Our Foster Care Program

Foster Volunteers are Essential

Foster parents provide a temporary clean, safe and loving home while an animal prepares for adoption. As a foster parent, you provide a second chance for an animal. A mother cat needing a place to raise her kittens; a dog needing a home environment to feel safe; kittens needing a bit of extra help trusting humans… all of these reasons prove that foster care is important. After receiving foster care, these pets are healthier and happier, which means they are well prepared to be adopted by a loving family.

Foster FAQ

Foster Volunteer Sign Up

To become a foster parent, you must be at least 18 years of age, have passion for helping animals, and complete the foster volunteer sign up. Once your completed form has been received, you will be emailed and counseled by the Foster Program Manager when you are recruited for your first set of fosters! Our program includes Dog & Puppy Foster, Cat & Kitten Foster, Small Animal Foster, Classroom Critters, Holly’s Hospice, Wonder’s Wonderful Medical, Senior for Senior, Office Cat, and Foster to Family.

If you have questions, contact the Foster Program Manager at:
secondchance@savinggrace.info or
(541) 672-3907 x 111.

Foster Sign Up

A photo of a gray and white mother cat nursing her tiny kittens

Quotes from
a foster…

“I love fostering because it offers stability and attention to kittens [and other animals] at a time when they need it most…that care is crucial because it helps ready them for their forever homes.”
-Jessica L, Foster Parent

A photo of a small white and black rat being petted — Teachers can foster a small pet in the classroom! This program provides a small pet with a break from the shelter while they await adoption and allows teachers an opportunity to incorporate real world lessons about responsibility, kindness, and respect into their classrooms.

A close up photo of a black and gray senior dog's face — Our Senior for Senior foster program is all about senior citizens rediscovering the joys of having a cat or dog in their lives. The program helps place senior cats and dogs, who are 7 years of age and older, with senior citizens whether they live in their own home or in a retirement home.

A photo of 3 gray and white tabby kittens laying on a colorful blanket — The Foster to Family program keeps high-risk animals out of the shelter until they are ready for adoption by empowering the public to become temporary fosters for either their own kittens or kittens that they may have found.

A photo of Holly, a brown, fluffy cat, who Holly's Hospice was named after, sitting on a window ledge — Hospice fostering provides a home and care for pets who, through no fault of their own, find themselves in a shelter or other desperate situation, without family, in their most urgent time. These pets usually are very old or very ill, and do not have long to live.

A photo of a fluffy orange cat wearing a pink tie for the Saving Grace Pet Adoption Center Office Foster cat program — Saving Grace is looking for feline-friendly businesses to hire (foster) temporary workers to fill the position of “Office Cat” until permanent employment (adoption) can be secured.

A photo of a calico cat laying in a round cat bed — Medical fostering is one of the most important ways to help animals. Pets heal best in a home, and staying in the shelter when they are most vulnerable often leads to them getting sicker. Saving Grace will provide all veterinary care, medicine and supplies.

Who can be Fostered?

Animals who are not ready for adoption for any reason are candidates for foster care. As a foster parent, you may take in a mother cat and her kittens…some tiny lions that need to trust humans, or a dog experiencing kennel stress. Any animal not thriving in the shelter may be sent to foster care.

It Takes Time

Foster stays may be anywhere from a few days to a few weeks. Foster animals are matched with foster parents based on the individual needs of the pet and the experience and availability of foster parents. Saving Grace fosters year-round, but the greatest need is May through October, during “kitten season.” This is why spaying and neutering your pets is so important!

A photo of a hand with a bottle of kitten formula and a tiny tabby kitten

Top Considerations When Fostering:

We recommend keeping your resident animals and foster animals separate for at least 2 weeks.
Spending time with your foster animal(s) is so important, especially for socialization.
Make sure everyone in your home is ready to foster… it takes a village!

You may have to foster longer than anticipated depending on the animals’ needs.
You will need to make trips to the shelter for booster exams, illness, or other reasons deemed necessary by Saving Grace.

Ready to make a difference in an animal’s life?