-Fosters allow us to save animals who would otherwise be euthanized in overcrowded shelters
-Animals do better in homes than kennels — they decompress, learn routines, and show their true personalities
-Foster care helps animals become more adoptable
-One foster home can save multiple lives each year
-Every foster makes a direct, life-saving difference

Fostering a dog or cat is a deeply rewarding experience that not only helps save the life of an animal in need, but also enriches your own life. Welcoming a foster pet into your home can bring companionship, comfort, and joy. It provides the chance to enjoy the love and playfulness of an animal without the long-term commitment, and fosters often find that the bond they build gives them a sense of purpose and fulfillment. In caring for a pet, you may discover that the one you’re truly helping is yourself.

You might be a great foster if you:
-Want to help animals but aren’t ready for a permanent commitment
-Work full-time, part-time, or from home
-Have other pets (with proper introductions)
-Have kids and want to teach your children compassion
-Are nervous but willing to learn

There is no “perfect” foster — just people willing to try. 

Better World Rescue works with dogs and cats. We have needs for fosters for puppies, kittens, adult dogs/cats and seniors. We work together with our fosters to match dogs/cats that meet their experience levels and preferences. You would generally have the opportunity to meet the dog or cat prior to committing to foster that particular animal. 

A foster provides a safe, loving home while an animal waits for adoption. This includes:
-Food, water, love, and basic care
-Letting the animal settle into a home environment
-Helping us learn their personality, preferences, and needs
-Bringing them to scheduled vet appointments (we cover medical care)
-Helping with photos or sharing their adoption posts when possible

Some fosters need minimal care, while others may need extra patience and support — we will always work to match you with a foster that fits your lifestyle.

1. Fill out our foster application: www.betterworldrescue.org/foster-application
2. Speak with one of our foster co-ordinators (who will call upon receipt of your application) to answer any questions and discuss what kind of fosters are best suited to your requirements and preferences
3. Take our self-paced online courses going through animal care basics including how to introduce your new foster animal to new people and animals
4. Review and acknowledge our foster handbook
5. Review and sign our foster contract
6. Open up your home to a minimally invasive home check (messy homes are welcome, but we need to ensure a safe environment for our foster animals)
7. Meet your potential new foster pet to ensure that you are comfortable with their needs

You are never on your own as a BWR foster. Better World Rescue provides supplies, medical care, behavioral training, and vacation coverage for our foster animals. You will receive a weekly check-in where you can submit non-urgent supply, behavioral training, and vacation coverage requests. We also maintain a 24×7 hotline for emergency/urgent foster situations. 

You provide the home – we provide the back-up.

Yes, absolutely! We work with our fosters to match dogs/cats to their requirements. We provide training to help with safe introductions to both other pets and children. We encourage potential dog fosters to have their existing pets and/or children meet the dog prior to committing to foster, as every child/dog/cat relationship can be different. 

Better World Rescue has a need for both short-term vacation fosters as well as long-term fosters. Please note that we can only intake a dog or cat with a long-term foster commitment in place. Long-term fosters are expected to foster until the dog or cat is adopted. This can take days, weeks, or months. Fosters can reduce the amount of time until adoption by actively participating in our weekly adoption fairs, submitting new photos/videos weekly, and by posting their fosters separately in addition to Better World Rescue’s posts. 

If you are not prepared to commit to foster a dog or cat until adoption, vacation fostering may be a good fit. Vacation fosters care for a dog or cat until the long-term foster returns from vacation. This can be a good way to try out fostering to see if it is a good fit for your family. 

In case of emergency, Better World Rescue maintains a 24×7 hotline that will make emergency veterinary arrangements for your foster pet. For less urgent care, our medical coordinators will make an appointment at one of our veterinary partners that works for your schedule. Better World Rescue covers all medical care costs associated with medical care at our approved veterinary appointments. We are able to pay remotely with most of our veterinary partners, so fosters would not be expected to incur any medical expenses unless other arrangements were previously agreed upon. 

Better World Rescue has a team of several professional trainers that is ready to help you to address any potential behavioral issues you experience with your foster. We are happy to arrange private training sessions at your home that fit your schedule. Better World Rescue also runs a regular group training class that all fosters are welcome to enroll in with their foster dog. 

Fosters are allowed to adopt their fosters dogs/cats. This is sometimes referred to as a foster fail. We do encourage you to continue fostering in order to save more lives, but we also understand when a foster falls in love as well. If you are thinking of adopting your foster animal, please be sure to inform the Better World Rescue team before scheduling a meet and greet with other potential adopters.

Our long-term fosters (as opposed to vacation fosters) are generally expected to foster until adoption, so we ask our long-term fosters to be prepared to foster for at least the foreseeable future. However, if you are a long-term foster and need to take a temporary vacation from fostering, we have you covered! We offer vacation coverage for both short and long travel periods. We simply ask that fosters provide a two week notice of vacation coverage needed (with additional notice requested over the winter holidays where possible).

If a foster is truly unable to foster anymore, we search for a new foster. If a new foster is not able to be found before the necessary end of original foster coverage, the dog or cat has to go to boarding. Unfortunately, when we have a dog or cat in boarding we have to close all intake of dogs and cats into the rescue. This means that while this dog or cat is in boarding, our shelter partners will be euthanizing multiple dogs and cats that we would normally have been able to accept into our care. We ask that potential long-term fosters keep this in mind, and to only commit to fostering if you are able to commit through adoption. 

If Better World Rescue receives an adoption application for your foster pet, we will generally call the applicant within one business day. Once we have spoken with the potential adopter and confirmed that they are a qualified adopter, we will reach out to you as a foster to schedule a meet and greet at a time and location that works for both yourself and the potential adopter. If the potential adopter chooses to move forward with adoption during or after the meet and greet, the adoption coordinator aligned will work with you both to get an adoption agreement signed, adoption fee paid, and an adoption photo taken. Meet and greets can take place at your home, at the potential adopter’s home, or at a neutral public location such as a pet store or park, depending on your preferences, the foster animal’s temperament, and the adopter’s preferences. 

– Be at least 18 years old or have consent of parent/guardian
– Live within about an hour drive of Tracy, CA
– Have landlord approval if renting
– Provide a safe and stable environment
– Complete our foster onboarding: www.betterworldrescue.org/foster-onboarding

That’s okay. Many of our best fosters started out nervous. 
If you have questions, want to talk it through, or aren’t sure where you fit please contact us at (209)425-2827 or at info@betterworldrescue.org
Together, we can save more lives.