Foster Volunteers

Are you looking for snuggles and companionship? Want to make a meaningful impact on your community? Show us some love by becoming an AWS foster family!!

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Show us the Love

Whether taking an AWS resident pup for a lunch date or afternoon adventure, overseeing a rabbit’s recovery from surgery for a week or two, or caring for a litter of kittens for a summer, foster families make a huge difference for pets in our community, including those awaiting new homes though AWS’ Adoption Center.

Pets need foster care for a variety of reasons – some for a day or two, some for an extended period of time. Each pet’s needs are unique, so there isn’t a one-size-fits-all type of foster family. Families, couples, individuals, roommates – no matter your family set up or your home environment – there will be a pet (or two or three!) that can use your love and companionship.

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Five Reasons to Foster

1. Adoptable Animals

Although pets at AWS have safe and comfortable quarters, receive nutritious food, and get exercise and plenty of snuggles, it’s not the same as being in a home-like setting. That’s where fosters come in! Foster families house and care for pets that are already up for adoption. They provide a loving and temporary home while the pet waits for their permanent one. Fosters also help advocate for their pet’s adoption. They take the animal out wearing adopt-me vests (dogs only!) or showcase them on their personal social media. Fosters get pets adopted!

2. Temporary Boarding

Not all the animals who come through AWS go up for adoption. In certain scenarios, we provide temporary boarding services for pet families who are in crisis and need a safe place for their pet to be on a short-term basis. All pets are happier away from the hustle and bustle of shelter life, and these pets are no exception! Many have recently faced trauma and upheaval in their lives (such as a house fire, for example), and need the stability of a home setting. It truly takes a community, and temporarily caring for these pets makes all the difference for them and their people!

3. Maternity

Being a new or expecting mother is hard, even for our animal companions! Foster families take in pregnant pets and support them through their maternity stay. Mom and her new arrivals often require a quiet, calm, and supportive environment to develop and grow. Shelters like AWS are often far too loud and busy for that! Sometimes, mom is still pregnant when she arrives and will deliver in foster care. Other times she’s already had the babies. In rare instances, mom isn’t around and the babies must be bottle fed. Kittens are most common, but we do sometimes need puppy, rabbit, or even gerbil baby fosters. Maternity fosters not only make a huge difference for these pet, but families end up with some of the cutest fosters ever!

4. Medical

Every pet is different, and sometimes an animal comes to us with unique medical needs. Whether it’s a broken leg, an infection, or even a long-term disability, a sick or injured animal will usually need a foster home. This is so they can heal away from the hustle and bustle of shelter life. During their stay, the animal will recover and rejuvenate in a relaxing home environment. AWS will cover the cost of all medical expenses, and the pet will be returned for adoption once healed. Depending on the pet’s needs, minor medical care (such as changing bandages or administering medication) may be required. However, we teach our fosters exactly what to do and support them entirely through the process. Medical fosters help pets heal more quickly and more thoroughly by providing love, encouragement, and comfort!

5. Transport Arrival

AWS is proud to help animals from all around the country! As such, we work with rescue groups to bring in pets from shelters in other states. When these animals are transported over state lines, they require a 2-5 day quarantine period. This gives them time to decompress from their long van ride or plane flight. This is where the transport fosters come in! Foster families will take in these new pets for a short period of time until the quarantine period is over and they can go up for adoption. While our transport program encompasses all types of animals, transport arrival fostering often involves puppies or kittens!

Apply to Foster

Ready to show us the love? Select your preferred animal to access our foster care application. Soon after you submit your application, we’ll be in touch.

Are you a unicorn? Unicorn fosters fill a very special need. They are the unique individuals and families who do not have any pets at home. Thus, they can take in a foster dog or cat that must be the only pet in the household.

Foster Dogs

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Foster Cats

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Foster Rabbits

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Foster Small Animals

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Foster Unicorns

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Dog Dates

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Take a dog on a date

Join our growing community of dog date fosters!

We are looking for short-term fosters to show our dogs some love. Short-term fostering is unique for each dog and give them time away from the Adoption Center to have a fun outing in the community.

We’ll work with you (and your schedule) to make sure it’s the date of your dreams! It’ll be one you won’t forget and certainly one your doggy date will remember always.

Types of Dog Dates

A Coffee or Brunch Outing
A Leisurely Lunch Date
A Half-Day Adventure
A Daylong Field Trip
An Overnight Sleepover
A Weekend Getaway

The Dog Date program runs 7 days a week, though date scheduling is dependent on our dog population at any given time. Lunch Dates and Daylong Field Trips are usually not available on the weekends during our open hours (10 am – 4 pm). This is so the dogs are at the Adoption Center on our busiest adoption days. Likewise, in most cases, Weekend Getaway dates should be prepared to drop the pup off by 10 am and pick up again at 4 pm.

If you (or you and your partner, or you and your friend – our dogs aren’t jealous!) can take a dog out soon, fill out your dating profile and then we’ll be in touch!

Dating Profile

Once you’ve filled out the form and heard back from us, you’re officially a short-term foster and ready to date! Whenever you want to take a dog on a date, give us a call a few days in advance at (207) 985-3244. We’ll work on getting something set up. Dog date scheduling always depends on how many dogs we have in care, their availability and also their compatibility with your proposed activity. Most dogs are happy to go out for ice cream; however, not every dog likes to hike. It takes a little matchmaking on our part to make sure it’s an ideal date!

Fostering Frequently Asked Questions

If you have questions or would like to chat with someone to find out if you’re a good candidate to become a foster family, please don’t hesitate to reach out to our Foster Coordinator via email or at (207) 985-3244 ext. 115.

Nope, unicorn foster families look after dogs and cats – it’s the humans who are the unicorns. That means they are rare and extra special. A unicorn foster is one who does not have any dogs or cats at home.

By not having their own pets, unicorn foster families take in foster dogs or cats that must be the only pet. This could be a cat recovering from an illness (that is cross-species contagious) or a dog that finds it too stressful to have other dogs around. It could be a rabbit in one of our boarding program whose never had a bunny friend or simply a dog or cat that is used to being king or queen of their castle and can’t imagine it any other way. Some pets just like to be the one and only and we want to find foster homes that can meet these needs.

Want to become a unicorn foster? We have pets waiting just for you!

Absolutely! We will work with your schedule. And if you’re planning a vacation or must be away while you have a foster pet, we can help with that too!

No, it is not a requirement at all. But we love when our foster families help our adoptable pets find their forever homes. If you have any questions about finding homes for your foster pets, please don’t hesitate to ask!

In most circumstances, that is fantastic! We love when it’s love at first sight and our fosters become adopters. We’ll let you know in advance if your pet isn’t available for adoption for a particular reason.

You’ll need a room or space, ideally away from other pets, especially at first, while the foster pet gets acclimated. Aside from that, AWS will provide everything else you need – food, medication, bedding, water bowls, litter, toys, etc. All you need to provide is loving care!

When you’re ready to take a dog on a date, give us a call a few days in advance at (207) 985-3244. We’ll work on getting something set up. Dog date scheduling always depends on how many dogs we have in care, their availability and their compatibility with your proposed activity.

It depends on each dog. Some dogs are super social and would love to visit a dog park, while other prefer to be with people-only. Some dogs are active and love to take a hike, while others are couch potatoes who would be happy chilling with you at a park, or even at your house. To date, we haven’t had a dog say no to an ice cream date!