Animal Welfare Professionals

I'm currently finishing my master's degree in Interdisciplinary Studies at Southern Utah University, with a concentration in Contemporary Animal Services Leadership. For my capstone project, I'm focusing on the relationship between rescues and fosters-specifically, how to build more trust and support on both sides.

I'm based in the Las Vegas area, and after speaking with a number of local fosters and rescue professionals, I've noticed some recurring themes. There seems to be a disconnect between what fosters expect and what rescues feel is their role, or, in some cases, not their role.

Here are a few examples that have come up:

• Fosters not receiving available information about a dog's background or temperament

• Fosters being pressured to keep a dog, even when it's a poor fit (e.g., an elderly woman fostering a high-energy Malinois), sometimes with messaging like, "If you return the dog, it may be euthanized"

• Rescues pulling dogs without having a plan for foster care

• Fosters feeling unsupported or even ghosted when challenges arise

To be clear, this feedback has come from both fosters and rescue staff (sharing things they've witnessed in other organizations). The goal of my project is not to call anyone out, but to explore what tools or resources might help strengthen this partnership and improve outcomes for everyone, especially the dogs.

I'd love your perspective on a few questions:

1. Why do you think these challenges are happening? (Is it a matter of burnout, lack of communication, unrealistic expectations on either side?)

2. Are these issues showing up in areas outside of Las Vegas as well?

3. What kinds of tools or support do you think would help most? For example:

   • A shared expectations agreement or "rescue-to-foster pledge"

   • A simple temperament or behavior snapshot for each dog

   • A foster onboarding or training guide

   • Something else entirely?

4. If you run or volunteer with a rescue, would a "Foster Best Practices Toolkit" be something you'd find helpful?

Any insights, suggestions, or even stories would be incredibly valuable. I'm hoping to create something practical and collaborative, not a critique, but a step toward better support for everyone involved in foster-based rescue.

Thank you so much for your time!

  

#FosterPrograms

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Michelle Laizure
Master's Student at SUU

Rescue Volunteer
Las Vegas, NV
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Fostering is such a tricky subject but usually it always comes down to more communication. Rescues that solely rely on fosters to care for animals will have a much different experience than those that have the capacity to care for animals at their facility and expectations would be different in each situation. At our shelter we have the luxury of having dedicated staff for our fosters that will communicate with them, set up vet appointments/check ins, answer questions, shuffle animals around, but if you don't have something like that it can get very difficult. Foster based shelters also may not be able to have very much information on what an animal is like before it goes to foster care. Most of these issues boil down to minimal communication. One suggestion would be to maybe have a way for the fosters to communicate with each other or rescue staff like a facebook group or similar so that they can have a place to air out their concerns, give advice for other fosters, or even swap animals if one isn't the right fit (like the example of the old lady with a malinois). 

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Laurel Wilton
Cat Welfare Supervisor
Nebraska Humane Society
NE
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Laurel, thank you for taking the time.  I really appreciate your perspective.

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Michelle Laizure

Master's Student at SUU

Rescue Volunteer
Las Vegas, NV
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Hi Michelle!

This sounds like a really cool (and important!) capstone project. I've fostered 70+ animals for different orgs in the Northeast and have had some similar experiences in terms of what you described. My sense has always been that everyone is doing their best in high-stress environments, often with limited resources and time. It's always felt clear to me that the shelter/rescue staff running foster programs need more tools and support.

Foster programs are SO important, but right now they can be incredibly time-intensive to run, and I think that's where things can fall through the cracks and strain the partnership between rescues and foster volunteers. As we know, it's not uncommon for programs to be managed by just one person, or by someone juggling multiple roles. I've heard from folks who use up to nine different software tools just to keep things running (Excel, Wix, Trello, Calendly, etc.). I always say it's like trying to run Uber without the app - imagine having to track every driver, rider, and ride in Excel! 

My hypothesis is that if foster programs had the time-saving tools they need and deserve, a lot of these barriers and tensions would dissipate. We need systems that are built specifically for the unique needs of foster programs that can give staff back life-saving hours and make fostering more accessible and enjoyable for volunteers. If we can better support rescue/shelter staff then they can better support (and build stronger partnerships with) the amazing foster volunteers on which we rely.

So anyway, I've been working on that! I'm building FosterSpot, a nonprofit foster program management platform designed to be user-friendly and affordable. It helps streamline key processes - like communication, logistics, scheduling, and support - with the goal of reducing the friction you mentioned, strengthening the relationship between organizations and fosters, and helping foster programs launch, grow, and thrive.

The incredible people running these programs are some of the most innovative and dedicated folks I've met and I think any additional support for these programs is great - I hope you get some helpful feedback! I'd love to hear more about your project. I am the biggest fan of foster programs and it's my favorite thing to talk about. Feel free to email me at hello@thefosterspot.org if you'd like to chat. Congratulations on all your hard work!

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Claire Russell
Founding Director, FosterSpot
Brooklyn, NY
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Claire, your platform sounds amazing!  I appreciate your insight and would love to chat.  I will reach out in the next week or so.

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Michelle Laizure

Master's Student at SUU

Rescue Volunteer
Las Vegas, NV
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