Best Friends Animal Society and Homeward Bound Pet Adoption Center Partner to Save At-Risk Pets with New Foster Program

Best Friends Animal Society and Homeward Bound Pet Adoption Center have partnered to save the lives of pets in the Camden County area. The organizations will create a new pet foster program, which will increase the shelter's capacity to care for vulnerable cats and dogs. Cats and dogs brought into the shelter by the public will be fostered by local volunteers until they are able to be spayed/neutered and adopted or transported to receiving partners. The program will be piloted for six months beginning in April, after which it will transition fully to the shelter with ongoing support from Best Friends.

The partnership is timely to “Kitten Season”, the time of year when un-spayed female cats have most of their kittens. It generally stretches from May through November when communities across the country see a surge in their cat populations with thousands of kittens arriving in overwhelming numbers at local animal shelters. Kittens, especially newborns, are among the most at-risk in a shelter and require specialized and around-the-clock care to help them thrive. This new program will help to mitigate kittens from entering the shelter and get them into foster homes until they can be adopted.

"Starting and running a successful foster program with volunteer support can be a significant challenge for an animal shelter,” said Audrey Lodato, East Region Director, Best Friends Animal Society. “Homeward Bound is committed to increasing their lifesaving programming, but it takes a community to save all its homeless pets. We are looking forward to working with the shelter team and local volunteers to create a thriving program for the community.” 

“We are hoping to build a strong network of kitten fosters, especially, so that we can protect them from contracting infectious diseases in the shelter environment,” said Dr. Ken Sieranski, Executive Director of Homeward Bound. “Our partnership with Best Friends Animal Society and local volunteers will allow us to save the lives of many more kittens this year.”

Community support is integral to lifesaving. Foster families and transport drivers are some of the most important components of a successful lifesaving program for dogs and cats. Fostering cats and dogs is an easy way to help and all supplies and training will be provided at no cost. If you can temporarily open your home and take in a pet, sign-up here or email fosterhomewardbound@bestfriends.org for more information.