Fosters Urgently Needed
Walk-ins Welcome
We supply everything, YOU supply the love!
No need to be nervous, we will walk you through every step of fostering and also provide you with the supplies you need to succeed. We are so overwhelmed, we cannot get to the phones, so please just COME ON IN AND WE WILL SET YOU UP!
Charleston Animal Society is located at 2455 Remount Road in North Charleston. We are right off the I-26 Remount Road exit. Thank you for your help…and HURRY! Please.
Fostering is Fun for the Whole Family
When you commit to being a foster at Charleston Animal Society, we set you up for success. We give you everything you need and have a 24-hour helpline available for emergencies. The length of time an animal will need a foster is determined on a case-by-case basis, but we are flexible and can usually find an animal that will work within your availability. Please fill out our Application Form and become a foster today!
“After you’ve fostered a few different times, you realize how many more lives you are saving by fostering. Why save one life when you can save 100?”
Best Friend Foster previously known as Big Dog Foster BIGGEST NEED
Most of the adult animals needing foster are special cases such as socialization, medical treatment, or special needs. We have a new program called BFF “Best Friend Foster” these dogs are our medium to large breed dogs ranging in weight from 45-80 pounds, although most breeds vary the most common are Staffie, Shepherd, or Retriever mixes. Many dogs in the shelter environment are easily overwhelmed and need extra enrichment, we hope to place these BFFs in foster homes to allow them time to relax and learn more about their personalities. If you are interested in our “Best Friend Foster” please email Donya Satriale our Director of Behavior at [email protected].
If You See, Leave ’em Be! When outdoors, you may come across a litter of nursing kittens. But please resist your instinct to scoop them up and “save them.” Because chances are, the mother is taking very good care of them already and the kittens REALLY need their mother until at least 6 weeks old. A kitten’s chances of survival are greater, the longer he or she stays with his or her mother. If you have any questions on a litter of kittens you see, please contact us before bringing them in, so we can guide you to the right course of action.
Charleston Animal Society’s foster coordinators can help you step-by-step with everything you need to save the kittens. When the kittens are old enough, we will need your help trapping them (we have traps you can borrow) — so they can be brought in for spay or neuter surgery. Thank you for being so caring toward our feline community!
Kittens, Kittens, Kittens! Team Tiny Hearts, Wellness Foster, and Nursing Mothers with litters
BIGGEST NEED
Often during the summer, kittens come in alone without their mothers, these kittens may require bottle-feeding or extra care throughout the day and night. If you would like more information on the most vulnerable fosters, please see below on neonatal/bottle baby kittens. No worries, if you are not able to foster the little ones, we almost always have older kittens or nursing mothers available.
Below is a detailed description of the age and required care of kittens:
•Bottle Fed Babies are ~1 week to 4 weeks and require every 2-3 hours of feeding and care (throughout the night). These little ones are the most vulnerable in shelters without their mother.
*Need assistance with stimulation & dedication*
•Gruel Babies that are about 3-1/2 weeks to 5 weeks, learning to eat on their own but may require supplemental bottle feeding (may require a night-time feeding); every 3-4 hours feeding
*Learning what a litter box is at this age*
•Weaned kittens are over 5-7 weeks and do not require assistance with feeding but will need to be monitored to ensure they are eating well.
*Litter boxed trained but may have an accident*
Adoption Ambassador / Operation Whiskers
This is a program for animals available for adoption. If you are interested in this program Director of Adoptions, Courtney Gumienny would be your point of contact at [email protected] or 843-329-1577. In this program, we place dogs, cats, and kittens that are available for adoption in your home and you would try to get them adopted! Most of the dogs we receive are medium to large breed dogs and bully breeds or hounds. However, we do receive a variety of other breeds as well. We would provide you with all the supplies you need (adopt me vest, crate, food, etc.) and train you on the adoption process. We will also help you advertise your foster and invite you to our offsite adoption events. If you would like to be added to our Ambassador email list please email the Director of Adoptions. You will then start to receive emails when we have specific dogs that we would like to place into the program. Typically, these would be dogs that are not doing well in the shelter (scared, barrier reactive, etc.) and really need your help!
After filling out our foster application you may join our Facebook group page called Charleston Animal Society Lifesaving Foster Program, to be accepted, you must answer two questions. If your name is different on Facebook than on the foster application, you will need to write it in the answer/comment section. Please allow a 36-48hr wait time to be accepted into the Facebook group; please thoroughly read our rules/policies. We will post available foster animals in the group, special hours, or questions for foster families.
If you have any questions regarding our foster program, please email at [email protected] or call 843-329-1543; during the summer our Foster Managers may not be available by phone, so we encourage you to come and visit our shelter at 2455 Remount Road, North Charleston, SC and speak to our Foster Managers in person Monday through Saturday about our Foster Program and current needs.
* We will be closed for federal holidays including Labor Day and Veterans Day.
Not ready to adopt a dog, but still want to hang out with one? Paws Around Town at Charleston Animal Society is the perfect program for you! Paws Around Town allows us to give a shelter dog a day off. The stress of a shelter can be very overwhelming for dogs and a day out on the town is the perfect getaway they need.
The dogs have packed their backpacks and are super excited to hang out with you!
Paws Around Town pick-up is at 10:00 AM and we ask that the dogs are out for a minimum of 2 hours or back before 2:30 PM!
Sleepovers are so much fun and dog sleepovers are the best! For this program, you get to take a shelter dog home with you for TWO NIGHTS! Pick-up is between 12:00 PM – 2:00 PM. If you have other dogs at home we will require that they be kept completely separate for the safety of everyone. Dogs should be returned before 2:30 PM Paws Around Town: Sleepover Edition
We ask that you share your adventure on social media through photos, videos and stories using the hashtag #pawsaroundtown. These posts will help get these pets adopted by people who see the animals! Fill out our foster profile to get started.
