Fostering
The foster program was established to give young, injured, sick, abused, homeless or under-socialized cats and dogs, who may otherwise have to be euthanized, a chance to heal and recover in volunteer foster homes.
A separate application process and some additional training is required for all those interested in fostering animals from the Chemung County SPCA.
You can help those who need some extra love and care
Sometimes a little time out of the shelter in a home environment, even for a temporary period, can make all the difference to an animal's chances of survival and to getting adopted.
By providing that necessary care and attention, you could be helping us to help so many more animals.
What kinds of animals need fostering?
How much time and effort does it take?
Not too much time/Easy
Some time/Moderate
A good deal of time/Difficult
Cats and Kittens
A litter of kittens with their mom needing a calm and quiet environment
Cats or kittens recuperating from surgery or an illness, or healing from an injury;
Cats that need more socialization or are skittish
Orphaned kittens needing to be bottle fed
Dogs and Puppies
A dog needing a break or time outside of the shelter
Dogs or puppies recuperating from surgery or an illness, or healing from an injury;
Dogs that need more socialization or are skittish;
Transport dogs during their 5 day health quarantine
Orphaned puppies needing to be bottle fed;
A litter of puppies with their mom needing a calm and quiet environment;
Transport puppies during their 10 day health quarantine
Some Important Questions to Consider Before Fostering:
Are you able to separate foster animals from your household pets?
Foster animals should remain isolated from your resident pets. You need to designate a certain room for them. We do not know what an animal may have been exposed to before coming into our care. Separating them helps prevent any disease exposure and transmission. It is for this reason that all residents' animals must be up-to-date on all vaccinations.
Will you be able to spend quality time with the animal(s)?
On average, you should plan to spend a minimum of 2-4 hours per day playing and socializing with the animals that are in your care. This is so that they are ready for adoption upon return to the shelter. Due to the high number of people the animals are exposed to at the SPCA, socialization is vital to their successful adoption.
Can you commit to spending the entire foster period with the animal(s)?
An animal may be in foster care anywhere from a few weeks to a few months. Before taking a foster animal, we will go over the time period that we will need you to commit yourself to the animal's care. It is helpful if you have a friend or family member that can look after your foster animals if you are going to be gone for a short period of time. In the event of an extended absence, we would ask that you bring the animal(s) back to us and we will find them a new foster home.
Are you aware that there is a great deal of clean up when fostering?
Animals are a joy, but they also have the capacity to wreak havoc when they are unattended. Since most foster parents work 8-hour days, it is important to know that your foster animals may mess in their crate or room.
Do you have transportation available?
It is very important to be sure that you have transportation available before considering fostering animals from the Chemung County SPCA. Transportation is mandatory for vaccination booster appointments, transporting the animals to be seen by potential adopters (by appointment only) and also in the case that the animal becomes ill and needs immediate medical care. The SPCA does not have the ability to transport animals to and from foster homes.
Chemung County Humane Society & SPCA is a private, non-profit , 501(c)(3) animal welfare organization and is not affiliated with any local, state, or national humane groups. Your donation saves pets within our local community.
Site by Karmic Media Group, LLC