In the News: Tails of Marin
Foster Care: Love that changes lives
By Carrie Harrington
We provide all the necessary food, supplies and guidance ... you provide the love.
30% of the adorable animals available for adoption at MHS have benefited from time in a foster home.
Foster homes are a vital resource in our ability to care for animals who are not immediately ready to be adopted. Currently, we are in need of a few specific types of foster homes and we are hoping you can help! While bringing a foster animal into your home often requires a commitment of up to several weeks, fostering can be one of the most rewarding things you do.
Kitten Fosters
Kitten season is right around the corner, and that means litter upon litter of kittens will be arriving on our doorstep. Many of these kittens will be too young for adoption, and will need to be cared for by a loving foster parent. Having enough of these types of foster homes is vital, as it allows us to bring in kittens from overcrowded shelters. If you would like to be the difference in the life of a kitten, please call our foster care coordinator at (415) 506-6235.
Behavior Fosters
Behavior foster homes afford dogs the opportunity to get beyond a particular issue that would otherwise make it difficult for them to be adopted. Dogs that are too stressed to show their true colors can benefit greatly from some time in a calm home environment; an untrained adolescent dog will find a permanent home much more quickly if a patient foster parent has given him or her some guidance.
Fostering dogs with these and other types of issues can be more challenging than other foster placements, consequently, we are looking for dog experienced people. If this describes you, and you would like to make a difference in the life of a dog, please call our foster care coordinator at (415) 506-6235.
Medical Fosters
You wouldn't know it to look at them, but many of the animals available for adoption at MHS have spent time in a foster home. Some of these animals needed time to recover from surgery or perhaps experienced a medical issue that required medication. Having sufficient numbers of medical foster homes is crucial in giving these animals the time they need to heal away from the stress of a kennel. If you would like to be the difference in the life of an animal, please call our foster care coordinator at (415) 506-6235.
Whelping Fosters
Our neighboring shelters need our help in providing resources for pregnant dogs, but without foster homes to help them through the pregnancy, we aren't able to accommodate them. If you have experience with whelping, and can offer your home to a pregnant dog, please call our foster care coordinator at (415) 506-6235.
Carrie Harrington is the communications manager at the Marin Humane Society.
Tails of Marin appears every Saturday in the Home & Garden section of the Marin Independent Journal
