Foster Parents provide temporary care for kittens, puppies, cats and dogs in their greater-Kansas City area homes. Some animals only need a home for a few weeks, others may need one for several months. By offering your time, energy, and home to an animal in need, you prepare the animal for adoption into a permanent, loving home. T.A.R.A. is always looking for foster homes, especially throughout the busy spring and summer seasons. The more Foster Parents we have, the more lives we will be able to save.

Fostering an animal can be fun and rewarding. If you think you are interested in becoming a foster parent, please read on. Our goal is to place animals in foster homes until a permanent home can be found for them. By doing so, this animal will learn proper behaviors, become more adapted to a home environment and have a smoother transition when adopted to a permanent home.

Foster Parent Requirements

• Fill out a foster home application 
• Be willing to have a home inspection.
• Understand and agree with our program’s goals and requirements.
• Participate in some of our adoption events.

If you would like to know more about our foster program, please EMAIL or call Vona: (816) 810-4285. You will be rewarded with so much joy and happiness in finding a pet a new home! Thank you!

10 Ways to Become a Successful FOSTER PARENT - Give your foster animal lots of attention and affection. The animal may have lived a difficult life before coming to your home; your love and attention will help to heal the animal's physical and psychological wounds. Learn as much as you can about pet care. Before you bring your foster animal home, learn as much as you can about caring for that animal. Read about feeding, grooming and training. Study the warning signs that may indicate the animal needs veterinary attention.

Make your home pet-friendly. Before you bring your foster animal home, make sure you "pet proof" your home. For example, remove poisonous plants and protect furnishings. Keep the animal's room warm and comfortable. Also, take steps to prevent the animal from escaping. Wire crates are recommended. Keep your pets up-to-date on their vaccinations. All animals should be current on the vaccinations that protect them from diseases. Introduce your foster pet to your own pets properly.

Your own pets should be and are required to be current on their vaccinations. Before taking a new animal into your home, please ask us for advice on how to properly introduce this new animal to your own pet.

Recognize your limits. Fostering requires a great deal of time and energy - both emotional and physical. Don't over extend yourself by fostering animals too frequently; you may burn yourself out.

The Rescue Organization depends on you to make its program work. Be sure to be available for scheduled meeting with potential homes or adoption events. If you decide to adopt an animal you foster, go through the organization's normal adoption process. If a friend or relative wants to adopt the animal you are fostering, that person must go through the organization's adoption process.

Understand that some foster animals will not survive. Many animals who arrive in rescue come from unknown backgrounds, difficult situations and contaminated environment. Despite your best efforts, the animal you foster may develop a severe illness that cannot be treated. Do the best you can to help the animal, but accept the fact that you cannot save them all.

Enjoy being a foster parent. Although fostering takes a great deal of time and commitment, it can be an incredibly rewarding experience. You are temporarily providing a needy animal with a loving home environment and helping that animal become more suitable for adoption into a responsible, lifelong home.