Foster
Foster For Sarge’s Animal Rescue Foundation, Inc.
Thank you for your interest in becoming a Sarge’s foster parent. Foster homes save lives – for every animal you foster, it allows us to offer the space in our shelter to another rescue animal and save another life.
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With fostering, there is no time commitment. You can foster on the weekends, just for a week, or just for a month, whatever works with your availability! A break from the shelter is significant to the mental health of our animals and helps us get to see the true personality of shelter pets.
As a foster parent, there is no out-of-pocket cost to you. Sarge’s will cover all medical costs and provide food and any other supplies needed.
If interested in fostering, please fill out our foster form and our foster coordinator will be in touch with you to match you with a good foster fit! If you have another dog at home, we will schedule a dog-dog meet and greet here in our play yard to make sure everyone is on board with the new foster dog.
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Sarge’s provides: Medical costs, veterinary care, prescriptions (if needed), all food, crates/carriers, toys, and any other supplies you could need!
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Foster parent volunteers provide: A temporary home for a shelter pet, love, time, additional training where needed, transportation to vet appointments and meet & greets, and pictures and updates about how their foster pet is decompressing and adjusting to life in a home!
We Need Fosters for:
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Puppies
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Adult dogs of all sizes
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Cats
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Kittens
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Foster Hospice (Fospice) for Dogs and Cats [maybe have a separate tab for medical cases like Evie]
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These cases may be senior animals or animals with special medical needs. Fospice means that Sarge’s will cover all the medical costs until that animal reaches the end of their time with us here. Fospices provide love, comfort, and extra special care in their homes for these shelter pets during their final days, weeks, or sometimes years of their lives.
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Behavioral Fosters who need to learn or re-learn certain behaviors to be properly adopted.
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These homes need a little extra love and understanding for the dogs or cats struggling a little more than the rest in the shelter environment
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Fostering is flexible enough for most lifestyles and Sarge’s will custom-match the animals to each foster home. By offering your time, energy, and home to an animal in need, you prepare the animal for adoption into a permanent home as well as help prevent overcrowding in our shelter.
We are always looking for more foster homes, especially throughout the busy spring and summer seasons. However, every animal benefits from being in a foster home, regardless of the season!
How Foster Care Works
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There will be plenty of opportunities to foster, so there is no pressure to take a specific animal if you are hesitant.
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Foster parents come to our facility located in Waynesville, NC to pick up the foster animal to take home. At that time, volunteers receive information about the animal’s condition and needs.
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Foster parents may need to bring the animal to Sarge’s periodically to be examined by our team, receive vaccinations, or have new photographs taken.
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Foster parents may need to bring the animal to Sarge’s periodically for adoption events. Fosters can drop off at the top of the day and pick up at the end of the day. You are not required to attend the event.
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​Foster parents are responsible for bringing the animal to Sarge’s for vet appointments, meet and greets, play groups, or to have new photos taken.
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Sarge’s medical team will complete the final steps necessary to prepare the animal for adoption.
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Want to know more about volunteering to foster an animal? We love to answer questions! Please email volunteer.sarges@gmail.com to learn more!
Get Started!
If you’re interested in fostering with Sarge’s, please follow these steps:
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Be of age. The primary caregiver of the foster animal must be at least 18 years old. However, many of our adoptables benefit from time with young people at home. We have foster families of all types – single people, roommates, couples, and families with children.
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Be in the area. Foster volunteers must be able to get our adoption center in Waynesville, NC on a regular basis. Please consider the potential commute before applying to volunteer.
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Please fill out a foster application.
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Attend foster training. You will learn about program expectations, basic medical information, and have all your questions answered.
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Start saving lives. Sarge’s will match you with the foster animals that suit your lifestyle.
Please note Sarge’s cannot accommodate those seeking to fulfill court-ordered community service.