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Volunteers Wanted
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A section for agencies seeking assistance for animals: foster care, adoption, special requests.
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- King County Foster Program
Every spring, animal shelters are flooded with kittens. They are the most adorable of animals, and yet, in a shelter they are also the most vulnerable. Many are motherless kittens too young to adopt, some not evenold enough to eat on their own. Other kittens are born inside the shelter, or admitted with their mothers when they are only days old. It is difficult to provide these kittens with the care they need in a shelter environment, so their lives are often in jeopardy.
With plentiful kittens available, adult cats have less opportunity to find loving homes, as adopters opt for their younger, cuter counterparts. As a result, these lovely adult cats may languish in cages for weeks, increasing the chances that they will become sick with illnesses such as colds--illnesses that are highly treatable, but which in a shelter can be a death sentence.
You can help change all this, by becoming a foster "parent," and opening your home temporarily, you can effectively expand the walls of the King County shelters, and save cats and kittens who would otherwise never survive the toll of "kitten season." You would be asked to keep your foster animal(s) for a period of weeks, until they are old enough or well enough to be adopted, or until the strain of kitten season eases. The time commitment could vary from a neonatal litter of kittens, who would need to be bottle-fed every few hours, to an adult cat, who might just need some peace and quiet to recuperate from the stress of the shelter. All it takes to foster a cat or kitten is a small space, such as a bathroom or bedroom, where he or she can be safe and away from the other animals in the household. (Portable kennels are also available to provide fostering space if a setting aside a separate room is not feasible.)
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- Kent Animal Shelter: Foster Families Needed
Dear Best Friends Network Member,
King County Animal Services is in need of foster parents to help with the abundant number of kittens that are arriving daily at their shelter. Friends of KCAC will assist by providing kitten food for the foster families and there is also a limited number of cages that are available. If you can help by caring for a 4-6 week litter of kittens until they reach 2 lbs. please contact Al Dams at 206 296-4015 or the shelter spay/neuter clinic at 206 296-3956.
At the height of the breeding season, in mid-summer, King County receives multiple litters of kittens and puppies almost every day. These kittens and puppies will need to be in a foster home until they are weaned, socialized, and old enough for adoption. Sick animals that are brought in must be put in foster care so they don’t infect healthy animals in the shelters.
“Foster volunteers really make a difference in the lives of homeless animals. Our foster volunteers nurse back to health or socialize hundreds of cats and dogs annually so we can adopt them out later at one of our shelters. We simply could not save as many lives without their help,” said Walt Washington, King County Animal Services Manager.
King County Animal Services foster volunteers must be able to provide a clean and safe environment to care for the foster animals and prevent injury and the spread of disease. Most supplies, such as food, flea control and milk replacer, can be supplied to volunteers by Friends of King County Animal Control. Residents who want to foster dogs must have a fenced yard with some form of shelter. Additionally, a place should be provided in the home where the dog is welcome, as they are social animals who crave interaction with people.
Foster volunteers must be at least 17 years of age or be collaborating on the care of their foster animals with a parent or guardian.
The King County Kent Animal Shelter is located at 21615 64th Avenue South.
Please spread the word to anyone you may think would be interested in opening up their heart and home to a foster animal.
Sincerely,
Deborah Delgado-Hand
No More Homeless Pets
Best Friends Animal Society
5001 Angel Canyon
Kanab, Utah 84741
(435) 644-3965 ext. 4401
deborahd@bestfriends.org
www.bestfriends.org
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