Foster for Life
Foster For Life (FFL) is a community program initially created in 2022 by Blue Man Dog and A Purposeful Rescue and a few dedicated with shelter volunteers and Los Angeles Animal Services (LAAS) that runs six shelters in LA.
The program is still running in the same format under a new name; Dog Coalition Los Angeles (DCLA). The goal is to alleviated some of the overcrowding in the shelters by getting medium to large dogs fostered, then adopted.
The shelter volunteers associated with the program, spend time with dogs and select which ones seem friendly, safe and suitable for fostering by the public.
First, the fosters receive information about what to expect from fostering using a specifically created guide that is based on BMD’s foster manual that helps navigate how to deal with the dogs in the first days and weeks, and onward.
The program offers:
Information to go over what to expect fostering a dog
Dog matching taking lifestyle into consideration for successful pairing
Fosters are supplied with crate, collar and leash via the program’s fund raising
Weekly check in, leash walking classes, group zoom calls for questions and guidance
Dogs are promoted for adoption at events, social media and on the DCLA Website
This program is a successful model that can be implemented at more shelters to increase adoptions and get the community involved. Many shelters are understaffed and they don’t have the resources to support their potential foster homes, this program fills that void.
