What is our Foster-to-Adopt Program?

The Foster-to-Adopt (FTA) program offered by The Rescue Crew is a great way to determine if a dog or cat in need is a good fit for your family before you make the leap to officially making them a furry family member.

Why Should You Consider Fostering to Adopt (FTA)?

The Rescue Crew FTA program is designed to help make the transition easier for you, your family members and the animal by giving the pet time to relax in your home and begin to show you their true personality, enabling you to make a more informed decision.

Additionally, we know that certain types of pets are in high demand, be they a specific breed, age or other unique characteristics - and you may have already experienced a missed adoption opportunity of a rescue pet because there were multiple interested adopters. Our Fotster-to-Adopt program will essentially give you first dibs on the pet and help you avoid the stress and hassle of trying to be the first to get your adoption request submitted for the type of animal you're hoping to adopt.

Which Animals are Eligible for the Foster-to-Adopt Program?

Eligibility is at the discretion of The Rescue Crew. In general, adult pets who have been waiting for a home longer than six months are eligible, as well as senior animals and other pets who may have a more difficult time finding the perfect family, such as big dogs, black cats, and pit bull-type dogs. Additionally, pets that are currently in our care but, for whatever reason, are in need of a new foster are also eligible. At times, The Rescue Crew may also be working to help a particular shelter (in-state or out-of-state) to reduce overcrowding and help place their most urgent pets in need. In these cases, we will post the specific animals to our website as part of the FTA program, but we will not be able to bring the pet into rescue unless a suitable approved FTA foster home commits to the pet. 

Once you become active in the FTA program, you will also be able to see the pets we are networking behind the scenes for foster home placement.  These will typically be pets not currently with The Rescue Crew yet, but at one of our shelter partners and who are in need of a home. The type of pet you're interested in fostering to adopt may not be shown on our website at this time, but we're pretty positive we can help you find that perfect pet you're looking for. 

The Foster-to-Adopt Process.

Step One:  Complete the Foster-to-Adopt Application & Agreement.
The first step to participating in our Foster-to-Adopt Program is to submit an Foster-to-Adopt Application. This completed form identifies you as being interested in adopting a pet from The Rescue Crew; it is not a binding contract. 

A member of our Adoptions Crew will process your Application as soon as possible. Be sure to check your spam folder in 3-5 days after submission to be sure you don't miss any follow-up communication from us. 
Please Note:  
To avoid having you complete both an Adoption Request Form AND a Foster Application & Agreement, we have consolidated these forms into the Foster-to-Adopt Application. It also includes the required Foster Agreement & Contract which outlines the terms and conditions of being a foster caregiver with The Rescue Crew. 

In the long-run, this approach will save you time and avoids creating process for the sake of process. However, due to the consolidation of forms, the FTA Application is longer and more comprehensive. Initially it may seem tedious, but it's a "one and done" approach that streamlines the process for both you and us.
Step Two:  Become a foster caregiver.
The FTA Application also serves as a Foster Application and provides us with the necessary information to get you approved as an official foster caregiver for The Rescue Crew. You will participate in an onboarding video conference online to help familiarize you with the fostering process and answering any questions that you may have. These onboarding sessions are scheduled every two weeks. In the interim, we recommend you watch our Foster Orientation video which can be found by ​clicking here.   
Step Three:  Bring home your new foster pet.
Once you've completed the foster onboarding process, we will work with you on next steps for your specific situation. This will depend on whether the animal you're considering is currently with The Rescue Crew, or if you are joining our crew with the intent of finding a future animal in need. 
Step Four:  Get to know each other and provide necessary verterinary care.
Once your new foster pet enters your home, they will be put on hold for two weeks and not made available for adoption. During this time, you have the chance to get to know the animal; their likes and dislikes, their temperament and truer personality. This should help you make a more informed decision and feel more comfortable in moving forward with adopting or not. 

It is almost always the case that animals coming to The Rescue Crew will need to have vettig and medical needs addressed. We do not proceed with finalizing adoptions until we have fully vetted the animal and they have been deemed healthy for adoption. It will be your responsibility to get the pet to necessary veterinary appointments. Standard care includes spay/neuter surgery, necessary core vaccinations, microchipping, diagnostic testing for heartworm in dogs and FIV/FeLK in cats and parasite control.
​The Rescue Crew covers the cost of this. 
Step Five:  Decision making.
As a foster who is planning to adopt, you typically have two weeks to make the decision whether to move forward with the adoption.  Certainly, at times, we are happy to extend this "getting to know you" timeframe to help you be sure.

If you decide you'd like to make your foster pet an official family member, we will ask you to complete an Adoption Agreement & Contract, which legally transfer ownership of the pet to you, and pay the adoption fee to finalize the adoption. The adoption fee is the same standard fee association with our other adoptable pets

IMPORTANT: If you decide your foster animal isn't the best fit for your new pet, we do still ask that you continue to foster the animal until they are ultimately adopted, and we would expect you to be actively engaged in helping the pet get adopted; this would include items like writing a biography and providing photos that can be placed on our website, as well as attending adoption events.  

As a foster caregiver, you are able to foster as many animals as you'd like. This means if your first foster pet isn't the perfect match, you can continue fostering until you find the animal that is.  
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