Give a pet the best possible present this festive season – a loving, safe home whilst they wait for their forever family. Here’s how you can foster a dog or cat this December holiday!
If you are desperate to bring a fluffy kitty cat or a playful pooch into your family but aren’t ready to make the lifelong commitment, fostering is a wonderful option for you!
Animal shelters search for forever families for the animals that walk through the door; however, many shelters rely on foster families to take in these animals temporarily. Fostering is a very important step in saving animals’ lives. Without them, the shelters wouldn’t be able to do the incredible work that they do!
Discover: Caring for Pets Over the Festive Season: 3 Important Factors
The festive season is a strenuously busy time for animal shelters, as many families leave for the holiday and the traumatic time over New Year’s when many animals run away due to being terrified of the fireworks.
If you are planning on staying at home over the festive season and would like to ‘paw’ it forward, fostering a shelter animal is a wonderful option for you! Read on to learn how you can become a foster parent this festive season.
Why YOU should foster a dog or cat!
When you foster a dog or cat, it means that you take a homeless animal into your home and give him lots of attention, care, and love for either a predetermined amount of time or until the pet finally finds his forever home! There are many reasons why an animal might need foster care, these include:
- The shelter is at full capacity and does not have space for a new resident.
- The puppy or kitten is too young to be adopted and needs a safe home to grow up more before going to their permanent home.
- The animal has not lived in a home before and needs to be socialized and taught the ins and outs of living in a family home.
- The animal is recovering from a surgery, injury, or illness.
The list of reasons why you should foster a shelter animal is endless. By taking in an animal temporarily, you are freeing up space in the shelter so that they can take in another needy animal, helping the shelter get to know the animal before they are adopted, and allowing the furry friend to get used to living in a love-filled, safe home.
Some might be hesitant to become a foster parent as they are worried that saying goodbye might be too difficult. However, you can put your mind at ease: the local shelters only choose the best of the best to become the permanent family for their shelter animals.
We can guarantee that the rewards that you receive for saving Mittens’ or Rover’s life will outweigh any sadness that you feel when it is time to say goodbye.
Read this: From Travelling to Fireworks – Here’s Why You Need Dog Anxiety Medication
How you can become a furry foster parent
Becoming a foster for a homeless animal is a simple process! You will need to sign up to be a foster with your local shelter. After the shelter undertakes the necessary home and background checks, they will give you a call when they require you to foster an animal.
If you can take in the pet, the local shelter will likely provide you with all the supplies that you need – food, bowls, toys, blankets, and anything else you may need!
Remember to clarify this before signing up to become a foster paw-rent. If your foster pup or kitty needs to go to the vet whilst they are under your care, the shelter will give you a list of designated vets and will cover the costs of the medical care they receive.
It’s as easy as that!
Here’s a list of shelters that you can get in touch with to become a foster paw-rent:
- Dogtown SA
- Kitty and Puppy Haven, Johannesburg
- TEARS Animal Rescue, Cape Town
- Oscars Arc, Cape Town
- Project Dog, Durban
- Save-a-Pet, Port Elizabeth
How to help if you cannot foster a dog or cat
We know that not every family can foster a dog or cat over the festive season. If you are unable to bring a foster animal home, don’t worry – there are many other ways that you can help out shelter animals over the festive season, such as:
- Volunteer at your local shelter
- Donate money or animal supplies, such as food, blankets, or toys
- Start a fundraiser for your local animal rescue centre
Bringing a foster pet into your home is a big decision that you mustn’t take lightly, however, it can be one of the best decisions that you have made! We are very excited for you to start your fostering journey, may it be filled with many cuddles, tail wags, purring, and love!
Read next: 7 Signs of Poisoning in Dogs & What You Can Do
Yours in Not-So-Average Pet Advice,
The Petinsurance.co.za Team