Evolving Foster Programs: What the Data Is Telling Us About Community Support - Shelter Animals Count
17Jun’25
This blog is part of our Unlocking Animal Data series, powered by Hill’s Pet Nutrition.
Foster care continues to be a vital solution for animal shelters and rescues navigating today’s persistent capacity challenges for dogs. But as our latest data shows at Shelter Animals Count, the landscape of foster care is shifting—and organizations must adapt to meet growing needs.
Through our data contributed by organizations across the country, we tracked monthly foster dog counts across three types of organizations from January 2023 through December 2024: government shelters, private shelters, and rescue groups. The trends are clear:
- + Government shelters are steadily increasing their use of foster care
- + Foster-based rescues are seeing declining foster counts
- + Private shelters are holding steady but trending slightly downward
Why This Shift Matters
The demand for creative foster solutions is growing, especially as shelters face another critical trend: increasing length of stay for dogs across all sizes. According to SAC’s 2024 Year-End Report, dogs are staying in shelters longer than they did five years ago, with large dogs now taking a median of 20 days to be adopted, up from 11 days in 2019. Medium dogs are up to 18 days (from 10), and even small dogs are staying longer, at 14 days compared to 9.
This trend reinforces what many shelters are already feeling on the ground: space is limited, outcomes are slower, and animals—particularly larger dogs—need more time and support to find homes. Foster programs are no longer just a bonus—they’re essential infrastructure.
Setting Up Your Foster Program for Success
With foster-based rescue numbers on the decline, we asked Mirah Horowitz, Executive Director of Lucky Dog Animal Rescue in Arlington, VA, on how she’s been able to use data to build her foster program.
Q: How is your organization using data to boost community support for your foster program?
A: “The data that we share is more about how many animals we have taken in from a particular shelter, how many animals are on our waitlist to come in to the kennels we may open at our Rescue Campus by moving dogs and cats into foster in Northern Virginia. We also share the number of adoptions each week so fosters can see the impact of their work. Anecdotal stories about specific dogs are the most impactful in moving dogs into foster. We try to focus on positive data that shows the impact the foster are having — with a few strategically used data points about why the shelters we pull from need help.”
Q: What are strategies that you think rescues can implement to sign up new fosters this summer?
A: “1. We are trying to recruit federal employees who have recently been laid off — promoting this as the animals helping them cope and them helping the animals. We are providing all needed supplies for this.
2. We try to promote fostering as a good summer activity for the family and we focus on recruiting temporary fosters who can cover animals while the “full time” fosters might be gone on vacation
3. It is important that fosters feel there is always movement towards adoption. Either attending adoption events, sharing data on adoptions, being kept informed when there is adoption interest in their foster pet.”
Q: Moving large dogs into foster seems like one of the biggest hurdles for shelters and rescues today. What is something that your organization has done to help move big dogs into foster homes?
A: “Our bigger dogs are definitely our hardest dogs to move. We have some boarding partners where our larger dogs often spend time. We encourage people to do a “dogs day out” and to take them home for a few hours to see how the larger dogs do in the home. We also try to use as much photo and video advertising to get them into foster… and then to get them into homes. Video is one of the best tools because people can see the true personality of the dogs. We are going to pilot foster open houses at our adoption events — where we have an event of all dogs from boarding — so that not only can adopters come meet them but fosters can do.”
Foster Programs Continue to Evolve
What’s working in today’s foster landscape?
Organizations seeing success are leaning into community-accessible programs like:
Dog Day Out and Weekend Foster Programs – These short-term opportunities make it easy for community members to get involved and provide much-needed breaks for long-stay dogs. These programs are effective in helping dogs find homes, and Mutual Rescue is an organization that provides resources and toolkits for organizations wanting to get started.
Field trip and short-term foster programs have proven time and time again to be a magic bullet for getting dogs, particularly large and long stay dogs, adopted. If you look at the overarching data, like the nationwide study by Dr. Lisa Gunter**, it proves it out. One of the reasons it is so effective is because our communities want to help us. When people are offered a low commitment, low barrier way to get involved and help, they show up in droves. Looking at our populations, our length of stay and the behavioral deterioration that can occur with long stay dogs housed in shelters, we are in a serious pickle. The only way we will get ourselves out of this is if we trust our communities and take the help they're offering. That help is saving lives and the numbers show it. As an industry we need to be more willing to innovate, try new things and trust our communities. Most importantly, we need to be making our decisions based on the data, not on our comfort zones.
Crisis Response Fostering – Whether it’s a space emergency or due to a natural disaster, these programs help shelters rapidly move animals into temporary care when they need it most. Setting up your program so that you are ready should a crisis or disaster happen is key to success.
If you need a spark of inspiration—or practical ideas to mobilize your community—our latest webinar delivers. The recap and recording of “Mobilizing Foster Care—Unlocking the Power of Community-Based Support” is available now.
Putting the Pieces Together
What sets innovative foster programs apart isn’t just creativity—it’s data. The organizations leading these programs are tracking how long pets stay in foster, what kind of placements lead to adoption, and how community outreach drives participation. They’re using this information to fine-tune their efforts and make the case for support of their programs.
The data from SAC’s national database makes one thing clear: dogs are staying longer, and foster programs continue to adapt to meet the moment. Whether it’s expanding short-term foster options, looking at ways to increase community support, or understanding the shifting role of rescues and government shelters, the future of foster care depends on better data and connecting with the public.
As the pressures of 2024 continue, now is the time to evolve your foster strategy—not just to move more animals, but to build a more resilient and responsive system for the years ahead.
Watch the Webinar: Mobilizing Foster Care—Unlocking the Power of Community-Based Support
Foster care is evolving—and the data is clear: flexible, community-driven models are making a measurable impact. Watch the recording of the latest Unlocking Animal Data webinar, powered by Hill’s Pet Nutrition, featuring actionable insights, national trends, and real examples of how shelters are using data to engage their communities through innovative programs. Learn from the team at Arizona Humane Society on how they're collecting and using data to drive volunteer participation and reduce length of stay for dogs. And the team at Brother Wolf Animal Rescue shared how they were able to mobilize their community to foster every pet in their care ahead of Hurricane Helene. You'll leave motivated and inspired - ready to engage your community to help you save lives.
Resources and References:
Mutual Rescue – This organization provides toolkits and resources for shelters wanting to implement short-term/Dog Day Out programs.
Blog: Length of Stay: Four Proven Strategies to Help Animals Leave Your Shelter Faster
Webinar: Mobilizing Foster Care: Unlocking the Power of Community-Based Support – June 18th at 2pm EST/11am PST