Why foster care?

Written by: Rebecca Bui

As streets may be overrun with stray animals and animal shelters are overcrowded, it may be difficult to make further space for new animals. Fostering an animal can save lives.

Foster carers provide animals a second chance in life where they can reach their full potential and grow to be someone’s best friend or family member.

The above image is of Dotti when she was part of a litter belonging to a stray mother living in the streets of Macquarie Park, Sydney.

Social skills development of animals

While fostering animals is enriching and an amazing experience. Fostering care of the animals is very important to the development and wellbeing of animals.

Foster care for animals is also valuable and demanding because it provides basic social training. Fosters carers take the time out to train animals and work with animals to develop social skills and manage animal behaviour.

Fostering for animals improves the chances of adoption in many ways. Foster carers can take the time to manage animal behaviours and provide them with socialisation with people and other animals.

This is Dotti, now. Happy in her new home!

Keeping animals out of shelters

Fostering is a very effective approach that helps train animals to be more “adoptable” such as toilet training. Sending a pet to a shelter is painful as many animals already sheltered. Space can be limited in animal shelters which can cause overcrowding and additional stress on animals. Animal foster carers have the advantage to saves the animals from the temporary shelter houses and they bring animals back to full health quicker and more effectively. It is also observed that the animals who are foster cared, learn things quicker and more adoptable as they have consistent human interactions.

Covering expenses

It is also a very beneficial reason for the foster care of the animals. Every shelter may have its own regulations and policies about covering the expenses but most of them only provide the toys, food, or litter. Almost all of the shelters do not provide or cover medical costs. Foster care in homes is better than shelters because all of the facilities are provided to animals and all expenses will be covered.

This is where Endless Wags Australia can support!