Ever since San Francisco enacted its shelter-in-place order, the SF SPCA Pet Adoption Center has effectively remained closed with no adoptable animals on site. Though many of the shelter’s cats and dogs have since been taken in by foster families, more temporary homes are needed.

If you’re itching to do something altruistic and, too, need an excuse to take more socially distant walks, now’s the time to perhaps consider fostering a four-legged companion.

The San Francisco SPCA has expressed a need to find more of its animal’s temporary homes amid the adoption facility’s closing. That said, felines and canines who find themselves in foster families “win” across the board. For the human tending to said animal (or animals), committing to a short-term foster is an excellent way to see if adoption is right for them — or, at the very least, receive some unconditional love during these strange times.

“This is a huge win for the animals,” SF SPCA Veterinarian Dr. Jennifer Scarlet said to KRON4, waxing about the benefits an at-home environment can give a sheltered animal.

“To be able to be in a home and get love, and see the world and socialize during this crisis, it’s so good for them," she adds. "And for people who are interested in adoption, this is a chance for them to try it out quite frankly. And for some people who can’t adopt, this is a time for them to give back and give back to the community.”

If you’re new to fostering — or ever find yourself needing assistance while looking over a cat or dog — the SPCA’s foster team is available (presumably by phone, text, and/or Zoom call) to help answer questions about kitten feeding times, acceptable chew toys for pups, you name it.

“The foster team is amazing,” Frances Hochschild, who’s fostering a puppy named Itsy, said to the news outlet. “They trained us before on kittens and now on puppies. When they’re ready for her to go back, we’ll bring her back.”

“It’s kind of a nice perk of quarantine because I definitely couldn’t bring my dog to regular school,” Hochschild adds, before spitting an undeniable truth — “Everything’s better with a puppy.”

If you’d like to use this time indoors to foster a fur-child and have more specific questions, you can contact the SF SPCA’s adoption center at a[email protected]; consider also reading up on their foster program and joining the “Foster Interest List,” here.

And should fostering be out of the picture but you’d still like to help out in some capacity, donate to the SF SPCA.

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