Uploaded March 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 hours ago
This webcast is part of Maddie's Monthly Foster Connection, monthly webcasts about foster care - supporting pets in our community and animal shelters. To earn a certificate of attendance for continuing education credit with CAWA and NACA, please view this video on Maddie's University: university.maddiesfund.org/products/growing-your-foster-program-increasing-live-release-rate-for-at-risk-animals-on-demand
Host: Kelly Duer, Maddie's Fund
Guest speaker: Ryan Miller, Grants Manager, The Animal Foundation
Fostering is a critical lifesaving pathway for most municipal shelters, but too often at-risk populations are overlooked in favor of highly adoptable animals. This presentation will focus on two of the highest risk animal groups in your shelter and how to make them a focus of your foster program: dogs with extended lengths of stay and neonatal kittens.
Short term fosters, or "Foster Field Trips" as they're known, help dogs by giving them a psychological reset from the shelter with minimal effort from foster families. Foster Field Trips help you set up these high-risk dogs for success in two major ways - they help improve kennel presentation and overall behavior upon their return to the shelter as well as provide your team with valuable personality insights that matter to potential adopters.
Empowering your community to foster kittens before they even enter your shelter can not only increase your capacity for care, but also set these kittens up for the best shot at a healthy life. For the kittens already in your shelter, overcoming the barrier of "I've never fostered kittens before!" is often the first and only step you'll need towards increasing your live release rate within this population.
To access the resources from this call or to ask questions of our speaker, visit https://maddies.fund/FosterConnectionMarch2026
About Maddie's Monthly Foster Connection:
Join us on the first Thursday of every month to discuss successful foster innovations and programs, collaborate with others in the field, answer questions and talk through complex foster-related issues.
All recordings and resources shared during the webcast will also be available on Maddie's Pet Forum https://maddies.fund/monthlyfosterconnectionMPF
This webcast is part of Maddie's Monthly Foster Connection, monthly webcasts about foster care - supporting pets in our community and animal shelters. To earn a certificate of attendance for continuing education credit with CAWA and NACA, please view this video on Maddie's University: university.maddiesfund.org/products/growing-your-foster-program-increasing-live-release-rate-for-at-risk-animals-on-demand
Host: Kelly Duer, Maddie's Fund
Guest speaker: Ryan Miller, Grants Manager, The Animal Foundation
Fostering is a critical lifesaving pathway for most municipal shelters, but too often at-risk populations are overlooked in favor of highly adoptable animals. This presentation will focus on two of the highest risk animal groups in your shelter and how to make them a focus of your foster program: dogs with extended lengths of stay and neonatal kittens.
Short term fosters, or "Foster Field Trips" as they're known, help dogs by giving them a psychological reset from the shelter with minimal effort from foster families. Foster Field Trips help you set up these high-risk dogs for success in two major ways - they help improve kennel presentation and overall behavior upon their return to the shelter as well as provide your team with valuable personality insights that matter to potential adopters.
Empowering your community to foster kittens before they even enter your shelter can not only increase your capacity for care, but also set these kittens up for the best shot at a healthy life. For the kittens already in your shelter, overcoming the barrier of "I've never fostered kittens before!" is often the first and only step you'll need towards increasing your live release rate within this population.
To access the resources from this call or to ask questions of our speaker, visit https://maddies.fund/FosterConnectionMarch2026
About Maddie's Monthly Foster Connection:
Join us on the first Thursday of every month to discuss successful foster innovations and programs, collaborate with others in the field, answer questions and talk through complex foster-related issues.
All recordings and resources shared during the webcast will also be available on Maddie's Pet Forum https://maddies.fund/monthlyfosterconnectionMPF
