Fostering a Pet
Fostering is the way we get animals from their dire situation to a loving and forever home. Foster parents are the backbone of Big Hands Little Paws – we could not exist without a base of foster parents. They provide a safe, caring home before an adoption takes place. They sometimes provide care to newborn kittens who are orphaned, provide a healing environment to those animals recovering from medical treatment, socialize a cat or dog who is not used to human contact or just provide a warm home, bowls of food of lots of petting and playtime. Every animal that is fostered is a saved animal – one that will not be euthanized, will not be struggling to survive on the street and will not be in a harmful living situation. Our board members and advisory council members have been foster parents and continue to foster cats when we need it. It is a tremendous and rewarding opportunity and we need you.
Please consider becoming a foster parent for a kitten, puppy, cat or dog from Big Hands Little Paws. By doing so, you will help us save more ”Little Paws” by providing a safe and loving home until he or she is adopted. The only requirement is that you provide a safe and loving foster environment.
There are many fostering options. Dogs. Cats. Puppies. Kittens. You can choose the specific type, breed, gender and age of your foster. We just request you foster the pet until adopted to prevent constant shuffling around, which could take several days to several months. We understand you might not be able to foster the pet the full time due to scheduling or other issues that arise and ask you to let us know up front how long you are able to foster for.
We will pay for all needed veterinary care (at our approved vet offices), food and any expenses for transporting the pet to and from the vet or adoption events. Of course, as a small, grassroots rescue group, we would welcome and always appreciate any costs you could cover during the fostering period.
To start the process, complete the cat foster application or dog foster application online or print the application, fill it out, scan and email to fosters@bighandslittlepaws.org. Please fill the application out in its entirety and tell us as much about yourself as possible. We will start the process once the application is received – performing reference checks and scheduling a home visit. We are a group of volunteers here at BHLP, so please allow a few days to complete this process. Once approved, you will be able to foster one of our pets.
Thank you in advance for becoming a foster parent!