Part-time pet care for young animals that are awaiting adoption is a rewarding experience for both the human and the pet. Fostering gives you a chance to take care of a puppy or kitten for 2 to 4 weeks until the animal finds a permanent home.
Fostering is becoming increasingly popular across the world, and is seen as a solution for overburdened shelters and volunteer groups that cannot provide individual attention to vulnerable animals that are rescued as orphans. It's also an opportunity for a person to enjoy all the benefits of keeping a companion animal, when they are not in a position to adopt one due to various constraints. And it's a good way to see what it's like to keep a pet, by taking care of one for a few weeks and observing how it changes your lifestyle.
A foster parent provides space for the animal at home and administers special care if necessary (for example, bottle feeding newborns). The pet receives human affection in a relatively infection-free environment and escapes the stress of living in a facility where there are hundreds of other animals. After a home for the pet has been found, the foster caretaker hands over the pet to the permanent family.
A pet can be chosen on basis of the foster parent's schedule, level of experience etc. Says Achala Paani, founder of Let's Live Together, an NGO that rescues and finds homes for orphaned puppies – “Fostering is the best holiday one can have! You save a needy animal and bring love into your life, and all this in the comfort of your home and while involving the whole family”. As the healthy puppy or kitten is handed over to an adoptive family, the foster caretakers realize that it's a high quite unlike any other.
To sign up as a foster parent to a rescued animal, emailletslivetogether.in@gmail.com
