SPCA International thanks you for your interest in participating in our Foster Care Volunteer program.  Your involvement will make a difference about which you will be proud.

Foster Care Volunteer

Being a foster care volunteer is a unique way to help animals.  You don’t have to travel to a shelter or commit to a regular schedule.  You can make a difference right in your own home.  Through volunteering you can:

• Help a struggling individual or a family to keep their companion animal rather than surrender it to a shelter;
• Prevent the possibility that a shelter would have to euthanize the animal after a period of time;
• Get to know a wonderful animal and its caregiver, leading to a lifelong friendship;
• Gain a petsitter when the pet owner is able to again care for their animal and wants to repay your generousity.

While you risk becoming attached to your foster pet – there are often mixed emotions when the animal returns to its home – knowing there is another deserving animal in need of the temporary home you can provide makes the personal investment worth it.

Foster Care Volunteer Requirements

• Provide a safe and secure home for the animal.
• Provide the daily care required to keep the animal healthy and happy.
• If fostering a cat: the cat has to be kept inside at all times.
• If fostering a dog: your yard must have a fence high enough to prevent the dog from escaping.
• Provide the animal the attention needed to adjust to its temporary home.
• Remain in regular contact with the animal’s owner, notifying them immediately should there be a problem or a health issue with the animal.
• No one in the household allergic to animals.
• Requests to provide foster care must be made by an adult member of the household.
• Understanding that based on type of animal and temperament, households with young children may not be appropriate.
• Financial responsibility for the foster animal’s food, unless the owner offer to pay for it; the  animal’s owner will be responsible for any veterinary costs.

If you are interested in becoming an SPCA International Foster Care Volunteer we ask that you complete an application.  Once SPCA International receives your application, it will be reviewed by our staff.  You then will be added to our national registry if you meet all the requirements.  You will be contacted when an animal in your area needs a temporary home and placed in contact with the animal’s caregiver to discuss all the important details.  If both you and the caregiver feel your home is the right match for their animal, you may become that animal’s temporary caregiver.

SPCA International thanks you for recognizing the importance of our Foster Care program.  Generous people like you make a difference in the lives of animals of which we call can be proud.