Fostering at the Jacksonville Humane Society

​Do you want to be a veterinarian? Are you asking yourself “Is there anything I can do now to make sure I become a veterinarian when I get older?” If so, this series of articles is for you. We created the “How To Become a Veterinarian” section of Vet Set Go to highlight activities that you can do today to explore animals and veterinary medicine. This video lets you get a first hand look at the Jacksonville Zoo Humane Society.

About Fostering Pets

Humane societies seek foster care for animals that aren’t quite ready to go up for adoption. Sometimes they aren’t old enough because they entered the shelter as newborns. Other times, they aren’t healthy enough. They are being treated for things like colds or skin infections. So shelters like the Jacksonville Humane Society look for volunteers to care for these animals until they are ready to be adopted into their “forever” home.

To foster pets, future veterinarians should first talk with their parents about the opportunity. This is a family decision because everyone in the family will be involved in the program. Once the family has decided to help, they take on the responsibility of feeding, grooming, and medicating the animals if necessary

​Why Foster?

If you have a strong desire to help animals, this is a great program to get involved with. You and your family can help sick and younger animals that don’t have a home and need personal care and attention. As a future veterinarian, you will also be getting valuable animal husbandry (care) experience.

When you are an aspiring veterinarian below the age of 16 years-of-age, it is hard to find volunteer opportunities. Most veterinary clinics and humane societies want you to be older before they let you help out in their facility. Fostering is a great way to get experience caring for young and weaker dogs and cats. You’ll learn animal health and begin to see how we medicate and care for a sick pet.

​About the Video

This video is the perfect introduction to fostering at a humane society. You’ll hear from the director of the fostering program and the veterinarian who oversees the care of the fostered animals at the Jacksonville Humane Society. Together they will answer important questions like:

- What is fostering?

- What will I have to do if I foster pets with my family?

- How old do you have to be to foster?

- How do I get started?

We also feature comments from tweens and teens who have been part of the program and fostered puppies and kittens with their families. You’ll hear firsthand what they learned, what they like best, and what was hard for them.

​Want to Learn More?

If you like what you saw and want to learn more on things you can do today to become a veterinarian of tomorrow, check out the Vet Set Go book in the products section. This book shares ideas like the Jacksonville Humane Society Foster program. More importantly, it creates as specific Action Plan on what you need to do right now to find a fostering program near your.

Is Jacksonville, Florida Too Far Away?

The Jacksonville Humane Society may be far from your home but don’t worry. Visit the Activities section of Vet Set Go to search for a fostering program near you. You also be able to see what other future veterinarians are saying about these programs.