Foster parents are often people of great strength, caring and sacrifice who understand the need for temporary havens while permanent homes are being found. Perhaps you know a child or two in the foster system. These kids can't seem to catch a break, but sometimes the right foster situation just clicks. This is certainly the case when talking about kids but we're not talking children here, we are talking dogs, cats and other household pets. Every year thousands of animals are rescued from abusive homes, freed from lives of terror and starvation, disease and neglect. The effects of such horrors are evident and deep, but not necessarily permanent, thanks to the "now" mindset of most animals or the inability to worry about the future or dwell in the past.

These animals often receive treatment for their physical ailments and find comfort in the patience and great care administered to their damaged psyches, but most shelters cannot contain the sheer number of animals rescued; the costs are too high and the amount of space needed for proper housing is insurmountable. A foster home helps to defray those costs by individuals and families simply offering a warm bed and healing love to an animal that may have never known a kind human touch or long since forgotten it.

While some shelters can help with rehabilitation of mind and body, many foster homes will also take up that challenge, work to socialize an animal that has been isolated by displaying kindness and, most of all, love, perhaps never before shown to an abused creature. Without foster homes, many more of these unfortunate animals would have to be put down for lack of physical space. Fostering rescued animals is a genuine way to give back to the community and gain a sense of accomplishment.

A Foster 'Parent's' Responsibility

The number of foster homes is directly correlated to the number of animals that can be saved and many shelters will even offer health management, guidance and supplies. They truly need just a place for the animals to live until homes can be found. Animal rescues will often match foster dogs and cats to families in the foster system, working as closely with that family as possible to give them exactly what works best. Some foster parents take only a single puppy or an entire litter, while others may desire only grown dogs or just cats, or any mix between. Also asked of foster families is the flexibility to allow potential adopters to see the animal or make the animal available for viewing. Sometimes good descriptions for web sites will be asked for, in order to make the eventual adoption process run more smoothly.

Foster families may need to transport the rescued animal to the vet when medical care or shots are needed, to let the shelter know if there are any behavioral problems that need to be addressed, and in the case of dogs, some light training may be requested. More often than not, foster parents are asked to show the rescued animal a little extra attention, a lot of patience and heaps of healing love. As a foster family, you provide a wonderful 'in-home' rather alternative to 'in-shelter' transition between life then and life after adoption. You provide time for an animal to be placed with a forever home and you provide an invaluable service to your animal shelter and to the animal itself.

And what happens if you fall in love with your foster 'child'? Usually the foster family is afforded first choice of adoption and it happens. This mutual love between foster parent and dog forges a bond that ends up with foster home turning into forever home. While dogs and cats comprise the vast majority of needy creatures, there may be call for housing rabbits and birds, too.

The amount of poor stewardship, abuse and neglect that occurs annually in this country concerning often harmless animals is staggering. You are indispensable in the battle for humane treatment of this planet's furry citizens; they need you to take action for them. Make a difference in your life, the life of a rescued animal and even the life of the family who adopts sweet Rover: consider becoming a foster family for animals and shelters in need.