What Is Fostering?
Fostering means opening your home to a rescued cat or dog and providing temporary care, shelter, love, and support until a permanent adoptive home can be found.
If you are not ready for the long-term commitment of adoption, fostering is a wonderful way to make a life-saving difference. By becoming a foster parent with Carolina P.A.W.S., you play a vital role in helping abandoned, neglected, and at-risk animals transition into loving forever homes.
Every day, Carolina P.A.W.S. is contacted about animals in shelters, unsafe situations, or in danger of euthanasia. While we work quickly to rescue them, we rely entirely on foster homes to provide a safe and caring environment while these animals await adoption. As a rescue, we primarily save mixed-breed cats and dogs of all shapes, sizes, and backgrounds. Because Carolina P.A.W.S. does not operate a physical shelter facility, the number of foster homes available directly impacts how many animals we are able to save. Foster families are the heart of our rescue efforts.
Fostering is a rewarding experience that allows you to enjoy the companionship of a pet without a permanent commitment while making a meaningful impact on an animal’s life.
Foster Parent Responsibilities
Foster parents agree to:
- Provide Care: Provide a safe, loving, and temporary home for a rescued cat or dog.
- Improve Adoptability: Help with basic training, socialization, and positive reinforcement to improve the animal’s adoptability.
- Update Profiles: Provide updates, photos, and basic information for the animal’s online adoption profile.
- Transport: Transport the foster animal to scheduled veterinary appointments and adoption events when needed.
- Aid Placement: Participate in meet-and-greets or home visits with approved potential adopters when requested.
Frequently Asked Questions
- How Will I Know When an Animal Needs Fostering?
When Carolina P.A.W.S. has an animal that may be a good fit for your home, we will contact you with information about the animal and their needs. Please keep in mind that because rescue needs change daily, we have no way to know or predict which types of animals will be in the greatest need of placement at any given time. Accepting a foster placement is always voluntary, and you are under no obligation to accept any particular animal. - Can I Choose the Type of Animal I Foster?
Absolutely. Foster parents may choose the types of animals they are comfortable fostering, including dogs, cats, puppies, kittens, or specific sizes, ages, or genders. Please note that the vast majority of the animals we rescue are mixed breeds. While we will always do our best to match foster families with animals that fit their preferences, experience level, and household environment, our available animals depend entirely on who needs rescue. - Who Covers Expenses?
Carolina P.A.W.S. covers approved veterinary care and can provide necessary rescue-related supplies when available for foster animals in our program. - How Long Is the Foster Commitment?
The length of fostering varies depending on the animal’s medical, behavioral, and adoption needs. On average, foster placements range from approximately 3 weeks to 3 months; however, some animals may require shorter or longer stays. While Carolina P.A.W.S. works diligently to find permanent homes as quickly as possible, we cannot guarantee how long it will take for an animal to be adopted.
