Wanted: loving foster families to care for orphaned animals

Love animals, but not quite ready to make a lifelong commitment? Not sure where you might be in a year, but in the meantime want to help animals? Looking for a highly rewarding, volunteer opportunity in your community? If any of these apply to you, then volunteering as a foster parent for animals in need could be right up your alley.

Don't get me wrong -- caring for a foster animal is a huge commitment of time and energy -- but ultimately, it's a temporary commitment. The goal is to find the animal a permanent home, and in the meantime, provide a loving, non-shelter environment where the animal can thrive.

In the greater Seattle area, there are several rescue organizations with foster programs in need of your help. In addition to the Seattle Humane Society highlighted in a previous post, here are a few more:

Ginger's Pet Rescue: Sunday, August 10, is a big day for Ginger Luke. It's the day when 47 dogs arrive from California in need of foster homes. Ginger is the founder of Ginger's Pet Rescue, a Seattle-based rescue organization specializing in "death row dogs." Yes, that's just what it sounds like -- Ginger's group specializes in rescuing dogs that are about to be put down, mainly due to over crowding in shelters. The dogs arriving from California are small dogs, where they are "bred like crazy," says Ginger. "The shelters there put down 50 small dogs every other day."

In Washington, there is apparently a high demand for small dogs and often a waiting list for adoptions. As a result, Ginger works with a friend in California to rescue small dogs, renting an air-conditioned van, loading 20 to 50 small dogs at a time, and transporting them to Seattle.

Once in foster care, small dogs take anywhere from 24 hours to three months to find a permanent home. However, larger dogs take longer and the hardest to place are pit bulls. But, Ginger believes every dog deserves a chance.

"We can use all of the fosters and adopters we can get," says Ginger, adding "We get about 40 little dogs every six weeks and we get big dogs all the time. All of these dogs are saved at the eleventh hour as we specialize in rescuing death row dogs."

To learn more about fostering through Ginger's Pet Rescue, click here. If you are interested in fostering a dog, email Ginger at gingerluke@comcast.net and she will send you an application.

You can also read more about Ginger's Pet Rescue in a recent Seattle Times article, Seattle restaurateur's new calling: rescuing "Death Row Dogs."

Seattle Animal Shelter: Last year, the Seattle Animal Shelter (SAS) worked with over 80 active foster homes, with over 100 dogs placed into permanent homes through the program. Even so, the shelter is looking to increase its network of foster families for both cats and dogs. To give you a sense of the commitment, the average time an adoptable dog spent in foster care through SAS was 77 days (pit bulls averaged 108 days). But not surprisingly, of the 100+ dogs mentioned above, over 10% were adopted by their foster parents.

To learn more, the SAS hosts a foster dog orientation every second Saturday at 1 PM in the SAS conference room. Click here for more information about the Seattle Animal Shelter's foster prorgram.

Pasado's Safe Haven: As Amber Chenoweth with Pasado's Safe Haven puts it, "Fostering really helps us save animals. It allows us the chance to get an animal out of a situation quickly, where they may face euthanization or otherwise be in peril."

She further explains, "The commitment of time ranges from a few days to a few months. We really never know how long the dog or cat will be with you. Once a commitment is made though, you need to dedicate yourself to it. The one thing these animals really need is stability and love."

If you can offer both, then she says you're up to the task! However, the toughest part about foster care is not falling in love and keeping the animal. "When we lose a foster home, it means one less animal we can help," says Amber. In other words, foster homes free up space at shelters that would otherwise be full.

When you foster an animal, Pasado's Safe Haven will provide you with food, medications if needed, and an unlimited supply of advice.

Want purrs and kisses? Click here to foster a cat. Are woofs and wags your preference?  Click here to foster a dog.

Please note: Pasado's does not accept e-mail applications. You must print an application, sign and return it via fax or postal mail. A Pasado's Safe Haven representative will then contact you.

For more information about Pasado's Safe Haven, visit pasadosafehaven.org.

Copyright © 2008 The Seattle Times Company