I want to be a Foster
Thank You for Considering Fostering with One Love — We Can’t Do It Without You!
Since our founding in 2013, One Love has rescued over 10,000 pets throughout the Savannah area — and that incredible milestone would not have been possible without the compassion and dedication of our Foster Parents and Volunteers: everyday heroes like you.
Unlike some rescues, One Love doesn’t have a physical shelter. Instead, we depend entirely on our amazing network of Foster Families who open their hearts and homes to pets in need.
Fostering is the backbone of our life-saving mission. With a strong and growing foster network, we can continue to save hundreds of lives every single year.
As a foster parent, you choose which dog or cat is the best fit for your household. We’ve got you covered every step of the way — we cover all medical expenses and provide food, supplies, flea/tick prevention, and even free training and dog-sitting services. Plus, each foster home is paired with a dedicated Foster Coordinator to offer ongoing support and guidance.
We urgently need more foster homes to continue our mission. If you’ve been thinking about getting involved, now is the perfect time. Fostering is incredibly rewarding — and truly saves lives. Ready to make a difference? Fill out our Foster Agreement Form, and we’ll be in touch with you shortly!
Foster Q&A's
Q Isn’t fostering expensive?
A Nope. I started fostering Breeze, a Bulldog/Pit Bull mix that OLAR pulled from CCAS back in April. One Love provided me everything needed on day 1 to care well for Breeze – crate, food, toys, treats, blankets, dog bowls, leash, harness, collar, vet costs. You name it, it was provided. And it continues to be provided – monthly preventatives, food, treats, etc. I have not been out of pocket for anything so far in the six months since I have been fostering Breeze. I am fully supported by OLAR as a foster.
Q I work a lot of hours and don’t have time to foster, isn’t that a problem?
A Most likely no. I work a lot of hours as well. My job has me away from home from 8:30AM-6:30PM during the week. And I live alone. It’s certainly not ideal to be away that long, but it works. It just required me to get on a regular schedule in the morning about important things to do for Breeze before I left for work. And I enjoy play time with Breeze in the evening.
Q Sometimes I need to travel for work or pleasure and can’t always take a foster pet with me, isn’t this a problem?
A Nope. OLAR continues to improve in securing babysitters, and in some tight situations boarding can be arranged. OLAR absorbs cost of boarding. But fortunately in most cases babysitters step up to help watch foster dogs for the short periods needed.
Q How long might I need to foster before my foster pet gets adopted?
A This is hard to answer. I understand some adoptions are almost immediate and some may take a while. Extreme cases may be 1+ years. But if you are like me, you really get attached to your foster and don’t mind continuing the care for as long as it takes. If circumstances become extreme and you cannot foster any longer, OLAR will work hard to find another foster. But generally speaking it is important to commit to fostering until your foster is adopted.
Q What difference can I really make saving one animal?
A I have thought about this a lot ever since I started volunteering at CCAS about a year ago. I see so many cats and dogs and know not all will be saved. And though everyone has to have their own motivation and reasons for volunteering in animal rescue and welfare, I’ll share my own. When I look into the eyes of any cat or dog, I see an individual soul. And I certainly don’t see property, regardless of the archaic laws out that govern animals under property law. How can anyone actually own a life? Not possible in my opinion. What we can do though is recognize the value of every cat’s and dog’s life who we encounter. And for me, if I am doing anything that improves any animal’s quality of life short-term and particularly long-term, then it is time well spent. So even though I might be able to help only a few animals, it matters. One animal saved makes all the difference in the world to that animal. And I am not sure there’s many things more important than that. I am sure there are other questions but I thought I’d provide my perspective on a few. But please do not take me as any type of authority. Please contact any of the great resources at OLAR if you have questions about fostering through OLAR. I’ll conclude by borrowing a line from the movie “Titanic”. Near the end of the movie, Rose states that Jack saved her in every way possible that a person can be saved. That’s the way I think about One Love Animal Rescue. OLAR saves animals in every way an animal can be saved. Saved from possible death, saved from abuse and neglect, saved from medical problems, saved from loneliness, saved from misbehavior, and most importantly saved from not having a bright future.
Q Can I adopt
my foster pet?
A Absolutely. You would follow the normal adoption application process and once approved, you would join the growing great group of foster fails!
Q I can’t commit to the two training sessions per month and two adoption events per month – should I still foster?
A OLAR certainly needs fosters to attend training and adoption events. These are important to helping better prepare your foster for adoption and hasten the adoption timeframe. But I do know from experience that it’s not always possible to attend two events each month and two training session each month, and OLAR is forgiving as long as you try your best to follow all the guidelines. That’s at least my observation and experience.
Q I have other pets in my house and am not sure if my pets will welcome a foster pet – isn’t this a reason not to foster?
A I would say no. I had two cats when I fostered Breeze and was initially anxious about the arrangement. However, without too much trouble, I was able to keep them separated. And slowly over time I was able to carefully introduce them to one another, and now they do fine. And I have babysat a number of dogs while fostering Breeze and with careful introductions many pets get along fine. Each case though would need to be assessed to see how easy it would be to introduce a foster in your household and what type of foster would work best. But as you know, most cats and dogs are social animals and like the company of other animals. I certainly find this to be the case with Breeze when I babysit other foster dogs.
Q What does fostering really accomplish?
A A lot! First you are saving an animal from potentially a bad fate. And you are helping to develop the foster to being a good pet. By providing shelter, food, and water and most importantly love on a daily basis and also helping socialize and train your pet, you are helping tremendously in quality of life of the animal and helping the foster pet be more adoptable. Question. How do I sign up? Answer: Please go to the OLAR website and complete a foster application. You can also contact the Foster Coordinator, and she can provide any information that you request.
Q Don’t you get attached?
A Yes I get attached and fall in love with every foster that comes through my door. In a perfect world I’d be able to keep them all but then again I’m not that crazy lol. But I view it as falling in love long enough to ensure that each of my foster pets has a soft place to land in their journey to forever. If not for me and those like me that foster then who would help these animals? So yes, I do get attached and sometimes (Grafton and Dugout) I get so attached that I just can’t let them go. But mostly I feel overwhelming happiness tinged with some sadness when I see the smiles on an adopted family’s faces when they welcome their newest member into their home. That to me is worth every moment of sadness I experience when I let another one go. It is harder to watch them die in shelters than to say goodbye when they find their perfect forever homes!