A month-long foster challenge has given more than 20,100 shelter pets a taste of home, after more than 150 animal welfare organisations spent a month testing fresh approaches to fostering. The Foster Forward Challenge, run by Best Friends Animal Society, also recruited nearly 4,000 people who tried fostering for the first time.
According to Best Friends’ report, published on 3 November 2026, the challenge encouraged shelters to pilot data-backed practices such as doggy-day-out programmes and same-day foster placements, in order to grow their foster programmes. In just one month, more than 20,100 pets in shelters got to experience being loved in a home — snoozing in people’s living rooms and curling up at the foot of someone’s bed.
Foster stories that worked
The report highlights several stories from the month. Cuddle Cat Rescue in Missouri tried same-day foster opportunities and allowed foster volunteers to promote their foster pets and lead the adoption process. One volunteer, Katie, fostered a mama cat named Moon Pie and her five kittens, took photographs with her friend McKenzy, spread the word to friends, and brought them to a fundraising event — and her foster felines were soon adopted.
Weird Rescue in Los Angeles proved the value of “foster flings”, while in Florida, a young mixed-breed dog named Cash tagged along with his foster volunteer to a recreation league volleyball match wearing an “Adopt Me” vest provided by the Humane Society of St. Lucie County — a walking advertisement for adoption.
Why fostering matters
Fostering is one of the most effective tools shelters have, because it frees kennel space, teaches pets home skills, and gives adopters a much better picture of an animal’s real personality than a kennel visit ever could. The challenge’s numbers — 20,100 pets, 150 organisations, 4,000 first-time fosters — show what happens when shelters make it easy to say yes.
For anyone who has ever thought about fostering but hesitated, the message of the month is encouraging: you do not need experience, just a spare corner and a willingness to try. Twenty thousand pets discovered that this month. A few thousand people discovered that they could help.
