The first step is submitting our online foster home sign-up form. After approval, we’ll match you with a dog and provide guidance, supplies, and support. The amount of time between applying and getting a foster dog will vary depending on our upcoming intakes, as well as the foster home's requirements, experience, and preferences.

Foster caregivers are expected to live within a 1-hour drive of the New Orleans area, since we use specific veterinarians and trainers limited to that area. Aside from this, we use the same criteria for fostering as we do for adopting. We will contact the applicant's current/previous pets' veterinarian to ensure that they're spayed/neutered, up-to-date on basic vaccinations, and heartworm prevention. If the residence is a rental, we will also contact the landlord to ensure that dogs are allowed to live in the home. Finally, we will do a quick home visit.

Foster homes are expected to provide a safe and loving environment, commit to providing NOBR with regular updates and photos, stick to any provided care plans and policies, and a willingness to travel to the New Orleans area for any needed veterinary care or training.

The length of time between foster placement and adoption varies by dog, but the average length of time is around 3 months, while the minimum is around 1 month. When accepting a new foster dog, we ask that foster caregivers commit to the dog for at least 10-weeks, with the exception of any planned travel or emergencies, which we can work around.

Fostering is FREE to foster caregivers. We will provide food, veterinary care, training services, etc. Many foster homes choose to provide food and treats for their foster dog, and while this is very appreciated, it is definitely not obligated.

Yes! Most foster homes already have dogs, and some have cats. If you already have a dog or cat, we will take extra steps to ensure that the foster dog placed with you is dog and/or cat friendly. We will help provide structured introductions between foster dogs and resident dogs, and will explain how to do slow and intentional introductions once in the home.

Once you've been approved as a foster home, we will contact you either by email or text message about the dogs currently looking for foster homes. You will then have the opportunity to tell us if you're available and interested in fostering any of these dogs. No foster home is expected or obligated to foster a dog unless they have already agreed to do so.

We provide as much information up-front about a foster dog as we can, but inevitably, foster homes will sometimes be the first to see new behaviors or medical issues. If a new behavior or medical issue arises, we will work closely with you to help manage it. Should the behavior or medical issue be something you feel unable to manage, even with our guidance and support, we will immediately begin working to find a new placement for the dog. If necessary, we will immediately remove the dog.

As a matter of policy, NOBR does not guarantee that a foster home will be able to adopt their foster dog. In some cases, this is because the dog’s needs may evolve in ways that are not the best fit for the foster home. In many cases, we're happy to approve the adoption of a foster dog to the foster home. However, we ask that anyone agreeing to foster a dog does so with the intention of providing temporary care, rather than entering the relationship with the expectation of adopting. If you're actively looking to adopt, please submit an adoption application instead of a foster home application.

Leaving a domestic violence situation is always difficult, but ensuring the safety of a beloved dog can make it even more challenging. NOBR’s Safe Haven program offers short-term fostering for the dogs of those leaving domestic violence situations. To provide this program, NOBR requires that emergency foster homes be available for the quick placement of pets. If you’d like to support the Safe Haven program as a foster home, please submit our foster home application and let us know you’re specifically interested in supporting the Safe Haven program at the end of the application.