 Hey, I'm Arlie Drum, Superintendent of Columbia Animal Services and welcome to one of our new programs We want to share with you today. It's our fostering program. It's fairly new but growing and leaps and bounds Also includes a program called adoption of bastards So we would love for you to stick around learn what this program entails Learn how you can help and better yet learn how you can get in on the fun and the just the great feelings you'll get from participating in this knowing you are helping us save many lives and You get to have the fun of having some cool little prayers around your house. So stick around Hi, I'm Victoria Riles the foster coordinator here at Columbia Animal Services I'd just like to start off by thanking you for being interested in our foster program So fostering important for many reasons most importantly it saves lives by fostering You are getting animals out of the shelter environment creating more space for us and also bettering the chances for that animals Future for an adoption. Majority of animals that need foster care are too young to be spayed or neutered and go up for adoption Therefore most foster cases will be puppies or kittens However, we do occasionally have an adult dog or cat that is under socialized or ill and will need foster care prior to adoption as well The duration of foster will vary depending on what you're fostering Take a look at this chart to get a better idea of the daily commitment and how long your foster term will last We will always take your fostering preferences into consideration and be sure to match you with a foster animal that fits your needs Hi, I'm dr. Rebecca Laster and I'm the veterinarian here at Columbia Animal Services And I just wanted to go over a couple of things that we're going to be doing when you bring your cats back in for their Exams and booster vaccines So you're going to see an every two week vaccination schedule instead of that in every three or four week vaccination schedule Like you would see with your own pets. The first thing that we're going to do when you bring your pet back in is we're going to do a brief exam And that's just to check them over see if there's anything that's developed in the time Since their last exam they do get a booster vaccination and this goes for puppies and kittens It is very very important. If you notice any symptoms at home most commonly coughing, sneezing or diarrhea Then you let us know when you bring them in for exams or if it is in between exams Then just give us a call at our foster coordinator know and we'll get you scheduled to bring those animals in for an exam Our goal is to set you up for success when you're fostering So if you take an animal home, we'll provide you with all of the needed supplies We will give you a carrier or crate depending on what you take home if it's a cat or a dog We also have litter pans and litter if you have a cat or a kitten food wet food and dry as well as feeding bowls and Toys so they have something to play with if you are fostering something that needs to be bottle-fed We'll also supply you with kitten or puppy formula and bottles It's really cool to See them get big and usually They they have some little health challenges. So we get them healthy and Ready to go to a new home siesta She came to us really underweight. She is much smaller than her siblings and I observed That first day when we were getting her cleaned up and coaxing her to eat something that she had a little lump on top of Her head and she in fact had a skull fracture She was not eating and she probably would not have made it Any more than another day or two Here she got a lot of attention and a lot of extra meals and we just Got her where she gained. She's gained a lot of weight and she's looking really good and she's as I said Very feisty a couple of times a day cleaning a box feeding several times a day They've been they generally get fed about every six hours. So that's four times a day Just sort of your usual a little bit of laundry of wash the blankets in the towels If you like animals a lot and you want to help them out, this is a great way to do it and it's On top of all your school stuff. It's probably a little extra work, but it's definitely worth it You can be a hero you can be a hero for these little guys because it saves lives literally for these these kiddos and Gives them a good start in life and that's a wonderful thing Another great program here at Columbia Animal Services is our adoption ambassador program and the big difference between Fostering an adoption ambassador is you're actually fostering that animal with the attentions of getting it adopted yourself during that time you can Advertise the animal on your social media accounts or take it to places that are pet friendly to allow potential adopters to interact with the animal It's also a great opportunity for your friends and family to come together and interact with the animal And we get a lot of really great personality notes from folks who do adoption ambassador that we can inform the potential adopters of when They're going to adopt that animal as well So we'll send you out with the adoption contract and you will have whoever wants to adopt a dog or cat Fill that information out and return it to us There is no money exchanges during adoption ambassador just the paperwork which will come back to us and we'll take care of the rest Thanks again for joining us and learning more about our fostering program and adoption ambassadors We hope you come out give it a try or if you just want to come adopt a pet Please come see us at 127 humane lane or give us a call at 7 7 6 7 3 8 7 Thanks again from Columbia Animal Services