Foster caregivers provide temporary care for cats, kittens, dogs, and puppies in their homes. Some animals need only a few weeks of care, while others may require a longer stay. Fostering is flexible, allowing you to choose the animals that fit your lifestyle. By offering your time, love, and home, you make a lasting difference in an animal’s life.

How Foster Care Works

What We Provide: The Atlanta Humane Society provides all veterinary care, medicine, food, and supplies needed for foster animals, as well as a supportive network of other foster parents and volunteers.

What You Provide: A foster parent offers a safe, nurturing home filled with warmth and love.

The Process: As a foster caregiver, you’ll receive weekly emails featuring animals in need of foster homes, complete with their bios and reasons for needing care. Simply let our foster team know which animal you’d like to foster, and we’ll help you schedule a time to pick them up from the Atlanta Humane Society.

Fosters should live within 30 minutes of one of our shelters to ensure easy access to medical appointments, supplies, and emergency care if needed.

Animals in Need of Foster Care

Animals in need of foster care include kittens and puppies too young for spay/neuter surgery, nursing cats and dogs with their litters, pets recovering from injuries or illnesses, animals overwhelmed by the shelter environment, those seeking virtual adoption ambassadors, and pets in our Pets in Crisis Support Program.

• You can view dogs and cats who have been at the shelter a while and who could use a break with an adoption ambassador on this page

Pets in Crisis Support Program

Our Pets in Crisis Support Program provides temporary housing for pets whose owners face eviction, domestic violence, or hospitalization. Foster parents care for these pets for up to 90 days. Due to the program’s unique nature, a separate foster sign-up is required through this form.

• To view animals currently available for the this program, click here.

Why Foster?

When foster parents share their experiences with the Atlanta Humane Society, the word they use most often is rewarding. Hear their stories—and hopefully find inspiration to create your own—by watching this video.

Get Started

Your first step in becoming an Atlanta Humane Society foster caregiver is signing up for one of our virtual foster caregiver orientations or watch a pre-recorded version. Live orientations are held virtually once a month.