Foster an Animal
Get started toward your first foster today! 
Foster parents are special people providing a special place for an animal in need. Without our Foster Friends, many of the pets we try to save would have their lives ended. When you provide this temporary safe haven, you give a dog or cat time to readjust and time to learn to be part of a family.
The main goal of fostering an animal is to make it adoptable. This involves more than just providing shelter; it is your responsibility to show the animal how to be a pet and what it is like to live in a typical home situation. Most of these animals are strays and have come from unknown and likely unstable situations. You play a vital role in the rehabilitation and adoption process for the animal you foster. They need your help to become healthy, trusting, well-behaved companions for their forever-home.
MARF pays the vet bills, including heartworm and flea/tick medications. The foster home provides for the dog’s food, treats and toys and is not reimbursed for those expenses by MARF. However, we often receive donations of food and supplies and these are dispersed to all fosters when available.
You will have total say when it comes to selecting the animal you foster (breed, size, age, etc.) All we ask is that you bring your foster to our adoption events and to any vet appointments he or she might need. Transportation can be provided if necessary.
Fostering can be a lot of work and responsibility. Some of these animals were never provided proper socialization or medical care and therefore are not perfectly behaved or impeccably groomed. Most of our animals come from deplorable situations and may need a lot of tender loving care to get them cleaned up, taught how to trust again, or just simply experience what it’s like to be loved and cherished!
Before applying to become a new foster home, please ask yourself (and your family members) if you have enough time and patience to care properly for a rescue animal. Fostering can be an incredibly rewarding labor of love, and you can make all the difference in the world to the dogs or cats that you foster.
Being a foster is a selfless act which can be surprisingly rewarding. If you are ready to invite a homeless pet into your home, please fill out and submit a foster application. Feel free to email any questions to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Please understand there is no sure way to determine how quickly an animal will get adopted. Some may get adopted very quickly while others may take weeks and even months.
