Our foster handbook has all the answers.

What is fostering? 

Volunteers provide shelter animals from BMHS a temporary home and special care until they are ready to find a forever home. We created the BMHS foster program to provide outstanding care to fragile animals.

Why do animals need foster care? 

All animals deemed eligible for the foster program are elected exclusively by BMHS staff. There are several reasons that pets enter our foster program, but the overall goal is to get animals out of a kennel and into a home. All animals that are adopted are required to be sterilized, and some are just too young or too small to have surgery. To be sterilized, animals need to be at least two-months-old and weigh two-pounds. These animals need food, water, and a home with love until they are ready.

Other animals may enter foster care due to medical or behavioral reasons. Reasons can include surgery recovery, orthopedic rest, cage stress, excessive timidity, and others.

These animals will require care specific to their needs. By spending time in a home, these foster pets will be prepared to move in with their forever family. 

Why should I foster?

Fostering can be a wonderful experience for you and your family. You can feel good knowing that you have made a positive difference in an animal’s life, and each animal fostered in a home opens up a cage or kennel space for another animal in need. 

What are some potential risks of fostering an animal?

Fostering is one of the most rewarding experiences that you can have, but there are some potential risks. These include:

• Owned animals could catch a disease or parasite from a foster animal.

• Foster families, members of their household, or visitors could catch a disease or parasite from a foster animal.

• Owned animals could be injured or killed by a foster animal.

• A foster animal could injure foster families, members of the household, or visitors.

• Foster animals could die in foster care or have to return to the shelter to be euthanized.

• Foster animals may destroy personal items.

Guidelines & Requirements: 

• Medications and supplements are to be given only as directed by BMHS medical staff. 

• BMHS retains ownership of all animals in the foster program – please don’t promise, re-home, or adopt a foster animal without the shelter’s approval. 

• Be at least 18-years-old and have an application on file with BMHS. 

• Do not let the foster animal’s loose outside. 

• Always contact BMHS before taking the foster animal to the vet. 

• Be willing to abide by policies and procedures in the handbook and foster care agreement.

• Have reliable transportation and the ability to bring animals to the shelter for check-ups.

• The ability to have animals in your home or property. 

• If you have pets of your own, separating your animals from foster animals is preferable. 

• Safe and suitable home environment. 

• The ability to provide adequate and appropriate care. 

• Love of animals!

Here’s an outline of the process.

Getting Started

Apply online. After your application has been received and approved, you will be contacted by the foster coordinator with an invitation extended for an in-person meeting. At a time convenient for you and the foster coordinator, policies, and procedures will be discussed as well as expectations from both parties. If needed, training over specific animal care procedures will be given.

Animal-Proofing Your Home 

Before you bring home your foster(s), make sure that you have a suitable place for them to stay. Bathrooms or laundry rooms often work well. Animal-proofing your home is very similar to child-proofing.

Materials that are hazardous to the animal’s health, such as cleaning products, poisons, and things the animal may choke or hang on, need to be put out of the animal’s reach.

Food, trash, and appliances need to be secured and out of reach. It is recommended that you have a way to keep foster animals and personal animals separate.

Picking Up Your Foster Animal 

The foster coordinator will contact you by phone or email when a foster opportunity is available. Time will be scheduled when you may pick up the animal. Our goal is to have an animal spend as little time as possible in the shelter, so do not be surprised if the animal you were interested in fostering has already been placed in a home. When you arrive at BMHS to pick the animal up, you will receive: 

• Foster animal(s) 

• Foster contract with an estimated return date 

• Emergency contact information 

• Foster adoption applications (for anyone interested in adopting your foster animal) 

• Supplies 

• Appointment & vaccine schedule if applicable 

• Personality Profile Questionnaire 

You are not required to supply anything. If on hand, the foster coordinator will give you whatever you need to have a successful foster experience. Supplies can include but are not limited to food, litter, formula, pee pads, heating disk, bottles, and medication.

Returning Your Foster Animal 

Foster care providers must return foster animals upon the request of the foster coordinator or other Blue Mountain Humane Society staff. Foster animals are expected to be returned on the date indicated on the foster contract. If the date of return needs to be changed for any reason, you and the foster coordinator will schedule a new return date. When you return the foster animal, you should bring the animal, all re-usable supplies, and notes for potential adopters. After you drop off your foster animals, you are eligible to accept new foster animals. 

Length of Foster 

The period of time each animal needs to be in foster will vary depending on the animal. Surgery recovery and orthopedic rest can require foster for one week to a few months. Animals that are too young to be sterilized are generally in the foster program for two weeks to eight weeks. Pregnant or nursing moms with litters and orphaned bottle babies can be in foster for one to three months. 

Fostering Adoptable Animals

Some animals suffer from cage unrest more than others, and some are very shy and timid, especially in the shelter environment. It is particularly beneficial to re-home animals such as these directly from a foster home.

We want to give these animals a chance to get away from the shelter and let their individual personality’s blossom within a foster home. Often a foster family will have a much more accurate view of an animal’s personality than shelter staff, having interacted with him or her in an actual home environment, and can consequently be very helpful in finding the right kind of home. Many adopters would prefer to visit a cat in a private home, rather than facing the heartbreaking sight of many needy animals in a shelter. Of course this is entirely up to you and if you are not comfortable with potential adopters coming to your home, we can arrange a meeting time for you to bring your foster baby to the shelter. If time is passing and we are having no interest, in most cases we will ask you to return the animal to us, to give it the opportunity to be re-homed directly from the kennels.

Showcasing Foster Animals 

You are your foster animal’s biggest cheerleader. By providing them a home in the community, you are a huge resource in finding forever homes! You are welcome to take photos and videos and send them to the foster coordinator. You may advertise your foster animal(s) on your personal social media accounts. Your friends and family are also welcome to meet and play with your animals in a safe environment for everyone.

Foster animals over the age of six weeks who have not had an interest in adoption expressed by the foster family or their friends will have pictures and information uploaded to the adoptable foster web page for public viewing.

Communication

Communication with your foster coordinator has become more accessible and more efficient thanks to the Maddie’s Pet Assistant app. It is available for free use for both android and apple products. The app allows caregivers to submit questions, photos, and videos and take surveys. BMHS can gather valuable information about how the pet is doing in their foster home, especially its potential problems or challenges. If a foster caregiver reports a concern in a survey, they receive an immediate email response, crafted by shelter medicine veterinarians and behaviorists, to educate them and resolve the issue. The foster coordinator can review all submitted survey responses to offer additional, direct support as needed.

Emergencies

In an emergency, contact the foster coordinator immediately. Do not take the animal to a vet unless approved by the Foster Coordinator or other BMHS staff member. We have a vet on staff that may be able to treat the animal, so bringing the animal to a vet clinic may be unnecessary. If unable to reach the foster coordinator, continue calling the numbers down the phone tree, leaving messages, until someone is reached. If the emergency happens during the shelter’s hours of operation and is appropriate, bring the animal to the shelter if no one is reached.

Adopting Foster Animals 

Inevitably, someone will fall in love with your foster animal. All foster animals must be fixed and microchipped before an adoption is final, and they can go to their forever homes.

There are two ways a potential adopter can apply to adopt your foster animal:

1. They can fill out a hard copy of the foster animal application that will be given to you at the time of pick up and will need to be brought back to the shelter.

2. They can submit out the online application.

Only one form of the application should be filled out by future adopters given to the shelter. Foster care providers can adopt their foster pet(s), but should notify the foster coordinator of their decision as soon as possible so that appropriate arrangements can be made. 

Realities of Fostering 

While there are many benefits of fostering, there are some realities of fostering. We do not know the animals’ medical history before they came to us. This can mean that there may be medical complications in the future that we can’t predict. Please be conscious of their behavior and health to give the BMHS medical staff a heads-up if something about your foster animal is not normal, so we can appropriately take care of the animal. 

There will be a transition period while the animal acclimates to its new home with you. The animal may not exhibit 100% normal or healthy behavior until it settles in. Please observe the animal, and if their state does not improve within a few days, let the foster coordinator know. 

Fostering is a large commitment of time and physical and emotional resources. Because of the emotional commitment, you may experience compassion fatigue. Compassion fatigue is an emotional side effect that affects caregivers in an emotionally costly environment, such as fostering vulnerable animals. Being aware of your emotional state and practicing self-care will prevent burnout and allow you to continue helping animals. Refraining from fostering for a few weeks or months occasionally may be more beneficial in the long run. 

How can you tell if your foster animal is well and healthy? 

Signs of Healthy Animals 

We strive to keep animals happy and healthy while in foster care – that’s the reason they are in our foster program! Healthy animals all exhibit similar behavior that should be observed at all times. Look for signs that the animals are healthy, such as robust appetite, mother providing care to her babies (nursing, bathed by mom, kittens are together), energy & spunk, hydrated, temperature between 100-102.5°F, and weight gain in young animals. 

Signs of Sick Animals 

Animals may enter foster care sick or become sick during the duration of their stay in your home. If your foster animals become sick or show signs of being sick, please let the foster coordinator know. Signs to look for that your animals may be ill are no appetite, not drinking, vomiting, diarrhea, constipation, lethargy, coughing, sneezing, watery eyes, runny nose, dark wax or odor in ears, limping, infected cuts, inflamed skin, hair loss, fleas, and ticks. 

To reduce the spread of illness to other animal members in your family, we recommend that you wash your hands after every encounter with the foster animal and designate a ‘foster sweatshirt or apron’ that is only worn while handling the foster animal. 

Common Causes of Illness 

URIs: Upper respiratory infections (URIs) are one of the most common illnesses that affect companion animals. URIs exhibit symptoms similar to human colds: congestion, runny nose, sneezing, watery eyes, lethargy, vomiting, diarrhea, and disinterest in food and water. Contact the foster coordinator if your foster animal shows symptoms and use the MPA app for instant advice. Mild URIs usually pass without medication, but if symptoms worsen, contact the foster coordinator. 

While your foster animal shows symptoms for a URI, keep them comfortable. Keep their nose and eyes clean by using a warm, damp cloth, make sure they’re hydrated, and feed them smelly, tempting food. Wet cat food, chicken broth, and baby food (without onions) are good options. They may not be able to smell it, so using your finger to smear a little on their lips may be necessary. 

Dehydration: While your foster animal is in your care, be sure they stay hydrated. You can check hydration by pinching the skin on their neck or between their shoulder blades and pulling up to create a tent. If the skin settles back down quickly, they are hydrated. If the skin stays tented or slowly settles down, they are dehydrated. You can monitor hydration by tracking the water in their bowl and if there is urine in the litter box or on pee pads. 

If your foster animal becomes lethargic, check for dehydration first. Contact the foster coordinator if you believe your foster animal is very dehydrated, as subcutaneous fluids may be necessary.  

Other Common Issues 

• Occasionally, an animal will get a bacterial infection. Symptoms of a bacterial infection can include thick, yellowish-green nasal discharge, lethargy, and a fever (over 102.5°F). 

• Diarrhea and slow weight gain or weight loss could indicate internal parasites. Parasites may or may not be visible in the feces. 

• Swelling or irritation of skin, eyes, or nose could indicate infection. Keep the affected areas clean with a warm, damp cloth. 

• Limping or swelling of a body part could indicate an injury. 

• A crumbly wax-like substance in the ears could indicate ear mites. 

• Fleas. Look for little black dots on the skin of the animal under the fur.

If you notice any of these symptoms, please contact the Foster Coordinator. 

Thank you!

You are the reason that the BMHS Foster Program is so successful, and so many animals receive the attention and care they need. Thank you for your selfless contribution of time and energy. 

Contact us.

Business Hours Emergencies:

• Blue Mountain Humane Society

(509) 525-2452 

• Foster Program Contact

Jolee Corr

(971) 344-7099

jcorr@bluemountainhumane.org