Animals In Need of Foster Homes
Sometimes, all an animal needs is a safe place to land.
The animals featured below are currently in need of foster placement through Pay It Fur-Ward. Some may need a home for only a few weeks, while others may need a little more time as they wait for adoption, reunification with their family, medical care, or their next step forward.
Every foster placement is different, and we work hard to make thoughtful matches based on the animal’s needs, personality, and the foster home’s experience and comfort level.
You do not have to be able to foster every animal to make a difference. Maybe you are great with big dogs, prefer cats, have experience with shy animals, or simply have a quiet spare room and some extra love to give. The right foster home can completely change an animal’s journey.
Pay It Fur-Ward provides guidance and support throughout the placement, and we will give you as much information as possible about each animal before you commit.
See someone you may be able to help?
Take a look at the animals below and learn more about their individual needs. If you think one may be a good fit for your home, submit a foster application and our team will be in touch.
Open your home temporarily. Change a life permanently.
Love Without Judgment. Compassion Without Limits.
Understanding Our PAW Rating System
Our PAW Rating System helps foster families quickly understand an animal’s current level of medical, behavioral, and placement needs. A higher PAW rating does not mean an animal is “bad” or aggressive—it simply means they may need a more experienced foster, closer supervision, medical support, additional safety precautions, or a faster placement.
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🐾 1 PAW: No medical concerns or resource guarding. Relaxed, comfortable body language with no concerning defensive behaviors. Placement needed within 1–3 months.
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🐾🐾 2 PAWS: No medical concerns or resource guarding. May appear somewhat tense, nervous, or unsure, but does not display significant defensive behaviors. Placement needed within 1 month.
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🐾🐾🐾 3 PAWS: Non-emergency medical needs and/or minor resource guarding. May display tense body language, avoidance, hissing, low-level growling, or other warning signals when uncomfortable. Placement needed within 1 month.
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🐾🐾🐾🐾 4 PAWS: Non-emergency medical needs and/or more significant resource guarding or defensive behavior. This may include growling, hissing, stiff or guarded posture, showing teeth, swiping, raised fur, or an arched posture. The animal may require additional management, careful introductions, and a foster comfortable recognizing and respecting warning signals. Placement needed within 2–4 weeks.
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🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾 5 PAWS: Urgent placement required. The animal may have immediate medical needs and/or significant resource guarding, fear-based, or defensive behaviors. Behaviors may include intense or repeated growling, baring teeth, stiff or frozen body posture, hard staring, lunging, snapping, hissing, swiping, raised fur, arched posture, or other clear warnings that the animal needs additional space and careful handling. A 5-PAW animal may require strict management and increased safety precautions. Experienced foster only; single-animal placement required unless specifically approved by Pay It Fur-Ward.