Keeping Families Together

Temporary Placement

Inevitably, some people will need housing for their pet(s) while living in a temporary situation and searching for a new place to call home. The events of 2020 have caused  animal welfare organizations and shelters to consider their roles in this national crisis and work towards providing placement and care for human-animal families experiencing housing insecurity as an essential service. 

While the sheltering community has seen great success in 2020 with increasing foster programs, there is a distinct difference between foster homes for animals being re-homed and foster homes for animals being returned to their permanent guardians. There are various considerations, from legal liability and medical care to visitation and length of foster time offered. There is no one-size-fits-all plan, but here are suggestions and examples to utilize.

Disclaimer: We understand that your organization may have limitations on what tasks can be assigned to volunteers. Please feel free to adapt the following recommendations to best fit the needs of your organization. 

Existing Temporary Placement Programs

Many shelters have programs in place for domestic violence response, and with a few simple modifications can open the service up to include people facing evictions. 

Action Steps Tasks for Staff and High Level Volunteers Tasks for Any Volunteers

Adapt existing safe haven programming to be used for eviction support.

Consider adapting existing temporary boarding programs to be inclusive for other housing needs.

  • Check out East Bay SPCA’s Hold for Home program, which has also provided temporary boarding for pets on veterinarian prescribed pain medication, whose owners are in substance use recovery or currently misusing substances. This protects owners from relapse/use of these controlled substances and reduces the risk of robbery. This should be pet-guardian led with decision making power falling solely on the guardian to decide what is best for their recovery and their pet.

Provide resources on existing programs that allow people to stay with their pets when temporarily unhoused.

  • Inform individuals and families in need of temporary housing about co-sheltering (pets stay with their people) programs in your area.

  • If your organization is located in or around the New York Area, check out the Urban Resource Institute PALS program where they offer co-living services for DV survivors and their pets (any species), as well as safety planning with pets in mind, case management, pet behavior support, humane education, subsidized vet care and pet supplies, discharge planning and advocacy!
  • Identify and list all co-sheltering programs that exist in your area.

Encourage human shelters to implement co-sheltering policies.

  • Reach out to existing human shelters and discuss the importance of letting pets stay with their people while temporarily unhoused.

  • Advocate on behalf of individuals and families in need of temporary housing with their pets.

  • Offer crates, vaccinations, kong wobblers, etc.
  • Identify and list all human shelters in your area.

Temporary Foster Placement for Owned Pets

Many shelters have programs in place for domestic violence response, and with a few simple modifications can open the service up to include people facing evictions. 

Action Steps Tasks for Staff and High Level Volunteers Tasks for Any Volunteers

Providing temporary foster placement for owned pets.

  • Connect with existing foster networks and inform them about the ways that they could be helping human-families stay together during this national crisis.

  • Adapt existing programs that already offer temporary housing, such as safe haven programming.

  • Establish clear expectations for fosters and pet owners.

  • Build a team of volunteer ambassadors that provide support for temporary foster homes and the pet owners they are working with.
  • Connect with existing foster networks and inform them about the ways that they could be helping human-families stay together during this national crisis.

 

  • Assist in providing support for temporary foster homes and the pet owners they are working with through follow up communication.

Recruit new foster parents.

  • Assist staff in recruitment efforts.

  • If you are willing and able to temporarily foster an owned pet, consider doing so to help more families stay together.

Provide fostering with owner relinquishment and reclaim.

Note: The key to success for temporary housing of owned animals is to identify fosters who understand the need to support people going through a crisis situation and believe in extending compassion and non-judgment. The shelter should be the liaison between the permanent guardian and foster home to minimize complications and challenges.

Temporary Boarding

In the absence of foster home availability, or in addition to foster homes to maximize temporary placement, the use of shelter kennel space can be an option to house animals, with the same agreements provided below used with the owners. While not as cost-effective, partner with local boarding facilities to provide additional space for temporary housing. With fewer people traveling due to COVID, most boarding facilities have available space and may be willing to provide a discount.

Action Steps Tasks for Staff and High Level Volunteers Tasks for Any Volunteers

Use available shelter kennel space to provide temporary housing.

  • Discuss and agree on how to offer free or low-cost options with boarding facilities.

  • Set clear expectations for visitation, length of stay and relinquishment terms. 

Connect with local boarding facilities to provide additional space for temporary housing.

  • Reach out to local boarding facilities and discuss the importance of offering temporary housing in order to keep more families together during this national crisis.

  • Set clear expectations for visitation, length of stay and relinquishment terms within your partnership.
  • Identify and create a list of local boarding facilities.

Provide additional boarding support resources.

  • Red Rover offers Emergency Boarding Grants for animals that need temporary boarding while their owners are ill due to the COVID-19 virus. These grants cover the cost of up to two (2) weeks of boarding while the pet owner is hospitalized, or if the pet owner is recovering from home and unable to care for their pet.
  • Identify and list any other local animal welfare organizations that may be offering temporary boarding in your area to refer community members.

Note: The key to success for temporary housing of owned animals is to identify fosters who understand the need to support people going through a crisis situation and believe in extending compassion and non-judgment. The shelter should be the liaison between the permanent guardian and foster home to minimize complications and challenges.

Additional Temporary Boarding Resources

A straightforward, simple safekeeping agreement like the ones from the Animal Welfare League of Arlington, All About Animals Rescue, Pima Animal Care Center, Lifeline Animal Project, and Greenville County Animal Care may be all your organization needs. For more in-depth paperwork, Paws Between Homes has great sample documents to use when structuring your program in this way:

Please also see Greenville County Animal Care’s Temporary Hold for Pet Owner Agreement and Cincinnati Animal CARE Humane Society’s comprehensive documents for their SAFE Coalition to “Save Animals From Eviction”:

Feel free to use this Sample Boarding Waiver from Pima Animal Care Center and adapt to fit your organization’s needs.  

Note: Consider adding to your foster home agreement that posting photos of animals on social media is not allowed. With the pets being owned, public sharing in this way could create problems and misunderstandings.

References
Eviction Response Toolkit. (2019). The Humane Society of the United States. Retrieved from https://humanepro.org/eviction-toolkit
 
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