Foster an Animal

Requirements

Some requirements to become a foster parent include the following:

• You must be 18 years or older
• If you own cats or dogs they must be up to date on vaccinations
• You must have an area where you can keep our animals quarantined from yours
• If you rent, your landlord must approve of you fostering animals
• You must be willing to foster our puppies or kittens for up to 8 weeks, sometimes longer if they need medical care
• You must be able to bring them back to the shelter periodically for vaccinations and spay/neuter

Responsibilities

During the time you are fostering, you may be responsible for some or all of the following: 

• Returning them to the shelter for vaccinations and spaying/neutering
• Housebreaking and crate training (if possible)
• Carefully introducing new people, other pets, a variety of situations, etc.
• Making the dog/cat available for introductory visits with potential adopters
• Returning them to the shelter if they need medical care
• Medical treatment if necessary

Fostering can be a very challenging but rewarding experience. Knowing that you have helped a young animal grow healthy and find a new home is a wonderful feeling. As a county facility, we accept all animals from Davidson County. This means that sick animals are often brought into our facility. Though we do vaccinate our animals, there is always the risk that foster animals could be carrying an illness.

It is a possibility that foster animals may become sick and even die in your care, due to no fault of your own. Please take time to speak with your family and members of your household about this and to prepare your hearts and homes for all possibilities, positive and negative, of this volunteer experience.