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Pet Fostering & Temporary Care Guide: Help When You Need It Most

A hospital stay, a deployment, a sudden housing change, or a family emergency can leave loving pet parents scrambling for care, but you are not alone. You do not have to give your pet up to get through a hard season. Many organizations exist specifically to keep families and pets together by providing temporary foster care and boarding until you can be reunited.

Important Note: Joyful Pets is a family-to-family rehoming service. We do not operate a foster network or board pets ourselves, but we are glad to point you to the organizations that do. Eligibility, availability, and application requirements vary by organization. Contact each group directly for current guidelines.

Start Here: General Temporary Care
These options fit most situations. If your circumstance is more specific, skip to the section built for it below.
PACT for Animals (Operation Foster)
  • Website: PactForAnimals
  • Focus: Free, longer-term foster care for pets whose families face hospitalization, medical or mental-health treatment, or military deployment
  • Best For: Extended hospital stays, recovery, rehab, and deployments where you expect to reunite with your pet
  • How It Works: You apply online, and vetted volunteer foster families care for your pet and return them to you afterward
  • Cost: No charge for the service. You remain responsible for pet supplies, and PACT helps arrange deliveries so fosters are not out of pocket
Your Local Humane Society or Shelter
  • Focus: Crisis or safety-net foster programs that keep owned pets with their families during a temporary hardship
  • Best For: Short-term local emergencies, especially at shelters affiliated with Human Animal Support Services (HASS)
  • How It Works: Call your nearest shelter and ask specifically about crisis fostering, safety-net fostering, or temporary boarding assistance
  • Cost: Frequently free or low-cost, depending on the program
Rover
  • Website: Rover
  • Focus: In-home pet sitting and extended boarding with independent sitters
  • Best For: A calm pet who does better in a home than a kennel, when a free foster placement is not available quickly
  • How It Works: Search local sitters, read reviews, meet first, and book
  • Cost: Paid, set by each sitter
Boarding Facilities and Vet-Affiliated Boarding
  • Focus: Professional boarding for stays of a few days to a few weeks
  • Best For: Shorter absences, or pets with medical needs that benefit from vet-adjacent supervision
  • How It Works: Ask your veterinarian whether they board pets or can recommend a facility they trust
  • Cost: Paid, varies by facility and length of stay
A Trusted Friend, Neighbor, or Family Member
  • Focus: Someone your pet already knows and trusts
  • Best For: Almost any situation. Familiar people and routines reduce stress more than anything else
  • How It Works: Reach out to your circle, and be clear about the expected timeframe and your pet’s routine
  • Cost: Usually free, though covering food and supplies is a kind gesture
Military Service and Deployment
Programs built specifically for active duty, reservists, National Guard, veterans, and, in some cases, first responders.
Dogs on Deployment
  • Website: DogsOnDeployment
  • Focus: A national network (the Hero Pet Boarding Network) matching service members with volunteer boarders for the length of a deployment or service commitment
  • Who Qualifies: Active duty, reservists, National Guard, honorably discharged veterans, first responders, and government service employees
  • How It Works: Register, post your pet’s profile and dates, and connect with approved boarders through a secure network. Placements typically run one to six months, sometimes up to a year
  • Also Offers: Emergency veterinary aid (the Rich Setzer Memorial Fund) and a Pet PCS relocation program
Guardian Angels for Soldier’s Pet
  • Website: Guardian Angels for Soldier’s Pet
  • Focus: Temporary foster homes in all 50 states for pets of deploying service members, wounded warriors, and veterans
  • Best For: Deployments and inpatient situations. Foster terms average two to twelve months
  • Also Offers: A Military Pet Assistance (MPA) Fund that can help with medical or boarding costs for deployed personnel, homeless veterans, or those facing short hospital stays
Military Animal Project
  • Website: MilitaryAnimalProject
  • Focus: Veteran Pet Support Services that keep veterans and their animals together
  • Best For: Safe, temporary care during hospitalization, training, relocation, or other emergencies
Medical Emergency, Hospitalization and Serious Illness

When a health crisis takes you away from home, these programs step in so your pet is cared for until you recover.

PACT for Animals (Operation Foster)
  • Website: PactForAnimals
    Focus: Free foster care for the pets of hospital patients needing an extended stay or recovery, including mental-health and substance-treatment situations
  • Best For: A civilian medical emergency, surgery recovery, or long hospitalization where you expect to reunite with your pet
  • How It Works: Apply online, and a vetted volunteer fosters your pet and returns them when you are ready
Pet Peace of Mind
  • Website: PetPeaceOfMind
  • Focus: Works through local hospice, home-health, and palliative-care providers to care for pets (feeding, walking, vet transport, and more) at no cost to the patient
  • Best For: Serious illness, hospice, or end-of-life care, so patients can keep their pets close
  • How It Works: Ask your hospice or home-health provider whether they participate, or contact Pet Peace of Mind to find a partner near you
PAWS NY (New York City)
  • Website: PawsNY
  • Focus: Helps vulnerable New Yorkers stay with their pets. Its Hospital Respite Program provides foster care while an owner is hospitalized or in physical rehab, and a Substance Use Recovery Program covers inpatient treatment stays
  • Best For: New York City residents facing hospitalization, rehab, or inpatient recovery. Also offers emergency fostering for domestic violence survivors
  • Contact: referrals@pawsny.org or 212-203-4760
Leaving Domestic Violence or an Unsafe Home
RedRover Relief
  • Website: RedRover
  • Focus: Safe Escape grants covering up to 45 days of pet boarding while a survivor is in a shelter, plus Safe Housing grants that fund pet-friendly domestic violence shelters
  • Best For: Keeping a pet safe while you reach safety
  • Also Useful: RedRover partners with SAF-T (Sheltering Animals and Families Together) and can help you locate the nearest pet-friendly shelter
Homelessness or Housing Loss
Feeding Pets of the Homeless
  • Website: PetsOfTheHomeless
  • Focus: The first national nonprofit providing pet food and emergency veterinary care for pets of people experiencing homelessness
  • Best For: Keeping a pet fed and healthy through a period of housing loss
  • Phone: 775-841-7463
More Paid In-Home Options
If Rover does not work out, these platforms offer similar in-home or sitter-based care.
  • TrustedHousesitters: TrustedHouseSitters (membership-based, sitters stay in your home)
  • Wag: WagWalking (sitting, boarding, and walking)
  • Fetch! Pet Care: FetchPetCare (professional in-home pet sitting)
  • Care.com: Care (a broad marketplace including pet care)
How to Decide: Temporary Care or Rehoming?

Fostering is temporary, and your pet comes back to you. Rehoming finds your pet a new permanent family. One question usually makes the path clear: realistically, will I be in a position to take my pet back within a few weeks or months?

  • If yes: you likely need temporary care. Start with the programs above that match your situation.
  • If no, or you are unsure: rehoming may be the right path. We can help you find a loving permanent family, without pressure.
Tips Before You Reach Out
  • Apply early. Free foster placements are limited and can take time to arrange, so start as soon as you know you will need help.
  • Have your pet’s details ready. Vaccination records, medications, temperament, and how long you will be away all speed things up.
  • Ask about costs upfront. Many programs are free but expect you to cover food, medication, and vet care.
  • Try more than one. If the best-fit program is full, a second organization or a local shelter may be able to help.
  • Keep your pet’s routine steady. Familiar food, a favorite toy, and clear instructions make the transition gentler.
If Rehoming Becomes the Right Choice

Sometimes, after exploring every option, a new permanent home is the most loving decision. That is okay, and we can help you find a wonderful family through Rehome With Love. The best starting place is a brief, no-pressure call. Schedule a consultation at Calendly, or add your pet whenever you are ready at ReHomeWithLove.

Remember: these organizations exist because people care deeply about pets and understand that a hard season should not mean losing a beloved companion. Please do not hesitate to reach out when you need help.

This guide is for informational purposes. Joyful Pets is not affiliated with the organizations listed and does not administer their programs. Contact each organization directly for current eligibility, availability, and application procedures. Information is subject to change.