that dogs and cats are living beings with a spirit and a heart and feelings. They are not disposable commodities, things, or garbage. Animals are “part of the sacred creation and they deserve as much love and care and respect as the next Westminster champion. So please, please don’t come to rescue in the hopes of “getting” anything. Come to Rescue to give, to love, to save a life — and to mend your own spirit. For Rescue will reward you in ways you never thought possible.” I can promise you this — a rescued animal will make you a better person.

How to Get Started

If we have not moved your heart to want to help, then fostering is not for you. But if we have, we want and need to to hear from you because the animals need your help and they need it now.

To speak with someone about this life-saving and meaningful volunteering opportunity, leave a detailed message on our voicemail at 630-375-7976 or send an email to acaringplace@comcast.net. A volunteer director will contact you right away to answer questions, explain our program in more detail, and start you on a fulfilling volunteering experience.

You can make a difference for the life of an animal.
PLEASE pledge your help today; the animals are waiting!