Foster-to-Adopt Programs: How They Work

Adopting a pet is a huge decision! You’re committing to providing care to an animal for the remainder of their life, which isn’t always an easy choice to make when you only have in-shelter interactions to inform your decision.

Foster-to-adopt programs offer a try-before-you-adopt option for pet parents who’d rather see how a pet does in their home before completing the adoption. Here, we’ll cover the process of adopting through foster care, fostering-to-adopt benefits, and tips and challenges to consider.

What Is a Foster-to-Adopt Program?

Foster-to-adopt programs offer potential adopters the ability to have an animal in their home for a trial run before formally committing to the animal. With traditional animal rescue adoption, the potential pet parent adopts the pet before ever taking them home.

During a foster-to-adopt trial, the pet stays in the foster home for a designated period before final adoption. Up to 2 weeks is a common time limit given to fosters to decide if they want to officially adopt a pet, but these trials periods can range from a few days to even longer than 2 weeks.

During the home trial, the pet still belongs to the shelter. This means the potential adopter must follow the shelter’s foster-to-adopt program rules. A contract is typically completed prior to the foster-to-adopt trial to ensure responsibilities are understood.

Why Rescues Prefer Foster-to-Adopt

Rescues with foster-to-adopt programs like the option because it helps to assess pet compatibility with potential adopters. How an animal behaves in the shelter isn’t always a good predictor of their behavior in a home, so these programs are important for providing a more complete picture of an animal’s behavior and health.

Foster-to-adopt programs also reduce the stress on shelter animals, help combat overcrowding, and reduce the daily workload on animal care workers. These programs can increase adoption success rates, reduce length of stay (compared with temporary foster), and reduce returns.

According to a 2022 study that looked at fostering during the COVID-19 pandemic, nearly three-quarters of dogs that were in foster-to-adopt programs were adopted by their foster compared with less than 20% of dogs who were in temporary foster homes. However, even temporary fostering increases the likelihood of a live outcome for an animal by 5 to 20 times.

Benefits for Pets

Foster-to-adopt pets experience several benefits from the program.

These programs provide a low-stress, home-based transition from shelter to permanent home.
Time in the home can expose behavioral or health needs that are hidden in the shelter, allowing the shelter to tailor their care to meet the animal’s needs.
Animals have the opportunity to socialize and build trust with humans and other pets outside of the stressful shelter environment.
The program reduces the likelihood that the animal is returned after adoption.

Benefits for Adopters

Of course, rescue foster programs also have benefits for the potential adopters:

The potential pet parent has an opportunity to assess how well the pet will fit into their lifestyle and family.
They can learn about a pet’s personality and training needs before committing.
It reduces the guilt of having to return the animal if it doesn’t work out.

How Foster-to-Adopt Programs Work

Each animal shelter or welfare organization will have its own process for foster-to-adopt programs, but you can expect these general steps if you choose to take a pet home for a trial period.

Step 1: Application and screening by the rescue. The organization will have you fill out an application and sign any contracts that are necessary for their pet fostering programs. You may need to provide information on your living situation, other pets in the home, and why you’re interested in fostering a pet. This process might also include an interview and background check to ensure that you’re a good fit for the foster program.

Step 2: Match with a suitable pet based on lifestyle and experience. The shelter will make suggestions as to which animals may be suitable based on what you’re looking for in a pet and your lifestyle. Some animals may have special behavioral or medical needs, and these will be considered in the matching process.

Step 3: Trial period in the adopter’s home (length varies by rescue). The animal will live in your home with you for a set amount of time. While you can return the pet earlier if things aren’t working out, you generally must decide if you plan to adopt within a specific timeframe. While 2 weeks is common, the length of the trial period varies by shelter. Unique circumstances, such as specific medical or behavioral conditions, may also result in a longer trial period.

Step 4: Veterinary care and check-ins during trial. During the trial period, the foster must continue to have the animal seen by the shelter’s veterinary team (or specified clinic) to ensure that medical needs are met. The shelter’s foster coordinator will check in throughout the trial period to see how things are going.

Step 5: Final adoption or, if unsuitable, return to rescue for rehoming. At the culmination of the trial period, you’ll either be filling out adoption paperwork or returning the pet to the rescue. Keep in mind that even if the pet wasn’t a suitable fit for your home, the time they spent outside of the shelter has been good for them. Provide the shelter with as much information as you can about the animal’s behavior in your home to increase their odds of matching with another family.

Tips for a Successful Foster-to-Adopt Experience

Follow these tips to increase the likelihood that your foster-to-adopt experience ends with a new pet in your home:

Be honest with the shelter about what you’re looking for and what your capabilities are. For example, if you live in a small apartment and have no experience with behavioral challenges, perhaps an animal exhibiting separation anxiety isn’t going to be the best fit.
Ask detailed questions about the pet’s history, behavior, and needs. Here are examples of questions to ask:
- What can you tell me about this animal’s history before they came to the shelter?
- How does the animal spend a typical day in the shelter?
- How has this animal’s behavior been in shelter?
- Has this animal had the opportunity to interact with other animals while in the shelter? If so, how did those interactions go?
- Has this animal gone to a foster home or on a temporary outing before? How did that go?
- What medical history should I know? Does the animal have unique medical needs? Do they take any medications?
- What advice would you give me for meeting this animal’s needs?
- For dogs, you might also ask how they do on a leash and if they exhibit prey drive.
Prepare your home for the trial (safe spaces, resources, and routines). You should have the home ready by the time the animal enters the house. This means there should be established safe spaces for them and that you should have plans for slow introductions to animals already in the home. The shelter may provide some resources, such as food, during the trial period, so make sure to speak with them about what they offer before buying resources. Make sure to speak with other people in the family, especially children, to set expectations before an animal is in the home.
Monitor interactions. Remember that behavior in the shelter is not always the best indicator of behavior in the home. All interactions between the potential pet and other animals or people should be monitored.
Provide consistent care, which is your responsibility while the animal is in your home. This includes supplying food and water, taking the pet outside to eliminate or keeping a clean litterbox, meeting any medical needs, and providing opportunities for mental stimulation and physical activity. Animals do best with routines, which help them know what to expect and when to expect it.
Communicate regularly with the rescue about observations or concerns. Discuss any issues that arise with the shelter to find potential solutions.

Even if the foster-to-adopt situation doesn’t culminate with the pet adoption process, you’ve still helped the shelter gain valuable insight into the animal’s behavior and needs, and they’ll learn more about how to match you better in the future.

Potential Challenges to Consider

Of course, fostering to adopt comes with its own set of challenges. These include:

You may become emotionally attached to an animal who isn’t a good fit for your home, which may result in guilt if you return the pet. If you end up adopting the pet regardless, you will have increased stress and turmoil in your home life.
Behavioral or medical issues may arise during the trial period, which you will need to address with the shelter’s assistance.
You will need to follow the rules and expectations of the shelter, even if they conflict with your own preferred methods of providing animal care.
If the shelter does not provide all resources or if you choose to provide some toys or treats on your own, there may be a financial commitment.
Even if you’re attached to the pet, they can still develop conflicts with other animals in the home that may prevent adoption. These conflicts sometimes escalate to actual fighting, which may result in medical expenses and trauma for the existing pet.
Animals are sometimes unpredictable. Bites and scratches can occur, and you may need to seek medical attention. If an animal injures you, another person, or another pet, it’s very important that you inform the shelter.

A Good First-Step in the Adoption Process

Foster-to-adopt programs benefit pets, adopters, and rescues. Not only does the rescue learn a lot about the animal’s behavior and needs, but the animal gets valuable time outside of the shelter. Potential pet parents get the opportunity to learn more about whether a pet is a good fit for their home prior to adoption.

Prior to participation in a foster-to-adopt program, potential adopters should understand their responsibilities and clarify any uncertainty with the shelter. Consider checking out local rescue foster-to-adopt opportunities to find your next family member.

Ready to adopt? You can find the perfect pet for your family and lifestyle right here on PetPlace!