This post originally ran in December 2018, but we think it’s as relevant as ever. This year is the perfect time to bring back, start or expand your holiday fostering offerings.   Organizations across the country are getting dogs out of the shelter and into homes for the holidays through foster care. Holiday foster initiatives… Learn More

Earlier this week, we shared a blog post about research from University of Michigan Health confirming that hospitalized patients need help with their pets. This post is a follow up with Matt Pepper, President and CEO of Michigan Humane Society, sharing what steps they’ve made to help hospitalized pet owners and how other animal welfare… Learn More

One Tail at a Time, based in Chicago, IL, was in a tough spot. Their shelter partners were quickly filling to capacity and were asking for help. At the same time, they were experiencing a drop in new fosters and foster placements due to vacations, returning to work and other factors. “With scheduled transports and our commitment to our… Learn More

It happens everywhere: foster caregivers fall in love with a pet they’re fostering, and some are unable to continue fostering after they adopt. In fact, research shows that nearly half of foster caregivers end up adopting their foster pet at some point.  This can be a great thing, since knowing how the pet behaves in one’s home… Learn More

Finding foster caregivers for pets who have behavioral needs can feel daunting, but it doesn’t have to be. Here are six strategies animal welfare organizations across the country are using to do just this!    1. Prioritize “unicorn” fosters who have ideal home set-ups for some of your more challenging pets (people who don’t have children or other pets). Be responsive and treat… Learn More

While we may not be able to provide you with an extra set of hands to bottle feed, we do have plenty resources to help with kitten season. From a brand new kitten marketing toolkit from HeARTs Speak to foster recruitment to kitten care and more, we hope these will help your organization manage the… Learn More

Whether you want to grow your animal organization’s foster program or just keep your already robust program humming along, you must make it easy for caregivers to start! That’s the overwhelming theme from this American Pets Alive! Conference session recording from 2019.   In the conference session recording, High Volume Foster Programs for Cats and Dogs, you will learn… Learn More

As we move toward community-centric animal services practices, many shelters and rescue organizations are considering creating safety net fostering programs. These programs provide temporary care for pets whose owners are in crisis, but who would like to keep their pets in the long term. “I think there’s been a growing interest for programs like this… Learn More

Over the last few months, we’ve seen incredible changes within animal welfare. Communities all over the country stepped up to foster pets, opening our eyes to the possibilities of the foster-centric shelter. While we work toward caring for pets in foster homes instead of shelters, here are six things you need to know: 1. This… Learn More

Maddie’s® Foster Express Challenge called on participating shelters to focus on short-term fostering to help get more dogs and cats out of the shelter during the hectic holiday season, get them more exposure and attract new foster caregivers. The following is the last in this series.  How do you recruit new fosters? By enticing them with… Learn More