Become a foster carer

There are many different reasons why animals require foster care. This includes animals who:

• Are waiting to find their forever home
• Are recovering from surgery or dealing with treatable medical conditions
• Are still too young to be desexed or rehomed
• Have young litters
• Need rehabilitation, rest or socialisation away from the shelter environment
• Find the shelter environment stressful
• Are in protective custody

We believe that animals cope better in a home environment rather than in a shelter. Because of this, all shelter animals benefit from foster care, including cats, dogs, rabbits, guinea pigs, birds and livestock.

This is totally up to you, your circumstances and the animal’s needs. Most of our foster carers look after one adult animal at a time, or a whole litter/multiple young animals.

In most cases, you can still become a foster carer, but you will need to ensure your animals are:

• Sociable and get along well with your foster animal. We require all dogs have a ‘meet and greet’ session at the shelter to ensure they will be suitable to go to foster with your resident dog(s)
• Fully vaccinated
• Have been treated for fleas and worms
• Are desexed

Most animals can be safely fostered in a home with children, however in some cases we are unable to place dogs into foster homes with children under the age of 10 years.

We always do our best to match animals with the best possible foster carer, whether you work full-time, have pets at home, live in an apartment, have children, are retired, or have a busy schedule. Our foster care team will match you with an animal who suits your lifestyle and experience, and make sure you feel comfortable and confident looking after them. We will discuss this further with you and provide more information during your application process.

We provide everything you will need to look after your animal, we just ask you to provide a safe space, lots of love, support and training. You are always welcome to spoil them with extra toys or treats (unless stated otherwise, as some of our animals are on very strict diets!).

We will provide the following:

Dogs and puppies:

• Food bowls and water bowls
• Bedding
• Toys
• A lead, harness and seatbelt clip
• Crate (if required)

Cats and kittens:

• Food bowls and water bowls
• Bedding
• Litter tray and litter
• Toys and a scratching post
• A carrier
• Playpen for kittens (if required)

Small pets:

• Food bowls and water bowls
• Bedding
• Treats, enrichment items and an igloo
• A ZooZone style pen or playpen for larger rabbits

All veterinary care for your foster animal will be covered by RSPCA Victoria. We have a clinic at our Burwood East and Peninsula shelters who will provide regular health checks and any additional support that may be needed for your foster animal. We also have accounts with emergency clinics across the state in case your animal requires immediate attention outside of our clinic hours.

The average foster period is around 4 to 6 weeks. We are always on the hunt for long-term foster carers who can take on an animal for a few months or ongoing in the case of our Protective Custody animals. In saying that, all lengths of foster care are extremely helpful! We also understand that situations can change, and you can always return your foster animal to us at any time if needed.

As the animal’s foster carer, you will have priority in being able to adopt them at the end of the foster care period. Once the animal is cleared for adoption by our vets, the foster period has been successful and your home is in line with our adoption policy, you will have first option to “foster fail” and adopt the animal into your family.

At the end of the foster period, you will return your animal (if you are not adopting them) to either our Burwood East or Peninsula shelters, whichever is most convenient for you, so they can move into their forever home. You can then choose to foster another animal if you wish! Our long-time, repeat foster carers are vital to our animal care operations, and they tell us the pain of parting with animals is far outweighed by the reward of knowing they’re helping so many animals on their journey to new forever homes.