Apply to become an animal foster carer

Fostering a dog or cat is one of the most meaningful ways you can support animals in need.  Lort Smith’s animal foster care program in Melbourne supports vulnerable dogs and cats who need temporary homes before adoption. As a foster carer, you provide temporary, loving home care for pets who aren’t yet ready for adoption. Helping them heal, grow in confidence, and prepare for their future families.

Our animal foster care program is based at our Adoption Centre, with veterinary support provided mostly by our team in Campbellfield and sometimes in North Melbourne.

Want to get involved? Many people interested in pet shelter volunteering or becoming a pet adoption volunteer choose to start with foster care. Apply now to express your interest in pet foster care and join our community of dedicated volunteers.

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Fill in an application form now to become a foster carer

Animal foster care program

What is animal foster care?

Pet foster care provides short‑term home care for dogs and cats who need extra support before they can be adopted. This may include animals recovering from surgery, pets needing rest and monitoring, young animals who require socialisation, or pets who simply cope better in a home environment than in a shelter.

You’ll be caring for animals who are not yet ready for adoption at our Adoption Centre, helping them transition smoothly into their forever homes.

Animals in need of foster care

There are four types of foster care categories: juvenile, rehabilitation, behavioural and respite.

Most of the animals requiring foster care are kittens. They often arrive at our Adoption Centre very young and need to attain a weight of 900g before they can be desexed and made available for adoption.

Sometimes we have a mum and kittens that need fostering; less often we will have injured animals that need a temporary home. Very rarely we may have some underage puppies needing care. Dogs quite often need fostering to recover from an operation, have some respite from the Adoption Centre or form part of our Emergency Welfare Assistance Program.

Explore stories of past foster animals and volunteers on our Stories page.

Fostering timeline and lengths

Foster periods vary depending on the animal’s needs. Some pets may require only a few weeks of care, while others may need longer support. We’ll always discuss expected timelines with you before placement.

Foster carer eligibility and responsibilities

Animal foster care requirements

To become a foster carer, you’ll need:

Additional requirements for caring for injured animals

Animals going out to foster care need a safe, secure, loving, temporary home.

Kittens and puppies need to be regularly fed according to the feeding guidelines provided by the Adoption Centre staff and kept in a clean environment. The socialisation of the kittens and puppies is equally as important as their physical environment. This means the kittens and puppies require lots of handling and exposure to different noises, people, surfaces, etc. Kittens and puppies learn the most during the first nine weeks of life and proper socialisation will ensure the kittens and puppies grow up without behavioural problems.

It is not necessary that foster carers are home all day – kittens and puppies only need a minimum of two hours’ quality interaction per day.

Children must be supervised with the animals at all times – very young children need special supervision as they may inadvertently injure the animal by dropping or stepping on them.

Many foster carers have their own pets. Common sense will be needed to ensure kittens and puppies are kept separate from dogs and even some adult cats and dogs that perhaps will not be so pleased about the new arrivals. It is also very important that all your own animals are up to date with their vaccinations.

Good places to keep kittens and puppies are in spare bedrooms, ensuites or laundries. However, it is preferable that the kittens and puppies do get a good run around the home daily to assist with their socialisation.

Young kittens and puppies do have difficulty in regulating their temperature, hence it is difficult to house them outside. However, a well set up garage may be suitable.

Foster dogs will need to be walked with a lead attached and only by the foster carer. Some dogs can be unpredictable, so to avoid them running away it is required that they have a lead on at all times when being exercised.

As most of the fostered animals will not be fully vaccinated it is vital that they are not taken outside the home, especially to public places. Young animals are extremely susceptible to contracting illnesses, many of which are life threatening.

We require foster carers to record the weight of the animals while they are in their care and to bring the records when coming in for check-ups.

 

Support provided by Lort Smith

Support and supplies provided by Lort Smith

We provide everything you need to care for your foster animal, including:

  • Food and feeding supplies
  • Litter trays, bedding and enrichment items
  • Medication (if required)
  • Veterinary care at Lort Smith
  • Ongoing support from our Foster Care team

Foster animals in need of veterinary care

Should the animal show any health or behaviour changes please contact:

  • Adoption Centre Duty Supervisor – 03 9287 6433 (within Adoption Centre hours)
  • Animal Hospital – 03 9328 3021 (outside Adoption Centre hours).

Please do not take animals to your own veterinarian. The animals you are fostering are the financial responsibility of Lort Smith. If the animal requires any veterinary care for any reason, please bring it back to us for treatment by one of our vets. In the case of emergency, bring the animal straight to our emergency department in North Melbourne.

Risk, safety and legal considerations

Foster animal property damage

Foster carers need to be aware that if animals are not supervised or safely contained, they can damage property by scratching, chewing or soiling. It is the responsibility of the foster carer to ensure fostered animals are kept in a safe and secure environment and are supervised to ensure their property is not damaged. Lort Smith is not responsible for damage caused by foster animals to a foster carer’s property. We can provide guidance to help you minimise risks and keep your home safe.

When a foster animal becomes sick or dies

Young kittens do get sick. A very common illness is cat flu, which is extremely contagious to cats. If any fostered animals develop any unusual symptoms, they must be returned to Lort Smith immediately. Foster carers will be able to phone and get advice from the Adoption Centre or from any of our nursing staff.

Unfortunately, some animals get very ill, or injured animals will not heal properly and a veterinarian may decide that euthanasia is the best option. In order for Lort Smith to operate as an Adoption Centre, we must abide by the Victorian Code of Practice for Pounds and Shelters. Animals that have chronic health or behavioural problems are not allowed to be rehomed. Understanding and agreeing to this aspect of foster care and shelter operation is often the most challenging for foster carers.

If your foster pet becomes seriously unwell, contact our team immediately. We will guide you through the next steps and ensure the animal receives appropriate care.

What if my foster animal escapes?

If your foster animal escapes you will need to report it to us and your local council as soon as possible. We’ll support you with search steps and reporting requirements.

Legal ownership of fostered animals

All foster animals remain the legal property of Lort Smith and any decisions regarding the future of these fostered animals will be made by the organisation.

Transport and locations

Transporting the foster animal

Foster Carers are responsible for providing safe transportation for the collection, regular checking and return of animals.

All fostered animals must be returned to Lort Smith weekly for health checks and to ensure they are developing normally. Animals being fostered whilst they are recovering from injuries may need more frequent vet visits.

Collect your foster pet

The Adoption Centre is located at Campbellfield. This is the main site for collecting and dropping off animals in foster care, though from time to time newly surrendered animals will need to be collected from North Melbourne.

Taking your foster pet for check-ups

The Adoption Centre is located at Campbellfield. The vet clinic also located at this site will be offering timely access to appointments for animals in foster care. We recommend fostered animals receive care at this site. In some cases, an animal may need to receive care at North Melbourne. If this is the case, instructions will be given when you collect your foster animal.


Adoption and rehoming

Help find a home for your foster animal

It is the responsibility of the Adoption Centre to rehome the animals. If someone you know is interested in adopting one of your foster pets, please ask them to contact the Adoption Centre directly and meet with an animal welfare officer.

back of young boy hugging a dog looking at the camera on the grass