Foster programs that place shelter animals in temporary homes during recovery, socialization, or waiting for adoption provide significant welfare benefits over shelter-based care.
Foster programs represent one of the most effective and welfare-positive innovations in companion animal sheltering. The shelter environment, however well managed, cannot replicate the individualized, calm, relationship-based care that a foster home provides. For neonatal animals requiring round-the-clock feeding, this difference is literally the difference between life and death. For animals recovering from surgery, the stress reduction of a quiet home versus a busy shelter significantly improves outcomes. For behaviorally challenged animals, the one-on-one environment of a foster home provides rehabilitation opportunities impossible in group shelter settings. Expanding foster programs through recruitment, training, and support for foster providers is one of the highest-return welfare investments available to shelter organizations.