Temporary Family, Permanent Difference: Foster a Pet Today!

June is National Foster a Pet Month! What does it mean to foster a pet for an animal shelter, and why is it so important? Today, we’d like to answer these questions and tell you about some special types of fosters we are in need of at the Humane Society of Utah.

Why Foster a Pet?

Fostering is opening up your home to temporarily care for a shelter pet. There are many reasons that a pet may need a foster home. A few example reasons include…

• The pet is recovering from an injury or illness
• They’re a baby animal who is too young to be put up for adoption
• The pet is a mother dog or cat who has recently weaned a litter and needs additional time to let their milk dry up
• They may have behavioral needs to work on
• Some pets simply need a break from the shelter environment

Foster families play an essential role in animal welfare, providing care and support for the most vulnerable pets in our shelter. Additionally, fostering opens up more kennel space in our facility, meaning we can save even more lives!

When you foster a pet for the Humane Society of Utah, we provide all the supplies, food, and medical care your foster pet needs. All that you need to do is provide a safe and loving space for your foster animal and communicate with our team about how they’re doing.

Big Dogs, Big Hearts, Big Need!

Do you love big dogs? Do you have some extra space in your heart and home? Have you ever considered fostering? We need your help!

The number one type of pet that we need foster families for are large breed dogs. Oftentimes, these gentle giants are overlooked due to their size and spend a longer time waiting for a foster than other pets in our care. We’re here to tell you that a bigger furry friend just means more to love!

Slumber Paw-rty at Your Place?

Recently, we’ve discovered a need for a very special type of foster volunteer at the Humane Society of Utah. We need overnight emergency fosters for baby animals!

Lately, we’ve frequently found ourselves with baby kittens and puppies coming into our care late in the day. These cuties are too young to stay in the shelter overnight by themselves, so they need a home to land in for the night while we search for a more permanent foster for them.

Overnight emergency fostering is an excellent opportunity for short-term fostering. It’s just a night or two of commitment rather than the days to weeks that a pet may typically spend in a foster home. If you choose to become an overnight emergency foster, you’ll receive a call from HSU when baby animals come in, then you can come pick up your emergency overnight fosters for the world’s most adorable sleepover!

If you are interested specifically in overnight emergency fostering for HSU, be sure to include that in the comments section of your foster application.

Become a Fostering Pro!

If you choose to foster a pet and want to go the extra mile, we have a few ways you can help!

• Tell us all about your foster! Foster families are in a unique position to get to know a pet’s personality. Since foster pets are in a home environment, it’s often easier to get a picture of how they may behave in their adoptive homes. Not only can you help a homeless pet during their time staying with you, but through learning and sharing about your foster pet’s personality and their needs, you can help them find an adopter, too!
• Create photo and video content! They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so imagine just how much a video is worth! Taking cute photos and videos of your foster pet during their stay with you and sharing that content with the shelter can really help them find a home. The content doesn’t need to be professional quality or over the top— even a cellphone pic of your foster pet snoozing on the sofa can go a long way!
• Teach an old dog a new trick! By that we mean teach any pet, of any age, any new thing! Setting aside 5-10 minutes a day to work with your foster pet on a new cue or skill can really help them out once they hit the adoption floor. Do they know how to sit? How nice are their leash manners? If you’d like to help your foster pet learn a new thing, we’d be happy to help give some guidance about fear-free training techniques!

Foster a Pet: Be A Hero!

We aren’t exaggerating when we say fostering saves lives! Become a hero for homeless animals today when you sign up at utahhumane.org/foster.