By Nicole Rivard
There’s nothing more rewarding for a foster than when a dog looks at them with love and happiness.
“I don’t think it gets any better than that. Nobody thanks a foster the way the dogs do,” said Laurette Richin, founder of Long Island Bulldog Rescue.
With shelters still facing a euthanasia crisis—850,000 dogs and cats were killed in our nation’s shelters in 2023— there’s relief in knowing you are part of the solution, not the problem.
“Rescues are failing, shelters are closing—all these animals are being killed because there’s nowhere for them to go,” Richin said.
Whether the foster is a sleepover, a weekend or an extended stay, a 2023 study by researchers at Virginia Tech and Arizona State University revealed that dogs are 14 times more likely to be adopted after time in a foster home. The results showed that for foster outings, about 4 percent of the people ended up adopting the dog. For overnight stays, the number increased to about 12 percent. Both results disclose that most adopters were not the foster families.
“We saw that the majority of people adopting the dogs weren’t the caregivers that were taking the dogs on outings or letting them stay in their homes. These dogs were being seen in the community, meeting new people, and caregivers were sharing their stories,” said Lisa Gunter, assistant professor at Virginia Tech. “This increased exposure likely helped the dogs find their adopters.”
Unfortunately, the reality is some rescues and shelters across the country are currently struggling to find fosters.
“We are desperate for fosters,” Richin said.
Patricia Hough, foster director at Rescue Dogs Rock NYC told the Wildest, a website dedicated to providing information to pet parents, that prior to the pandemic if she had to place 60 rescue dogs with foster families in a week, it was no problem. Fosters in states from Virginia to Maine were always willing to open their doors.
But now it’s a different story.
“Now it’s very difficult,” Hough said. “They used to call me a magician. Well, I’m not a magician anymore. My wand is broken; it’s in the repair shop and has been for the past two years.”
Richin points out that because of a crisis in veterinary care—astronomical prices and a veterinarian shortage—sometimes there are longer waits for care, so dogs are spending too much time in foster homes, leaving no room for new dogs.
Skyrocketing pet care costs have even gotten the attention of federal lawmakers.
In August, U.S. Sens. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., co-signed a letter to two private equity firms—that have spent billions on buying up veterinary practices and then looting the profits—calling for oversight of mergers and consolidations by the Federal Trade Commission.
“Pets are beloved members of our families, and they deserve top notch veterinary care. If you’ve taken your pet to the vet recently you’ve probably noticed your bill is higher than it was a few years ago — due largely to private equity firms buying up smaller veterinary practices,” he said in a statement to the Hartford Courant. “In many cases, these corporations put profits over pets — directing veterinarians to upsell costly treatments, charging extra fees and urging staff to meet large quotas for procedures.
“We need strong pro-consumer action from the FTC and Congress to prevent these corporate actions that are making vet care unaffordable and unattainable for so many.”
Richin offered yet another explanation for a shortage of fosters.
“I don’t know how to couch this, but I think people have become massively selfish. Post-pandemic, they feel entitled to have fun— a lot of people feel like their children lost out, they lost out,” Richin said.
Apparently, fostering or making a lifelong commitment to a pet does not fit into that annoying scenario.
The pandemic also shifted potential fosters’ sense of their ability to do the job. Hough pointed out that people are under a severe misconception that you must have a yard or work from home to foster, and that’s not the case at all.
“All those years prior to the pandemic, people worked in the offices, and they still filled out applications,” Hough said. “Most of them had a dog walker; if not, we supplied a dog walker.”
Even if dogs must be crated for a short time when the foster parents are gone, that’s OK, she says. The alternative is that they don’t make it out of the shelter or off the streets.
I was doubting myself before I stepped up to foster Lila from LIBR back in May 2020 because I felt I wouldn’t be home enough. A coworker reassured me I was the perfect candidate to open my home to a dog. The experience was so rewarding I adopted Lila eight months later.
Lila was an Amish puppy mill mom cooped up in a kennel. I will never forget all her firsts—eating a banana, sleeping in a bed, playing with a toy, walking on a leash, going on a hike in the woods and just overall watching her become less skittish about new things. Her joie de vivre is contagious.
You are not alone
It was comforting to me that Richin and her coordinators were available for questions 24/7. Because, the truth is, some days were easier than others as Lila and I got to know each other. A reputable rescue never leaves fosters blowing in the wind.
“There’s no stupid question,” Richin said. “We don’t want people to not foster because they might feel insecure.
She tries hard not to give someone a dog they can’t handle or would be difficult for them.
“I’m not going to give a new foster a dog that has severe behavioral issues,” Richin said. “I’ll give them older dogs, dogs recovering from a not too complicated medical procedure.”
Speaking of medical procedures, all medical expenses are typically covered by the rescues.
Sacramento SPCA had previously only utilized foster homes for animals who are underage or undergoing medical or behavioral care, but it has begun an Adoption Advocate program to remove barriers to adoption. People can opt to foster adoptable dogs for a few days, weeks or until they find placement, while the dog remains available for adoption on its website.
They also have a Foster FURlough Program, which allows people to take an adoptable dog on a field trip such as a hike or to visit a dog friendly restaurant.
“We’re getting the dogs out in the community where they can potentially meet their adopters instead of just relying on the adopters to come to us,” said Palina Morgan, animal release supervisor.
The organization has had quite a few adoptions come from the program .
“A lot of these are longer term residents who may have been getting overlooked,” Morgan said. “Often our FURlough Friends will want to take out a dog who has been here the longest or just needs some extra attention, and they end up falling in love. Just recently Chopper, a 9-year-old German Shepherd, was adopted by his FURlough!”
Even if animals don’t get adopted, rescues get more information about how they do in a home environment.
“Many animals do get adopted not long after they come back since we are able to have a better input on how they do in a home, and possibly with children, or other animals,” said Shannon Inman, adoptions/foster coordinator-cat coordinator at Stray Rescue of St. Louis, which has a Rovernights program during the winter. Fosters can come get a dog or cat and keep them for 4-5 nights. About 50 of participants ask to foster longer.
The compassionate choice—Adopt Don’t Shop
Besides fostering, we can’t emphasize enough the importance of spaying and neutering and adopting instead of breeding an animal or buying a cat or dog to save lives.
Each purchase of a dog or cat from a breeder means you’re erasing the possibility for a shelter animal to come out of there alive. Let that sink in.
“We need to do a better job of educating the public about the benefits of adoption and the variety of animals currently waiting for homes,” said Emily Tolliver, director of communications at Shelter Animals Count.
“Many pets purchased from breeders—whether ‘backyard breeders’ or ‘professionals’ come with a high price tag, with some people spending thousands of dollars to acquire a pet. These animals sometimes haven’t seen a vet or been vaccinated, and they haven’t been spayed/neutered,” said Tolliver. “Adoptable pets have generally had all of this already taken care of, and adoption fees are a fraction of the cost. Adopting a pet reduces the strain on our already overtaxed sheltering system, where purchasing a pet — especially one that hasn’t been fixed — only compounds the problem.”
Not to mention, there are plenty of “designer dogs” at shelters these days.
Due to the increasing trend of home breeding as a side hustle, and the ongoing issue of puppy mills, many shelters are receiving leftover puppies that breeders can’t sell, and adult breeder dogs who are no longer wanted or needed, according to a 2023 survey by Shelter Animals Count.
With 314 responses from organizations across 45 states, more than 60% of respondents said they’re receiving doodles, oodles and poos, and other intentional mixed breeds.
Stray Rescue of St. Louis area is dealing with the ramifications of at-home breeding.
“Since most people want ‘puppies’ they will breed mom until she can’t have any more, and then dump her. Then once the puppies start to get ‘bigger’ people decide they just do not want them anymore,” Inman said. “It is just heartlessness that allows people to do what they do. We’ve had many animals found in abandoned houses, tied to dumpsters, even kittens found in exhaust pipes,” said Inman.
Their transformation is something that never ceases to amaze her.
“We have animals come in who are absolutely terrified of everything. It takes a minute for them to actually open up,” Inman said. “But being able to see the transition…is so heartwarming because they are finally allowing themselves to trust.”
FoA Communications Director Scott Smith contributed to this report.
Support Friends of Animals spay/neuter program FoA is offering donors the opportunity to underwrite the cost of a certificate by donating one, which will then be distributed to an individual or shelter at our discretion. Supporters may also make the donation in someone else’s honor. The honoree will be notified by Friends of Animals and will also receive a year’s subscription of our quarterly magazine, Action Line. You can also help us recruit vets by asking your vet to participate in our program. To make a donation or to order a certificate for yourself call 1-800-321-PETS (7387) or visit friendsofanimals.org.