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May 4, 2006 6:51 pm US/Eastern
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Family First: Fostering A Pet
Four-Legged Friends Need Your Love & Attention
by Cindy Hsu
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
If you love animals, but you're not ready for a long-term commitment you could always foster a pet. Anne-Marie Karash, the Associate Director for The Humane Society of New York, said it's a great alternative for families that are looking to love a four-legged friend.
What types of animals need foster care? "The animals to be fostered are dogs and cats; usually kittens that require intensive care and frequent bottle feedings, or an older dog with special needs," Karash said.
What kind of time commitment is required? "The commitment time varies, depending on the situation. It could be, for example, with newborn kittens, six weeks or so until they're able to eat on their own and not need constant supervision. But then there are emergency situations where fostering is crucial.
Right after 9/11, we helped the people that resided in the "frozen zones" to actually go in the buildings with them and help rescue their frightened pets. The people were bunking with friends or found a hotel, but once they were able to retrieve their pets, they had to find a safe place for them to stay until they could be reunited. We worked long and hard and were able to set up several successful foster situations during that difficult time," Karash said.
Are the animals usually adopted by the family?"The animal is not often adopted by the foster family, although it certainly has happened in the past. The foster person or persons usually has reasons for fostering. Such as an older person who might not have the time or energy to keep up with a full-time pet, but wants to have the joy of nurturing an animal.
"The goal of fostering, at least for us at the Humane Society of New York, is not to necessarily have the family adopt the animal, but for the animal to have some quiet, family time until they are able to return to the shelter for adoption. That said, falling in love is bound to happen, and if the foster family wanted to be considered for the permanent, loving, responsible home, we would go through our usual adoption process and make a group decision. For example, the person who travels constantly but for one month a year is in the city and wants to foster, would probably not be the right home for the animal once they're on the road the other 11 months of the year," Karash said.
How do you become a foster family?"As for other shelters, anyone interested in fostering should go to the Mayor Alliance's Web site and contact them individually. We have a building for our animals, but some of the smaller groups don't have the physical space to house them and they have to line up temporary, foster homes while they try to permanently place them," she said.
What are the requirements?"The requirements for potential foster homes, again, depend on the particular animal with the particular needs. However, in addition to us doing what we usually do for adoptions, checking vet references, for example, we would need to make home visits. Sometimes a family thinks their home is safe for a pet, but if they have childproof bars on their windows and not secure screens, it's unsafe. Or their plants that thrive in their sunroom could be poisonous to animals. What about their pest control? Is it harmful to domestic animals? So much needs to be evaluated before an animal can leave our shelter for their temporary stay," she said.
What kind of support will the family receive? "If an animal has certain medical needs, needing IV fluids for example, the Society would provide the medication. Or if an animal has certain nutritional needs, such as kitten formula, we would provide that as well. Sometimes the family wants to sponsor the animal with financial support as well as providing them with a foster home. We also have families that can't physically house an animal, but sponsor them financially through our "Pet Wellness" program. That's another important way to help foster an animal with special needs.
"The Society always provides support, and of course, any special training on administering medicine or how to restrict activity, etc., would be addressed. The animal is being monitored closely by the Society just as our other adoption animals are," Karash said.
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