Foster Program

Foster Program

Thank you for considering opening your heart and home to one of our shelter’s orphaned animals. The Allegany County Animal Shelter’s foster care program is designed to save lives by providing temporary care for animals in need. Fostering opens up spaces and cages and thereby allowing the shelter the ability to help more animals. It also provides animals help with socialization and training. Young or old, injured and sick, abused and under socialized animals receive a chance to grow or heal before finding their forever homes.

Why a Foster Program?

The shelter has made a commitment to the community to maintain a shelter of hope for our animals. Because of this commitment, we have watched our numbers of incoming animals climb while our space has remained the same. We work hard to find new and permanent homes for our animals but there are always more animals than homes. Fostering helps our animals and helps the animals that can take his or her empty cage. Some animals only need a home for three days, others may need a home for three months. By offering your time, energy, love and home to an animal in need, you can make a tremendous difference.

Make a Difference

Foster Homes do make the difference between life and death for many stray, lost and abandoned animals. If you would like to become a foster parent call: 301-777-5930. We will provide foster homes with food, instructions and tips on behavior modification and training.

Paramount to all we do, the foster home is integral to making the best possible permanent placement for the animal(s) in its care. As you represent this organization, please remember that you are fully accountable to Allegany County Animal Control, local authorities and the community at large. You may not intervene in any way with established public or private contracts and/or associations unless invited to do so by, and not without prior approval of, Allegany County Animal Control.

Sign Me Up!

Are your ready to foster?  Nothing is more rewarding that watching the sad, scared or sick animal you brought home blossom into the wonderful, happy and healthy animal that he or she was meant to be. If you would like to fill out a foster application, please click here. Please fill out the form and email it to [email protected] or mail it to: Allegany County Animal Shelter, 716 Furnace Street Extended, Cumberland, MD 21502-1564.

For Foster Program Guidelines, please click here.

Adopting your Foster Animal

It happens, you bring an animal home to foster and fall in love. Can you adopt? In most cases, yes you can. Unless the animal is schedule to be sent to a rescue group, you are eligible to adopt your foster pet.