Diamond Sponsor
THE FOSTER MEDICAL FUND
The Foster Medical Fund has been in place since 2008 to help those animals who are in Foster Care homes with all medical care except monthly preventatives. Since 2008, the Foster Medical Fund has helped 95 animals and 45 of those have received heartworm treatment.
Heartworm treatment ranges from $200 to $800 depending on the size, age, degree of infestation and medical history of the dog. The usual treatment period is 60 days, but can be as long as 90 days.
Medical care includes heartworm treatments, broken legs, ear infections and tumor removal to name a few. By treating these medical problems, the animal becomes adoptable. Otherwise, without the Foster Medical Fund, the animals may have been euthanized.
During its three years, the fund has only received donations from Meet and Greet events, individuals and the Paws and Claws on Ice Skating Spectacular in March.
THE FOSTER CARE HOME PROGRAM
The SPCA offers two Foster Care Home programs. The first one is short-term Foster Care administered by the Intake Department of the SPCA. The second is Long-Term Foster Care administered by two dedicated and experienced SPCA volunteers.
The short-term Foster Care families deal with issues of helping the animal become adoptable such as underweight kittens or underage puppies that just need help for about 6-8 weeks. Then the pet comes back to the shelter for adoption.
The long-term Foster Care families often deal with medical or behavior issues involving a pet that has arrived at the SPCA. They agree to shelter and feed the animal until it is adopted. The animal does not return to the shelter once it's placed in long-term Foster Care. The Foster Care family takes care of routine monthly flea and tick and heartworm preventative. The Foster Medical Fund pays for heartworm treatment if the pet is heartworm positive. The pet will need a calm and quiet environment while going through the heartworm treatment.
Foster Care homes play a vital role in reducing the number of animals that are euthanized by the SPCA. To fill out an application to become a Foster Care Family, CLICK HERE. To learn more about the Foster Care program, CLICK HERE.