Georgetown Animal Services

Foster

The shelter depends on many volunteers to help care for the animals that come through our doors each year. One of the most honored volunteer roles is being a foster parent.  Foster families provide temporary animal housing for a number of reasons: some animals need extra attention because they are very young; others need to learn human interaction skills; and, occasionally, we are simply overflowing at our facility.

orphan kittensFOSTER PROGRAM FOR CATS

Since most cats are born in the spring or summer, animal shelters go from not having that many cats to having hundreds of cats in a very short time. Many of the kittens are not old enough and do not weigh enough to be spayed/neutered, and they need to be fostered to give them time to grow.

Fostering is the perfect option for the person that doesn’t want a full-time pet (maybe because you travel often) but might like to have a pet for short periods of time (possibly 1-3 months).


Kitten Fact Sheet
 – To learn more about fostering kittens, read this short fact sheet.

FOSTER PROGRAM FOR DOGS

Many times during the year our animal shelter will get in a dog that needs a little extra care for one reason or another, and that’s when we need foster homes.

For example:

  • A dog with a broken leg
  • A dog that is undergoing heartworm treatment
  • A dog that is extremely fearful or timid
  • A dog that has just delivered a litter of pups
  • A dog that has been in the shelter too long and is losing its mental health

Dog Fact Sheet – To learn more about fostering a dog or puppy, read this short fact sheet.

Getting started

Minimum requirements: you must be 16 or older and pass a background check.

The shelter uses an online software called Better Impact for fosters and other volunteers, which allows you to go through an initial orientation and training, as well as sign up for volunteer opportunities. Once you have completed the online registration and application in Better Impact, you will be able to begin your volunteer journey with us.

  1. Go to Better Impact and complete the online registration and foster application.
  2. You will be prompted to complete and forward the background check permission forms to shawn.gunnin@georgetown.org.
  3. After you receive confirmation of acceptance, you will be able to log in and complete the online orientation, sign up for a shelter tour, and start fostering!

If you have questions, feel free to contact us at animalsvc@georgetown.org or (512) 930-3592.

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