Foster Programs Stories

Spots the dog lying on the floor with eyes closed and mouth open smiling with Ellie behind him petting his chest

Senior dog finds love on the beaches of California

Spots came to Best Friends with an aggressive form of cancer and captured the hear...
Read about their deep connection
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Piglet, the black and white tuxedo kitten, sitting in a cardboard box

Mending a kitten's broken heart

Kitten survives emergency open-chest surgery and thrives in his foster home....
Foster home becomes permanent
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Sonny the puppy wearing an orange Puppy Bowl bandanna

A puppy’s journey part 1: A star is born

How a puppy named Sonny went from alone on a roadside in Alabama to a shelter and ...
The start of Sonny's journey
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Ira Shankman wearing a Best Friends hat and holding Sonny the puppy, who is wearing hos orange bandanna

A puppy’s journey part 2: Puppy Bowl XX

Sonny joins the starting lineup on Team Ruff in Puppy Bowl XX....
He represents well
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Sonny being held by Lilana and Lilyblue with a sign that says, "I heart my adopted dog"

A puppy’s journey part 3: Home

How signing up to foster a puppy changed his new family’s lives — and Sonny’s too...
Foster win!
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Wilbur the orange tabby cat wearing a sweater

Faces of No-Kill: Senior cat mentors foster kittens

This 15-year-old orange tabby teaches us that senior pets still have a lot of life...
See him at work
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Emily snuggling with Hale the cat, face-to-face, with her arm around him

‘Hands-off’ cat learns to show his sweet side

Hale expressed himself with his teeth and claws when he came to the Sanctuary, but...
He's now blossomed
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Jalapeño the dog, smiling, while sitting on sand in front of some trees

Helping a shy dog spice up his social life

Found as a stray pup, Jalapeño was shy and shut down around people, but his foster...
How he's warming up
Best Friends Magazine
Peter the rabbit nose-to-nose with an orange tabby cat, beside an orange rolling ball cat toy

Once-stray bunny shows his silly side in foster home

Don’t let his stoic expression fool you; Peter is a fun-loving bun who’s full of s...
He fit right in
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Dealla the dog outside on a path in the woods with five other dogs

Dog goes from shy to social butterfly in foster win

Dealla was shy and unsure of people when she arrived at the Sanctuary, but after g...
Meet the foster win
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Rexie the dog wearing a decorative protective cone embellished with blue and orange hearts

Rexie the ‘T. rex’ pup loves life in his new home

Found alone on the streets of Houston, a dog with heartworm disease helps a couple...
He fits perfectly with their lifestyle
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Pawrie the French bulldog on a Home Sweet Home doormat

French bulldog goes from homeless to home

Pawrie the Frenchie came from a shelter to Best Friends with multiple medical issu...
It was love at first sight
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Hanjae the dog with Caroline Moss and Jeanhee Yu

A senior dog’s journey home

Hanjae was at a shelter with a life-threatening medical condition. Today she’s thr...
Cat volunteer brings home a dog
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Lizel Allen with a brown tabby kitten on her shoulder

Foster caregiver drawn to cats with special needs

Lizel Allen has fostered 165 pets (and counting!) since 2014, and she still finds ...
See how it became her passion
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Orange tabby kitten hugging and giving a kiss to Jeff, the blind black and white kitten, while lying together in a bed

Blind kitten gets by with help from his friends

Jeff needed emergency surgery to remove both of his eyes, but the kitten was quick...
Watch his improvement following surgery
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