Foster

The smallest, youngest, and most vulnerable pets need you!

Fostering a pet is not a lifetime commitment; it’s a commitment to save a life.

We are always looking for foster parents who are willing to open their home and hearts to take animals home to help with various health, behavior, or medical needs.

Why Foster?

• Fostering animals saves lives. Period!

Things to note before becoming a foster parent:

1. Being a foster parent includes actively looking for a new home which means that the animal could be listed as available, and your contact information will be listed on the website.
   
   

2. Potential adopters will contact you directly via your email. First email has first dibs to meet and adopt. We do not do home/vet/reference checks.

3. Some foster animals need to be separated from the rest of the pets in your household.

4. Pictures are bios are required to be sent to our foster coordinator within the first week they are in your home.

5. Fosters can keep certain fosters pets for up to 6 months, but if they are not adopted, they will be required to come back to the shelter. Or you can adopt them yourself.

6. Our greatest foster needs are:

   • Small and large dogs who need socialization
   • Large dogs who need a break from the kennels
   • Pets who had to undergo surgery or need medical recovery
   • Bottle baby/neonate orphaned kittens
   • Weaned kittens that need socialization and weight gain
   • Momma cats with nursing babies

You must be at least 18 years of age before applying but you do not have to be a Mecklenburg County resident.

How to apply

We’re excited to partner with Doobert to help streamline and strengthen our foster program at Charlotte-Mecklenburg Animal Care & Control. Through this platform, fosters can easily stay connected with our team, track foster animal information, access resources, communicate updates, and receive support throughout their foster journey. By utilizing Doobert, we are creating a more organized and efficient experience that helps us place more animals into foster homes faster, improve communication, and ultimately increase positive outcomes for shelter pets in our community.

For individuals requiring ADA accommodations or alternative methods to complete the foster sign-up process, please contact us directly at animalsada@charlottenc.gov. Our team will be happy to assist and provide accessible options for participation in the foster program.

Sign up to be a Foster!

*Please note that this foster program is only for our shelter animals in need of foster care. If you own a pet that you need to find a foster home for, you need to contact rescues groups to see if they can assist or visit the rehoming pets page for resources.*