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Safety Net Fostering

Our program is designed to provide short-term housing for eligible animals in need of temporary care, all with the goal of reuniting you with your pet(s)! Having pet friendly transportation to bring your pet(s) to MH is highly preferred. MH may provide transportation for owners in the Detroit area case-by-case. Your pet(s) will go through an evaluation to determine any medical or behavioral concerns and to deem fit for a foster home. Upon successful evaluation, we will place your animals in temporary foster home housing until you are ready to care for them again. While the animal is in the foster home, you will not be able to visit, but we will be able to provide you with updates and photos from the foster home. 

Our program has limited space, but we will work with you to provide support as much as possible. The amount of time an animal is in the program can depend on the availability of foster homes. We have a limit of accepting a maximum of two animals per owner. 

Before you call us to sign up for the program, please consider the following: 

Have you: 

• Reached out to family and/or friends for care for your pets? 
• Reached out to a non-profit organization for support to help you get back on your feet? 
• Established that your need for animal care is temporary and short-term? 

Is your pet: 

• House trained and/or litter box trained? 
• Friendly towards humans? 
• Overall healthy and/or currently taking medicine that maintains their health? 
• Spayed or neutered? If not, Michigan Humane will spay or neuter your pet while they are in our care (unless a veterinarian determines they should not be altered). Michigan Humane is excited to offer free spay/neuter as part of participation in this program. 
• Up to date on vaccinations? If not, Michigan Humane will vaccinate your pet while they are in our care (unless a veterinarian determines they should not be vaccinated). We are very excited to offer free vaccinations as part of participation in this program. 

Please be aware that consistent communication is crucial for this program for the safety and care of your pet(s.) 

Once your application is complete, a member of our Community Advocate team will contact you within 1-2 business days. If they are unable to reach you and do not hear from you within 1 week, your pet(s) will be removed from the foster home waitlist. Once we find a foster home for your animal, we will contact you to schedule an intake appointment. If you are unable to bring your pet(s) in for an intake appointment within 2 weeks of a foster home being found, we will not hold an available foster home for your pets for longer than 2 weeks. 

If your animal goes to a foster home, you (or your emergency contact) must remain in regular/weekly communication with the community advocate team. Please let our team know if you need any accommodation for things like transportation. 

 Click here for Frequently Asked Questions.