Fostering a pet

When you foster a pet through the Humane Society of Yuma, you save the life of a pet in need of a little extra TLC.

Foster care is administered by volunteers who open their homes to a shelter pet in order to provide temporary care. These pets need a greater amount of individualized care than the shelter staff can otherwise provide.

These pets include very young kittens and puppies either orphaned or with their nursing mother, pets who are recovering from surgery or a medical condition, and pets who need a little bit more socialization and/or training before going onto the adoption floor.

Fostering can be a rewarding experience but it also represents an extraordinary commitment of time and can be very emotionally taxing.

In order to foster a pet for the Humane Society of Yuma, you’ll need to attend a general volunteer orientation class, as well as additional classes specific to being a foster parent.

If you believe you are up to the challenge, you can email our Adoption Coordinator, Linda Anderson, at landerson@hsoyuma.com for more information.

Read A Foster's Story to get two firsthand accounts of fostering for HSOY.

Fostering FAQ

Who can foster? Anyone over 18 years old.

If you rent you must have landlord permission to have pets on the property, even if only for a short time.

How do I get started?

Attend a volunteer orientation. These are held every first Thursday of the month at the Yuma Main Library Branch @ 6pm (subject to change, please call 782-1621 x4 to confirm). You will receive next step instructions at that time.

Can I pick my foster animals?

Normally no, but there can be exceptions.

What do I need?

Place to keep foster animals away from owned pets.
Time to dedicate to bottle feeding and late nights.
Ability to proper care for, train and socialize foster animals
Fenced back yard.
Financial ability to cover daily care cost (food, toys etc.).
Able to dedicate at least 1-3 months to have this animal in your care.
Some basic animal knowledge.
Understanding of HSOY polices and ability to follow them.
Any owned animals must be spayed/ neutered and vaccines current (proof required).
Be able to properly care for and keep foster animals clean and healthy.
Ability to let fostered animals go to their forever homes when the time comes.

What can I foster?

Very young puppies or kittens who usually need to be bottle fed every few hours.
Young puppies or kittens that are eating on their own but need TLC.
Momma’s and nursing babies.
Sick animals of any age. This means animals that have kennel cough or upper respiratory issues. We normally do not send out animals with serious issues.
Animals with socialization issues.
Animals that have been at the shelter to long.
Animals waiting for a ride to rescue.