What exactly does fostering mean? It means bringing a homeless Animal into your home, caring for it, and providing it with affection and socialization until a permanent family comes along who will love it forever.
The benefits of fostering are numerous, and not only a wonderful thing for the Animal and shelter or rescue, but can be beneficial to the one doing the fostering in so many ways!
Animals often come to us in terrible condition. Until those pets are placed in forever homes, they need a safe place to recover from their previous life of abandonment, neglect and/or abuse and injuries. That safe haven, where a lonely, frightened dog or cat can heal their broken heart and learn to trust humans again, or where an abandoned litter can receive the care they need to become strong, happy adults, makes all the difference in these animals life and is critical for their preparation for adoption. You can be the person that makes that happen!
While fostering an Animal, you are able to provide exercise and stimulation. In addition, you can work with the dog on leash training, house training, or other basic command training, that potential adopters will find attractive when looking for the perfect dog for their family. Providing your foster dog or cat with their basic needs, taking them to adoption events, meeting and choosing applicants, and helping to advertise on social media will all play a huge part in helping them get adopted!
Shelters and rescues often look to fosters for those Animals who may have endured a difficult past such as abuse, cruelty, neglect, under socialization, etc. As a foster, you have the chance and opportunity to gain an Animal's trust, show them human touch and love perhaps for the first time, provide an environment for them to feel safe, and watch them transform into happy individuals before your eyes.
Fellow fosters from the same shelter or rescue will help guide you through the experience, give ideas, answer any questions, and may even become your friends! There is nothing quite like sharing experiences with those who do the same and being part of a community of people who have like passions.
When the day comes, that your foster finds their perfect home, the rewarding feeling you will experience is something very special. You will feel a sense of pride, in knowing what you helped that dog accomplish in his time with you. You will feel overjoyed, that he has found his forever family and his happy ending that all homeless Animals so desire. And while certainly, some goodbyes can be tough, knowing that an Animal has found his happy ending and that another precious life awaits to be afforded your gifts, is as good of a feeling as there is!
If you have existing pets, introducing an Animal can be a great experience for them as an additional companion, additional socialization, and an additional playmate! Children can benefit from fostering as a way to introduce responsibility, selflessness, a way to educate about animals, and is also a great way to "test" the idea of a permanent Animal into the home in the future.
Fosters truly are the FRONT LINE for these animals & a critical step in saving more lives! Since we have no shelter, our rescue could not exist without you.
A foster home is a temporary living situation for animals while they are awaiting placement in a permanent home. Foster families provide shelter, food, care, love, and guidance. The number of animals we can save depends entirely on the number of people who will open their homes and hearts to foster them. For some of these animals, this will be their first experience being treated as a family pet. You are their salvation and you should never underestimate the important role you are playing in their lives!
The only way that we can save animals is with the help of foster homes. Being a foster family has rewards beyond the essential value of helping a pet in need find a new home. For some, it is a chance to have an animal companion without making a lifetime commitment, or to try new companions for an existing pet. Foster Care is critical to our rescue efforts, The more homes we have, the more animals we can save. Becoming a foster family is a very rewarding experience, and can be a lot of fun. There are often tears shed when a foster finally finds a home of their own, but knowing you have saved a life and opened up space to save another is truly rewarding.
Fosters will keep animals an average of 2-8 weeks. Some pets need more time because of age, illness, injury, or behavior issues. Your time commitment will be discussed up-front, before you agree to foster the pet, but it is our hope and our goal for the foster family to keep the animal until the animal gets adopted.
Spark Rescue Santa Barbara is an all-volunteer 501(c)(3) non-profit charity animal rescue organization, founded in February 2014, in Santa Barbara, CA, by Susan Park.
Our Mission is to bring adoptable homeless pets that have been abused, abandoned and overbred into our program for social rehabilitation and emotional recovery and re-home them to permanent, loving homes. We hope to educate the public to help end euthanasia in Santa Barbara and Southern California through spaying and neutering and by preventing backyard breeding.
Our Goal is to acquire land and have the ability to rescue and house as many animals as possible. We would like to offer a sanctuary where the animals will be free to roam and socialize, but still be in a family environment. We want a place where potential adopters can come visit our rescues and where volunteers can come together and give the rescues as much love and attention as possible.
