Fostering with Artemis House
Who We Care For
Shelters provide essential care for dogs in need. Some dogs, however, benefit from the quieter, more individualized care a foster home can offer in order to rest, decompress and for their nervous systems to begin to feel safe again.
Artemis House serves dogs whose circumstances and temperament make that kind of start especially important. An adult dog may arrive frightened or overwhelmed and need individualized care and extra time for their nervous system to settle. Puppies need attentive care in a home during a formative stage of development. A mother and her puppies need a safe, quiet space where they can be cared for together during a vulnerable stage of life. Each dog and family has different needs, and we choose placements with those needs in mind.
We’re looking for patient, compassionate caregivers with a particular interest in — and ideally experience caring for — fearful or anxious dogs, puppies, or mothers with their litters.
How Fostering Works Here
At Artemis House, a foster home is part of a Foster TEAM. The caregiver offers the dog a safe, calm place where a dog can settle at their own pace, and the steady, consistent attention that helps us understand their needs. They are not expected to carry every part of the placement alone.
Before a dog goes to their foster home, we place a circle of support around that dog and their caregiver. Each placement has a named Artemis House lead/mentor, a plan for veterinary care and urgent concerns, practical help with supplies and appointments, and a backup or relief plan if the caregiver needs a break or cannot continue. The people assigned and level of support may differ from one placement to another, but we do not place a dog until both the foster home and its support plan are ready.
Artemis House remains responsible for each dog’s care throughout their journey toward adoption, including any planned changes in foster home. We prepare a care plan, check in regularly, listen to what the caregiver is seeing, and adjust the plan when the dog’s needs become clearer. Asking for help early is part of good foster care. So is taking time to rest between placements.
Our goal is for each dog to have a calm, consistent place to land—and for each caregiver to know who is walking alongside them.
Different Ways to Foster
Some caregivers can offer a home through a dog’s transition toward adoption. Others can offer a shorter stay or planned relief for another foster caregiver. Each role can help support a dog’s care.
All foster caregivers follow our screening and preparation process. Before any placement, we agree on its scope, care plan, and support arrangements—including the return or transfer plan for a time-limited stay.
The Path to Fostering
Fostering can involve uncertainty, changes in routine, and days when progress is hard to see. We ask prospective caregivers to think honestly about what they can offer and what support they would need.
We take time to get to know each prospective foster. Our aim is to give every dog a thoughtful start and every caregiver a clear choice, a prepared home, and people to turn to.
Completing an interest screening is the beginning of that conversation; it is not a commitment to take a dog or a promise of placement.
Here is what to expect with our Path to Fostering process:
Step 2
Foster Fit Profile
If the initial screening suggests a possible fit, we share Artemis House’s care requirements and ask about your home, household, experience, preferences, and support needs. We also explore whether longer-term, short-term, or respite fostering could fit your availability. It is helpful to tell us your limits and what you do not feel ready to take on.
Step 3
Conversation and home review
We talk through your answers, answer your questions, and look at how fostering could work in your home. The approval process also includes the required inspections and an orientation covering care, safety, communication, and emergencies.
Step 4
FEAR-FREE SHELTER COURSE & FOSTER AGREEMENT
After our home visit and conversation, you’ll complete the online Fear-Free Shelter Program and sign the Artemis House Foster Agreement. (We’ll review the agreement and answer your questions during the home visit, so no additional visit is needed for signing.)
Step 5
A match and a SUPPORT TEAM
When a dog may be a good fit, we share what we know—and what we do not yet know—about their needs. You can accept or decline a proposed placement without pressure. Before the dog arrives, we agree on the placement’s scope and any time limits, confirm their support TEAM and care, backup, and transition plans, and visit your home to prepare the space for that particular dog.
Step 6
PLACEMENT AND ONGOING SUPPORT
Artemis House stays involved throughout the dog’s time with you. We check in, coordinate veterinary and other support, respond when needs change, and plan their next transition together—whether to adoption or another prepared foster home.