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Temporary fosters for owned pets- keeping pets and families together

  • 1.  Temporary fosters for owned pets- keeping pets and families together

    Posted 02-03-2024 07:52 AM

    Hello, 

    My shelter offers temporary foster for owned pets for citizens dealing with domestic violence, homelessness, medical issues, etc. We are working to revamp this program this year. I was wondering if any other shelters offer this type of service for citizens? If so, do you have any advice for increasing RTO's, finding fosters, and example documents?

    Thanks!


    #AdmissionsandIntake(includingIntake-to-placement)
    #CaseManagement*
    #Diversity,Equity,InclusionandJustice
    #FosterPrograms
    #PetSupportServices*

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    August Hutchins (They/Them)
    Foster Coordinator
    Hillsborough County Pet Resource Center
    Tampa, Florida
    813-272-1157
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  • 2.  RE: Temporary fosters for owned pets- keeping pets and families together

    Posted 02-04-2024 05:24 PM

    I love these types of programs. How does this work from the liability stand point, IE do the owners officially surrender to your care and your insurance would cover  them as animals in your custody? I also would be interested in how the timeline is established. IE do you have a set amount of time before the pet is considered surrendered vs temporarily housed or is it situational. 



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    Leah Bocanegra
    Managing Director
    The Happy Pet Project
    TX
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  • 3.  RE: Temporary fosters for owned pets- keeping pets and families together

    Posted 02-07-2024 12:05 PM

    Our shelter has this program as well, although I'll admit its on a very small scale and placement is totally based on foster availability. Currently we are consistently able to place cats and small dogs, but usually not able to place large dogs. In our program we intake it as an owner surrender, we have paperwork for the owner that discusses pet temperament, secondary contact, who can NOT be contacted (usually cases of domestic violence), timeline expected, owner's plan for coverage after end date is reached, our max coverage is 60 days on paper, but many times we have exceeded this, which is one reason the program is small, and its totally depending on the circumstance and up to the foster or if I can find a next foster to determine how long we can extend. There is a 45 day grace period built in as well, if we don't hear from owner with plans to pick up the animal towards the end of the 60 days (or whatever timeline they specified originally) the paperwork explains their animal will be considered surrendered at the end of the 45 day grace period, before and during which we will have attempted contact to all contact info available. We do require that they let us spay/neuter/update vaccines on their pet if unaltered/out of date to participate in the program, we handle all communication/photos of pets to owners, we do not give out owners or fosters contact information. Thankfully we have a couple other groups doing this (but on the down low) and one group that helps unhoused people and offering pet fostering/assistance as well so we are usually able to refer homelessness cases with large dogs to that organization. 

    Would love to hear what others are doing to get more fosters involved in this specific type of fostering and increase RTO! 



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    Niki Flanagan
    League for Animal Welfare
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  • 4.  RE: Temporary fosters for owned pets- keeping pets and families together

    Posted 02-05-2024 10:14 AM

    Hello August,

    This program is wonderful, I would greatly appreciate a few more details if you can share them .  In California, our numbers have risen for homeless and families in need. The numbers have grown at an alarming rate. Unfortunately, we do not have a lot of programs that support people and their pets.   

    Lt.  Wendy Helton 

    1-949-470-3045

    whelton@cityofmissionviejo.org 



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    wendy helton
    Animal Services Field Supervisor
    City of Mission Viejo
    CA
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  • 5.  RE: Temporary fosters for owned pets- keeping pets and families together

    Posted 02-06-2024 09:29 AM

    I am unaware of a program as such in NY but there is an Organization called PAWSNY.com that offers help to people in need and there is a shelter that allows people with pets. Would love to learn of other orgs if anyone is familiar. 



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    Stella Plit
    President
    Rescue City
    NY
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  • 6.  RE: Temporary fosters for owned pets- keeping pets and families together

    Posted 02-06-2024 11:44 AM

    We are in the process of getting a program like that started in our animal shelter.



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    Elise Blue
    NEMO Humane Society
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  • 7.  RE: Temporary fosters for owned pets- keeping pets and families together

    Posted 02-07-2024 07:25 AM

    Hi August,

    I'd love to know more about your program too. Congrats on the revamp. I feel like these emergency/crisis foster programs are the future of animal care, and it's so exciting to see them popping up across the country. I know the clients my organization serves (people diagnosed with cancer) certainly need that support.

    I can second Stella that PAWS NY here (https://pawsny.org/) are AMAZING. I've maybe only seen one other organization across the country that offers the full support services they do.

    And – though I don't know if they serve Florida yet – you may want to have a convo with the crew from BestyBnb (https://bestybnb.com/). Here's their recent Community Conversation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ojDOQcNJQ4&list=PLa9E7R-3uyGr5SnYqg3ce8KN2IjpLknQx&index=16 

    Their platform is amazing – and may be one way you could approach rallying fosters, figuring out liability, and connecting with partner orgs such as folks who can help with people experiencing domestic violence, homelessness, etc. 



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    Brian Morvant
    Program Manager, Pet Assistance and Wellness (PAW) Program
    CancerCare
    New York NY
    bmorvant@cancercare.org
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  • 8.  RE: Temporary fosters for owned pets- keeping pets and families together

    Posted 02-08-2024 06:17 AM

    Hi Brian, 

    I agree that these types of programs are the future and we are so excited to see how we can increase the success of our program! I'll definitely reach out to those organizations for some advice. 

    Thanks so much! 



    ------------------------------
    August Hutchins (They/Them)
    Foster Coordinator
    Hillsborough County Pet Resource Center
    Tampa, Florida
    813-272-1157
    ------------------------------



  • 9.  RE: Temporary fosters for owned pets- keeping pets and families together

    Posted 02-07-2024 07:33 AM

    We also have a program and I am researching other programs. Would love to #follow this thread and be able to discuss with others how our program works and how their programs work! 

    https://eastbayspca.org/resources/crisis-boarding



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    Melissa Robinson
    East Bay SPCA
    Oakland CA
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  • 10.  RE: Temporary fosters for owned pets- keeping pets and families together

    Posted 02-07-2024 03:16 PM

    My program in Duluth MN/Superior WI offers temporary foster placement of pets for folks experiencing a crisis such as homelessness, house fire, domestic violence, MI or CD treatment, hospitalization etc. We are new and very small, and would benefit from additional input from larger or longer standing programs as well. 



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    Kayla Zinter
    President
    Puppa's Pals
    MN
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