Three Things to Know
Foster care programs are increasingly vital for U.S. animal shelters. To better understand foster caregiver motivations, researchers conducted a survey.
The survey revealed that foster caregivers are largely motivated by animal-centered reasons. The majority of respondents cited providing a good home (93.9%) and offering love (96.2%) as primary drivers. Self-oriented motivations, such as avoiding permanent pet ownership (43.5%), increasing physical activity (45.0%), and meeting new people (39.7%), were less prevalent.
However, motivations varied significantly based on demographics and experience. Notably, younger participants (18–29) were substantially more likely than those aged 50+ to view fostering as a path to adoption (8x), seek companionship (5x), and aim to meet new people (5x). These findings underscore the importance of tailoring shelter recruitment strategies to specific demographic groups.
For Dog Welfare Practitioners
This study suggests two key areas for shelters to focus on. First, shelters should deepen their understanding of existing foster caregiver motivations to improve animal-caregiver matching. This could involve targeted surveys, interviews, or even casual conversations
Second, recruitment strategies could be tailored to specific demographics. For example, shelters could host social events for younger individuals or emphasize the emotional support benefits for those not ready for full-time pet ownership. Best Friends Animal Society’s Arkansas Resource Center exemplifies this approach by providing workday drop-off services for foster animals, accommodating individuals with full-time jobs.
The Full Picture
Each year, millions of animals enter U.S. shelters. Due to limited shelter resources, foster care programs have become an essential strategy to provide temporary housing, reduce disease spread, and increase adoption opportunities. Foster care also benefits both animals and caregivers, improving animal well-being and reducing stress while offering emotional and health benefits to humans.
The animal welfare sector relies heavily on volunteers, but data on foster caregiver motivations remain limited. This study, titled “Understanding the Motivations of Foster Caregivers at Animal Shelters”, aims to evaluate foster caregiver motivations. The researchers hypothesize that most caregivers will be driven by animal-centered motives and that motivations may vary by demographic factors (age, gender, personality), species fostered, and previous experience.
Study Methods
Foster caregivers were recruited from five U.S. shelters: Dakin Humane Society, Providence Animal Center, Humane Animal Partners, Massachusetts SPCA, and San Diego Humane Society. The researchers selected these shelters opportunistically to maximize sample size. Eligible participants were over 18, not fostering as a trial adoption, and had not fostered an animal in the past seven days to minimize bias. Data collection took place from March 2022 to March 2023.
Survey content includes:
- Demographics: Collected data on gender, age, race/ethnicity, pet ownership, and foster experience.
- Motivations: Participants rated 13 motivation statements on a four-point Likert scale and could provide additional open-ended responses.
- Personality Assessment: The Ten Item Personality Inventory (TIPI) measured caregivers’ personality traits (e.g., extraversion, agreeableness, emotional stability).
Study Results
Demographics
The study included a total of 131 valid responses. Most participants were 18–29 years old (42.0%), female (89.3%), and white (82.4%). The majority had previous pet ownership experience (91.6%). Over half had fostered before (53.4%). Almost 60% had a pet at the time of fostering, with dogs being the most commonly owned pet (36.6%).
Of the fostered animals, 49.6% were dogs, 46.6% were cats, and 3.8% were other species (e.g., guinea pigs, rabbits). Personality assessments using the TIPI showed that foster caregivers scored highest in conscientiousness (median = 6.50) and lowest in extraversion (median = 5.00), though all traits scored above population norms.
Motivations
Participants were highly motivated by animal-centered reasons, including providing a good home (93.9%), offering love (96.2%), ensuring enough space and time (84.0%), reducing euthanasia risk (84.0%), and contributing to the community (67.2%). In contrast, many rated motivations such as avoiding permanent pet ownership (43.5%), increasing physical activity (45.0%), and meeting new people (39.7%) as not applicable.
Motivations varied by caregiver age, personality traits, fostered species and pet ownership status:
- Age Differences: Younger participants (18–29) were significantly more likely to see fostering as a step toward adoption (8x more likely), seek companionship (5x), and use fostering to meet new people (5x) compared to those aged 50+.
- Species-Specific Differences: Dog foster caregivers were 7x more likely to foster for physical activity and 2x more likely to seek companionship than cat foster caregivers.
- Pet Ownership Status: Those without a pet were 2–4x more likely to foster for companionship, emotional support, or to avoid permanent pet ownership responsibilities.
- Personality Traits:
- More open individuals were significantly more likely to seek emotional support from their foster pet.
- More emotionally stable individuals were significantly less likely to seek emotional support.
- More extraverted individuals were more likely to have considered adoption but viewed fostering as a stepping stone.
Improving Shelter Strategies
Insights from this study offer actionable strategies for shelters to enhance foster care programs. By segmenting recruitment efforts based on demographics and motivations, shelters can more effectively attract and retain foster caregivers. For instance, highlighting the animal welfare benefits of fostering (e.g., reduced stress, improved behavior) is crucial. However, recognizing that younger individuals are driven by social and emotional factors, and dog foster caregivers seek companionship and physical activity, allows for targeted messaging.
Furthermore, foster caregivers exhibit higher scores in personality traits compared to general population norms, mirroring findings in broader volunteerism research. Notably, individuals high in openness seek emotional support from the fostered animal, while emotionally stable individuals are less likely to do so. This underscores the importance of matching foster caregivers with animals based on both expectations and experience, particularly for challenging cases that may lead to euthanasia.
The data also highlighted gender differences, with men significantly less likely to foster for emotional support. This reflects established patterns in help-seeking behavior. Interestingly, there were no significant differences between first-time and repeat foster caregivers, potentially due to the prevalence of prior pet ownership experience within both groups.
Conclusion
This study examined foster caregiver motivations across five U.S. animal shelters, revealing that most caregivers were primarily driven by animal welfare concerns. However, demographic factors such as age, gender, personality traits, and foster species influenced expectations regarding personal benefits from fostering. These insights can help shelters refine their foster programs, improve volunteer recruitment and retention, and enhance foster caregiver-animal matching. Future research should explore how foster caregivers’ motivations evolve over time and their long-term impact on foster care engagement.
Miscellaneous
Data From Study:
Shelter Dogs > Optimizing Shelter Operations > Expanding Shelter Capacity
Year of Publication:
2023
External Link:
Ackerman R, Watson B, Serpell J, Reinhard CL, Powell L. Understanding the Motivations of Foster Caregivers at Animal Shelters. Animals. 2023; 13(17):2694. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani13172694