Foster Program – Become a Foster!
When you foster, you’re not just changing one life. You’re changing two.
You give one animal a much-needed break from shelter life while opening kennel space for another animal who needs our help. Whether you have a few hours, a weekend, or room for a long-term foster, your home can make a difference.
At the Animal Care Society (ACS), every animal has a reason for being in our care. Puppies and kittens may need time to grow and receive veterinary care before adoption. Some animals struggle with shelter stress, while others need extra time to decompress and transition into a home environment.
Whatever their story, fostering gives them a chance to rest, recharge, and be themselves. One foster home means two lives changed.
Ways You Can Foster
Long-Term Fostering
Open your home to an animal until they find their forever family. Help them adjust to home life, build confidence, and show off their personality outside the shelter.
Short-Term Fostering & Stress Breaks
Give an animal a temporary change of scenery. Even a short stay can reduce stress, provide enrichment, and offer a much-needed chance to recharge.
Overnighters
Give a dog a cozy night away from the kennel with a comfortable place to sleep, extra attention, and time to decompress.
Field Trips
Take a dog on an adventure outside the shelter! Enjoy a walk, explore a new environment, or simply spend time together. Visit our Mutts on the Move page to learn more.
Fospice (Foster Hospice)
Open your home to a terminally ill animal who deserves comfort, love, and dignity for the time they have left. Whether they have a few months or a year, you can give them the chance to spend their remaining time in a home surrounded by care rather than in a shelter. Fospice placements depend on need, so we may not always have an animal requiring this type of foster care.
What Does ACS Provide?
Fostering shouldn’t mean taking on a financial burden. ACS provides essential foster supplies within reason, prioritizing necessities over luxuries. Depending on the animal’s needs and available inventory, supplies may include:
Food and cat litter
Litter boxes and crates
Bedding and blankets
Enrichment items
Medications and puppy pads
Other essential care supplies
Some items cannot be guaranteed, including scratching posts, cat tunnels, cat trees, baby gates, and puppy pens. Availability depends on our current inventory, so fosters may need to provide these specialty items if needed.
Our goal is to make fostering as accessible as possible. You provide the space, care, and love, and we’ll help with the necessities!
You don’t have to foster forever to make a lasting difference. Whether you have one night, one weekend, or a spare room for a few months, your home could be exactly what an animal needs.
One foster home. Two lives changed. The animal you welcome gets a break, and the kennel space you free up gives another animal the chance to receive care at ACS.
Explore the available foster opportunities and find your foster match!
Please Note: Animals listed as Available for Foster may not be available for adoption yet. Some animals are currently foster-only and cannot be adopted until they have been spayed or neutered, are up to date on vaccinations, and have received medical and behavioral clearance for adoption. If you are interested in adopting an animal you are fostering, please notify Animal Care Society as soon as possible so we can discuss next steps.
Foster Testimonial
“Twenty- four years ago, ACS got a call about a cat that just had kittens and was not being treated nicely. The caller was looking for someone to take the cat family and get them to a better place. ACS did not have a foster program and had to say they could not help to the caller. I heard this and said I would foster the cat and kittens, even though I had not done this before, I figured we all loved cats and my entire family would like this. Later that night, my husband and I were given an address very far west off Dixie Highway to meet the lady that would have the momma and kittens. This kitty, which I called Dixie, became my first foster! I knew there was no stopping now.
Over the years, I continually would get new mommas, or pregnant cats, or orphaned kittens. It has sort of become my thing to help these animals and I love it. Many of my fosters came from poor situations. Some were still kittens themselves that were pregnant, some cats were older and probably had many liters but either way I loved them, sat with them while they delivered and talked to them continually telling them that they would never have to do this again. They and their babies would be well fed and get a good home.
Fostering has been an extremely rewarding experience, even though it has its sad moments. The foster animals are so appreciative of what you do for them. It is easy to see it in their eyes. To them, you are a hero!
The hardest part of fostering is letting go of the fosters. But I can say that in my 24 very full years of fostering, I was only a failure twice! I just remind myself that if I keep my fosters, then I won’t have the room or time to help new ones , and there are so many that need help!”
– Sherry, ACS Foster Parent
