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Home for the Holidays
Give the gift of comfort and love to a shelter pet by fostering a dog or cat through the holidays! We provide the supplies needed, you provide the love!
At pick up, we will match you with a holiday foster pet to spoil over the Christmas holiday. If you have a particular animal in mind, at pick up let your foster match assistant know who you would like to foster, we will do our best to honor requests. No matches will be made prior to the event due to adoptions constantly changing what pets are currently in the shelter. All animals over 6 months old are eligible for this event.
Pick up times include:
Friday December 22nd 8AM-4PM
Saturday December 23rd 11AM-2PM
Sunday December 24rd 11AM-2PM
Return your foster to the shelter:
Monday December 26th 11am-5pm
Tuesday December 27th 8am-11am
Please RSVP at https://forms.gle/CXdv5U8mPsY4PDS88
FAQS
Can my dog meet the foster dog before we take them home?
We will do dog to dog introductions by request and only on Friday December 22nd between 8-4. To arrange this, email Dawn@LFAW.org. We DO NOT introduce dogs and cats at the shelter since the shelter is already a heightened emotional environment for pets and cats do not tend to travel well, there is no way to get a true sense of the interactions between a dog and a cat in the shelter environment.
Do I have to keep my holiday foster separate from my pets?
We will do our best to match you up with the best holiday foster fit for your household, however we CANNOT guarantee everyone will get along at all times. It is best to have a plan ready for keeping your foster separate from the resident animals in the home before taking a foster animal home. Please remember that shelter animals are faced with so much stress in their daily life living in the shelter environment, as much as this is a fun event for you and the pets to enjoy, its also a much needed break from the shelter stress and your holiday foster will likely need some time to decompress.
What if I want to adopt my holiday foster?
This is great, we LOVE foster wins! If you decide to make your holiday foster a permanent family member, complete the adoption survey in your take home packet (you will receive at foster pick up) and come to the shelter by the end of day on Tuesday 12/27 to complete adoption paperwork and payment. You do NOT need to bring your holiday foster to this appointment. Please return any crates, carriers, or plastic litterboxes at this time as well.
Can I keep my foster longer?
You will need to return all holiday fosters by Tuesday 12/27. The holidays are a very busy time for walk in traffic at our shelter and if a pet is not here for potential adopters to meet, they miss out on opportunities to find their forever home. Finding loving homes for the homeless cats and dogs in our care is our top priority and we will not jeopardize this during our busiest time for adoptions and shelter visitors. The only exception to this rule is if you are fostering an animal that is being isolated for medical purposes, we encourage fosters taking medical cats or dogs to foster them through their current round of medications when possible, as there is no place better to recover than a loving home.
Can I foster a cat with a dog in the house/Can I foster a dog with a cat already in the house?
We cannot guarantee how well any animals will behave together but we often (NOT ALWAYS) have an idea of how our dogs will do around a cat but there are many unknowns involved and at least two individual animals' personalities at play. The best and safest way to handle this is to plan to keep them totally separate from each other since it is a very short-term foster. If you do choose to introduce cats and dogs you must do this slowly, read both the cat and dog's body language, never allow them to be together without adult human supervision, always allow the cat the ability to get up and away from the dog, do not force interaction, and always have a plan to separate them (completely with a real door, separate space, secured baby gate, etc. a bathroom or laundry room is enough space for a cat!).
What should we do with our holiday foster pet?
This is a great time to love and spoil a foster pet or get to know a cat or dog you are interested in adopting! Awesome activities to do with your holiday foster are leashed walks around the neighborhood, take them to get a pup cup at your favorite coffee shop or dog friendly spot, snuggle up and watch all the holiday movies, take them for a drive to look at Christmas lights, let them help you with last minute present wrapping! Reminder that decompression time is important anytime you take a new animal home, but especially when they live in the stress of shelter life. Your holiday foster will likely be happy to nap by your side while you do your holiday things. This is not the time to introduce them to every extended family member, friend, and neighbor or to take them into stressful and chaotic situations or parties in yours or others homes.
Fostering
Sometimes, pets in need of foster are those who aren’t adapting well to the shelter environment and need a bit more normalcy while awaiting adoption. Sometimes it’s a pregnant mother that needs to give birth and wean her babies in the quiet comfort of a home environment. And sometimes a foster candidate is one who needs one-on-one socialization to overcome shyness or to learn to trust humans again.
What's Included?
The League covers all food and medical care for dogs and cats living in foster homes. And the League’s knowledgeable animal trainer and adoption counselors are always available to provide support and guidance along the way.
Are You Ready?
The League is always looking for good foster homes. To sign up and learn more about fostering opportunities, click here. To find out more about our kitten and puppy bottle feeding program, click here.