Foster Care Volunteer Job Description
Work Location: In your own home
Tasks, Duties and Responsibilities:
Very unique individuals are required to provide loving, attentive care to animals with special needs. The animals 
placed in foster care will require more attention than the average pet and may not, in the end, be placed up for adoption. Foster Care Volunteers help us provide every opportunity for an animal to thrive. This could, for example, involve such tasks as the following:
- Caring for a pregnant cat or dog while we wait for the babies to be born.
- Caring for and socializing a litter of kittens until they are ready to return for adoption. They will be spayed or neutered prior to adoption. This could involve a high degree of care including feedings every few hours initially.
- Housetraining and socializing a dog. This involves a great deal of love, attention and patience.
- Fostering a boisterous, untrained dog that needs to learn basic commands and manners in order to become adoptable. This may involve consultation with a professional dog trainer as arranged by the shelter.
- Fostering a cat who may not be using its litter box. By providing a clean, optimal environment it will allow us to determine if this situation is environmental or behavioural.
In all cases as a foster parent, you will be able to provide exposure to potential adopters outside the shelter environment to enable it to find a loving and permanent home. By introducing your foster to friends, neighbours and relatives, it allows GHS pets to reach new potential adopters. Please note that all foster animals must be applied for through the regular means and all adopters must go through the adoption process.
Skills, Qualifications, and Physical Requirements:
It takes a caring, committed individual with the time, patience and knowledge to look after special needs animals.
For animals with housetraining issues, an isolated room or area of the house with an easily cleaned floor would be an asset.
The availability of a vehicle to transport the animals to and from the shelter and to a veterinarian if necessary.
These foster animals require someone who is dependable and able to commit to a regular and ongoing schedule of care.
Time Commitment:
This will be discussed at the time of fostering, but it could involve a commitment of anywhere from a few days to several weeks.
If you take on this commitment, both the Guelph Humane Society and the animal need you to honour it. In emergency circumstances, we will obviously find room at the shelter or find another foster home, but you need to realize that the animal is counting on you.
The Guelph Humane Society will provide:
Training:
Volunteer Orientation – so you know and understand how the organization works
One-on-one training with GHS staff geared towards the needs of your particular foster animal.
Equipment and supplies:
Food, leashes, head halter, towels, bedding, etc.
Crate for transportation and for training purposes.
Medication and all veterinary care, providing you contact the shelter first for approval.
Impact
By fostering a special needs animal, you are giving that animal every opportunity to become adoptable and enter into a loving and permanent home.
Contact Person
If interested in becoming a Foster Care Volunteer please fill out a foster application. You will be contacted by the Animal Health Supervisor for an interview.
Please note that the Foster Care Program is not ideal for every volunteer. We will try to match the Foster Environment with the Animal’s needs. You may not be contacted to foster for several months. You are welcome to volunteer in the shelter and we will keep you on our volunteer list in the meantime.