Fostering a shelter pet is rewarding. By taking an animal in need temporarily into your home, you will:
To view our available foster animals :
Foster Application process:
Sign up here to become one of our awesome Fosters
Looking to become a bottle baby/kitten season foster? Read more about steps, required training, and other details here.
To schedule a time to pick up a foster :
APS uses our foster program to give animals relief from shelter life, care for urgent medical needs and help provide space in our shelter when our population size grows. Foster volunteers are essential to ensuring the success of our adoption program and often use this opportunity to help increase an animal’s chances of finding a new home.
Foster responsibilities may include:
Some foster stays last a few weeks, while others take several months. APS will work to meet any specific needs you may have to best suit your situation (ex: young children, other pets, size requirements). APS provides each foster with all the medical information and supplies you will need to care for your foster, including crates, bowls, leashes, medicine, litter boxes, and toys.
We are always in need of fosters for puppies and kittens to keep them until they are old enough to have their spay or neuter surgeries. We see an huge increase in young litters of kittens and puppies in the warmer months, and additional fosters are always welcome!
If you are interested in being an APS Foster Home, please contact Larissa Chantell, the Foster Program Manager at foster@apsofdurham.org. The application is available for download above.
APS relies on our foster volunteers to care for our animals while they are out of the shelter, and, when possible, help us find homes for their fosters through outreach to neighbors, friends and the greater community. Once your foster is available for adoption, we ask you to send us photos for our website and social media. We encourage all of our fosters to use their own social media and networks to highlight their foster and try to encourage adoptions. For those fostering dogs, we ask that they take the dogs to cafes and APS events to introduce them to potential adopters.
Our fosters should stay in touch with APS and keep track of the following for their animal:
Fostering a shelter pet makes a huge difference in our community. The shelter gains space for other animal; our animals get a break from shelter life; and both the animals and our fosters gain companionship and love that enrich their lives. Fostering is another way that APS is committed to investing in the futures of our animals.
Providing a safe and healthy environment for an animal is a big responsibility. As a foster, you can expect to spend approximately 1-3 hours per day with your animal. Introducing an animal to your household can be challenging, and you will need lots of patience to adjust (for 2 and 4 legged family members). APS will help you work through any issues and problems you face as a foster, and our volunteer community is a great resource for all new fosters.
It’s Clear the Shelters 2026!
As part of this national campaign, APS is reducing all cat and dog adoptions to only $50!
Find your new furry family member today!