What is Fostering?

Fostering means you are bringing a companion animal into your home to love and care for until he/she finds a permanent home. Fosters learn about the animal’s behavior and help to socialize the animal in a loving home. Some animals come nearly ready for adoption. Others may be scared, timid, or sick; they may need extra help and socialization to get them ready for adoption. Fostering is the bridge between what the animal’s life was before (stray, abused, kill shelter) to their new life in a furever home.

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Why Foster?

Foster families provide a healthy and safe environment for the animal. Fostering increases the animal’s chances of being adopted and helps them overcome the stress of being abandoned in a shelter. When you open your heart and home to an animal in need, you are giving them a second chance at life. Fostering lets you enjoy the companionship without the long term commitment. Fostering animals is a wonderful and personal way to contribute to saving homeless animals. Fostering saves lives.

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How does LZS Foster Care Work?

After you are an approved foster, when LZS receives animals who are not ready to be placed up for adoption, we send out an email to all of our approved foster care volunteers.  If you cannot foster at the time we need help, no worries, there will be plenty of other opportunities to foster, so there is no pressure to take an animal.

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Foster parents come to LZS headquarters in Crofton, Maryland to pick up the foster animal to take home at that time, volunteers receive information about the animal’s condition and needs.

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Foster parents may need to bring the animal to vet appointments or LZS Headquarters periodically to be examined, receive vaccinations or other treatment.

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Once your foster is ready for adoption we post them to our Website, Facebook page and petfinder.com. You will be responsible for providing photos and a short bio about your foster(s) personality. If you are comfortable you may be asked to allow home visits for potential adopters or transport the foster to a meet and greet location.

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Little Zoo Sanctuary's Director will vet all potential adopters and prepare animals for adoption. ​

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Foster Requirements:

In order to foster for the Little Zoo Sanctuary, you must:

• Be at least 18 years of age

• Complete a Foster Care Application, and attend an orientation session with Foster Coordinator

• Provide proof that all personal pets are up to date on age-appropriate vaccines unless medically cleared by a licensed Veterinarian

• Provide your own transportation for routine veterinary appointments in Anne Arundle County

• Have a willingness to actively ‘market’ your foster animals and assist in finding them forever homes when ready (by attending our adoption events, etc.)

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Foster Application Process:

We take the new foster application process just as seriously as we do our adoptions. We carefully screen each applicant, using much the same criteria used to screen potential adopters. That means we will visit your home to help you to prepare, and get to know you and your current family so that we can match you with the best possible animal.

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We will go over the responsibilities of foster parenting, review with you the case history of the animal that you will be taking in, and answer any questions you may have.  

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• Step 1: Fill out the Foster Care Application. 

• Step 2: Once the completed application is sent to us, our sanctuary director will contact you.

• Step 3: Allow one of our volunteers visit you at home.

• Step 4: Accept your foster into your home (once approved)!

 

 

As a gentle reminder we are a 100% volunteer organization. We will review and reach out to you as soon as possible.

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Thank you so much for your kindness and interest in helping us.

All of us at Little Zoo Sanctuary are so grateful for your generosity!