Fosters truly are the FRONT LINE for these animals & a critical step in saving more lives!
A foster home is a temporary living situation for animals while they are awaiting placement in a permanent home. This is what a foster home provides...
Shelter & Care: A safe, comfortable place to live instead of staying in a shelter or kennel.
Food & Supplies: Daily meals, toys, beds, and basic care needs (provided by the rescue organization).
Socialization: Help the dog adjust to living in a home, interact with people, and sometimes other pets.
Training: Basic obedience, house training, and behavior guidance to make them more adoptable.
Medical Support: Administering meds or taking the dog to vet appointments (arranged and paid for by the rescue).
Love & Stability: Emotional support, affection, and a sense of routine that helps the dog thrive and show their true personality.
Foster families play a huge role in preparing dogs for their forever homes and helping adoption organizations learn more about each dog’s needs and personality.
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 often 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 saving an animals and helping them 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, can be a lot of fun and FREE. There can be tears shed when a foster finally finds a home of their own, but knowing you have saved a life, helped make a family complete and opened up space to save another is truly rewarding.
Fostering can range from just a few days to a few months - we truly never know how long it will take for each dog to be adopted.
Many factors play a role, including age, breed, individual needs, medical needs and even the time of year.
Your time commitment will always be discussed upfront before you agree to foster, ensuring the best fit for both you and the dog.
We also look for vacation fosters who can provide temporary care while primary fosters are away, with clear start and end dates.
The best part? Fostering is FREE! We provide everything you would need—bedding, a playpen, food, toys, and more—so you can focus on giving your foster pup the love and care they deserve.
Ensure your foster animal is available for scheduled meet-and-greets with potential adopters to help them find their perfect forever home.
Promise 4 Paws depends on foster homes to rescue dogs from overcrowded shelters, provide relief for those struggling in kennels, and offer a safe space for expectant mothers and newborn puppies. Fosters give these dogs the comfort and care they need to thrive.
Some dogs struggle in a kennel environment due to stress, noise or lack of exercise, making it harder for them to attract adopters. As a foster, you provide stability, structure, exercise, and some basic training—helping them settle and showcase their true personality. Making them more appealing to adopters and helping them find their perfect home.
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 animals trust, show them human touch and love perhaps for the first time, provide an environment for them to feel safe, and watch them transform before your eyes.
If you have pets, fostering provides them with extra companionship and socialization. It’s also a great way for children to learn responsibility, the importance of being charitable and kindness. Fostering also gives your family the chance to “test” the idea of a permanent animal in the future, allowing you to experience different breeds, ages, and genders to see which best fits your home and lifestyle.
Board members, volunteers and fellow fosters from Promise 4 Paws 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-minded passions.
When the day comes, that your foster finds that 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!
DEAR FOSTER MOM:
There I sat, alone and afraid,
You got a call and came right to my aid.
You bundled me up with blankets and love,
And, when I needed it most, you gave me a hug.
I learned that the world was not all that scary and cold,
That sometimes there is someone to have and to hold.
You taught me what love is, you helped me to mend,
You loved me and healed me and became my first friend.
And just when I thought you'd done all you do,
There came along not one new lesson, but two.
First you said, "Sweetheart, you're ready to go,
I've done all I can, and you've learned all I know."
Then you bundled me up with a blanket and kiss,
Along came a new family, they even have kids!
They took me to their home, forever to stay,
At first I thought you sent me away.
Then that second lesson became perfectly clear,
No matter how far, you will always be near.
And so, Foster Mom, you know I've moved on,
I have a new home, with toys and a lawn.
But I'll never forget what I learned that first day,
You never really give your fosters away.
You gave me these thoughts to remember you by,
We may never meet again, and now I know why.
You'll remember I lived with you for a time,
I may not be yours, but you'll always be mine.
