Fostering Pets

Are you an animal lover? Do you want another pet, but aren’t quite ready to make a long-term commitment? You may want to consider fostering! In this article from Arapahoe Animal Hospital, your Boulder, CO vet, serving Louisville and surrounding areas, a local vet discusses fostering.

There are many reasons and circumstances when fostering may be beneficial. Sometimes rescue groups don’t have physical buildings, and rely on volunteers to care for their rescues. With young pets, fostering helps provide socialization and training at a critical phase. Others may be recovering from illness, surgery, trauma, and/or medical issues, and may just need a safe place to recoup. In some cases, it’s about teaching animals the ropes and rules of being a pet.

Fostering helps in many ways. For one thing, it frees up some much-needed space at a shelter or rescue. It also gives scared or traumatized animals the time and attention they need to learn to trust people, and gets them ready for their forever homes. This also gives rescues time to learn about a pet and test their personality, so they can better gauge what type of home that pet is best suited for. Of course, it also just feels great to help an animal in need!

While fostering can be wonderful, there are somethings to consider. First and foremost, it isn’t necessarily right for everyone. You’ll need to make sure that you have the time, money, and patience your furry ward will require. Consider your household, family, budget, and any other pets. It’s also worth noting that some people find it very hard to say good-bye when the time comes. This isn’t entirely a bad thing. Many ‘foster fails’ are now beloved members of what were supposed to be their temporary households. However, the point should be to help prepare a pet for adoption.

If you’re interested in fostering an animal, the first thing to do is reach out to local animal shelters and rescues. You may need to go through some training and/or have a house/yard check. If it turns out that fostering isn’t right for you, don’t worry. You can still help in other ways, such as donating or volunteering.

Please contact us here at Arapahoe Animal Hospital, your local Boulder, CO vet serving Louisville and surrounding areas, anytime. We’re here to help!