Fostering & Adoption

The following foster and adoption resources provide best practices and philosophies for organizations looking to build these programs from scratch or expand upon their current ones. These resources demonstrate proven lifesaving strategies to help you recruit more fosters, increase adoptions, improve customer service, and more. 

Fostering

Adoption

Fostering
 

VIDEOS, WEBINARS, ONLINE COURSES, & PODCASTS

• Short-Term Fostering Panel, webinar
• Unicorn Foster Squad, Best Friends podcast ep. 68
• Online Courses
  • Foster Programming, online course
  • Virtual Adoptions & Curbside Pick-ups, online course
• Saving America's Pets Vlog
  • Foster Fail? More Like Foster-WIN!
• How to adopt and foster special needs animals

DOWNLOADABLE PDFs, PLAYBOOKS, & SOPs

• Cat Foster Care Manual
• Creating an Online Orientation for Animal Foster Care Volunteers
• Dog Foster Care Manual
• Foster Programs Playbook
• Kitten Foster Manual
• What to do if a Foster Pet Becomes Lost

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES & INFORMATION

• Foster Win Campaign
• Program Spotlights
  • Best Friends Vet App Helps Shelters Support Foster Homes
  • Getting the Message Out: How to Overcome Adoption and Foster Challenges in your Community
  • How to Keep New Fosters Engaged Post-Pandemic

Adoption
 

VIDEOS, WEBINARS, ONLINE COURSES, & PODCASTS

• How to adopt and foster special needs animals, Saving America's Pets vlog ep. 29
• Successfully Marketing and Adopting Hard-to-Place Pets, Best Friends Town Hall
• Online Courses
  • Client Services and Adoption
  • Virtual Adoptions & Curbside Pick-ups
• The Best Friends Podcast
  • "I just trust people" (reduced-fee/adoption promotions)
  • If "nobody's perfect," then Why Do We Expect All Pet Adopters to Be?
  • Increasing Adoptions with Effective Marketing
  • One Million Cats and Counting
  • Saving Senior Pets with Vintage Pet Rescue
  • Saving Senior Pets with The Grey Muzzle Organization
  • Telling Great Stories to Save Lives,

DOWNLOADABLE PDFs, PLAYBOOKS, & SOPs

• Adoption Barrier Study
• Adoption Playbook
• Finding Families for Furry Friends
• Reduced Fee Adoptions - Why They work
• Tips on Photographing Animals with Special Needs
• Tips on Photographing Dark-Colored Animals
• Tips on Shooting Videos of Adoptable Animals

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES & INFORMATION

• Getting the Message Out: How to Overcome Adoption and Foster Challenges in your Community, program spotlight
• Marketing and Adoption Toolkits
• Pet Adoption: Barriers and Solutions
• Pet adoption policies: More red carpets, fewer roadblocks, empty animal shelters, Best Friends blog
• Pet Profiles: How to Write Animal Bios to Get Your Adoptables Into Homes
• Editorials
  • The paradox of adopting out unaltered animals
  • You Asked the Potential Adopter What?