Foster Care
Be a hero. Save a life!
Thank you for considering opening your heart and home to one of our shelter’s orphaned animals. Your generosity will provide young and old, injured and sick, abused and under socialized animals a chance to grow or heal before finding their forever homes. The Seattle Animal Shelter began its foster care program in January 1999. Since then, the program has saved thousands of animals (dogs, cats and critters) that might otherwise have been euthanized. The Foster Program plays an integral part in the shelter’s ability to adopt out as many as 3,000 orphans annually.
How Do Foster Parents Help?
- Foster parents feed, groom, socialize, train, and medicate the animal during its stay in the foster home.
- Foster parents may be asked to take their animal to the vet. The Seattle Animal Shelter’s Help the Animals Fund pays for all veterinary care and medicine the animal needs during its stay in foster care.
- Foster parents are responsible for providing food, time, and tender loving care.
- When the animal is healthy and ready to be adopted, foster parents use one of the shelter’s many programs to get their animal adopted.
- While foster parents can adopt their foster animal, and are given first choice, we highly encourage serial foster parenting. It’s addictive!
- Foster parents have the option to meet potential adopters. Sometimes, the foster animals may be adopted straight from the foster home, returning to the Shelter only if it requires spay or neutering services.
- Shelter adoption guidelines are followed at all times, and shelter staff has final approval of all adoptions.
Volunteer Qualifications
- Foster parents must be able to provide a safe, loving and stable environment for the foster animal until he is adopted.
- Experience with animal behavioral or medical issues is a plus, but is not necessary.
- Foster parents must have patience, as well as be willing to nurse any injury and/or illness — with the understanding that some animals will not recover from their injury.
- Foster parents must be able to transport their foster animal to and from the Seattle Animal Shelter and the veterinarian during business hours, should the need arise.
Foster Care Volunteer Orientations
- Foster Cat Program
- Foster Dog Program
- Foster Care Volunteer orientations are free, and attending an orientation session does not obligate you to foster an animal.
- Foster Care Volunteer orientations are held at Seattle Animal Shelter, in the upstairs conference room. The Seattle Animal Shelter is located at 2061 - 15th Avenue West.
- To learn more about the Seattle Animal Shelter foster care program, call us at (206) 615-0737.
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