Why should I participate?

• A unique opportunity to connect with your community
• A way to start a fostering program or develop new foster families
• A way to promote your adoptable pets

How does the program work?

• Petfinder members who registered as an official “Foster A Lonely Pet for the Holidays” site will be on the Petfinder Web site. Potential foster families will contact you.
• Petfinder will provide you with free resources to help you start or update your foster care program.

What’s involved?

Petfinder.com will get the ball rolling by making it easy for interested
individuals to search for a participating organization, but you can help increase the publicity.

• Alert your local newspapers by sending them a press release. You can use this sample press release as a starting point.
• If several organizations in your area are participating, consider having a joint press conference to benefit the animal welfare community.
• Email your supporters to spread the word. Get the buzz going around town.

Resources

These resources are meant to be a guide to help your foster program be a success. Because your group has its own individual policies, please review the documents below carefully. To ensure a happy relationship on all sides, it is important to give your foster homes clear information about what they can expect as a foster parent. If your organization chooses to use any of the resources, please tailor the information to your group’s policies and specifications to manage your foster homes’ expectations.

Resources for your organization:

• Foster A Lonely Pet for the Holidays Sample Press Release (Word document)
• How to Recruit Foster Parents
• Michigan Humane Society’s Foster Care Program Manual (Word document)
• Michigan Humane Society’s Foster Care Program Manual (PDF)
• Sample Foster Program Tracking Sheet (Word document)
• Sample Foster Parent Application (Word document)
• Sample Foster Parent Contract

Resources for your foster homes:

• Foster Home FAQ (Word document)
• Preparing to be a Foster Parent (Word document)
• Bringing your Foster Pet Home (Word document)
• Sample Foster Pet Evaluation Form (Word document)
• Special Pet Precautions for the Holidays (Word document)

Evaluation

At the end of the program, we will collect:

• number of pets fostered
• number of adoptions from foster
• any helpful suggestions to improve the program for next year