What does Stay Together Furever do? Our mission is to provide dogs and cats with loving foster homes for up to 90 days for pet parents who are facing a major, temporary life crisis.
What is your service area? Currently, our service area is Southwest Gwinnett County in north-metro Atlanta. If you live outside of this service area, please consult our resources list for other potential areas of assistance.
Who do you help? We focus our efforts on lower-income families and fixed-income seniors, those who may have no other choice but to surrender their pets due to overwhelming financial constraints.
How do you define a “major, temporary life crisis”? We define a major life crisis as an imminent and unavoidable situation – such as a notice of eviction, a medical diagnosis that could leave you bed-bound for a time, or a messy relational breakup – something so potentially disruptive in nature that it would temporarily jeopardize the future security or well-being of your beloved dog or cat. Because we are all-volunteer-based and foster-driven, we need as much lead time as possible to be able to help. Therefore, we unfortunately are unable to respond to immediate, emergency situations.
How does your process work? 1. Apply for Help: Complete our Request Help e-form. The more information you can provide us, the better. Our application will ask about such things as your pet's vetting history; its temperament; energy level; house training; and friendliness toward strangers, children, or other pets. We realize this is a lot of information but, for the safety of our volunteers, we can only accept pets that we feel will do well in a foster environment. 2. Find a Foster: Once we commit to helping you and your pet, the next step is for us to try to find a suitable foster home. This may take us days or even weeks, so the more lead time you can give us, the better. We cannot guarantee that we will be successful in finding a foster match within your required time frame, so we highly encourage you to continue searching for other potential alternatives (friends, family, neighbors, or other resources). 3. Arrange Transport: If we are able to find a foster match, we will then arrange for one of our volunteer transporters to pick up your pet and deliver it to its temporary foster home. 4. Complete Temperament and Compatibility Tests: When we pick up your pet, our transporter will conduct a basic temperament test. If your pet fails this test, we will be unable to accept the pet into our program. Additionally, when the pet is dropped off, if the foster expresses any compatibility concerns, the transporter may be instructed to return the pet to its original pickup location. 5. Take Care of Vetting: Stay Together Furever will cover the costs of any vet services your pet may require while it is in our care, including vaccines, spaying or neutering, heartworm/flea prevention, or other medical needs.
What if Stay Together Furever can't help me? Don't give up hope. There are many other organizations and online search tools that may be able to help you. Click here to view other resource options.
Questions About Fostering
How long would I need to foster a particular animal? It depends on the situation. While some clients may only need help for a couple of weeks or a month, we offer clients up to 90 days of temporary fostering.
What happens after 90 days? We believe in being flexible. If a client needs a short extension, we will first reach out to you, the foster, to see if you are willing to keep the pet for just a little longer. If not, then we'll see if another foster can step in. However, we do believe it is in the best interests of both the pet and the pet parent to be reunited as soon as possible and will always work towards this goal.
What happens if a pet cannot be reunited with its parent? It's a sad fact that not all stories have a happy ending. In the rare case when a successful reunion just isn't possible, we will work with local pet rescue groups across Atlanta to find the pet a new furever home. That is, of course, assuming the pet hasn't completely stolen your heart, in which case we would be happy to facilitate the transfer of pet parentship to you!
What about vetting, food, and supplies? Any veterinary services that may be needed while your foster is in your care will be coordinated and covered by Stay Together Furever. If you are unable to drive your foster to a vet appointment, we can arrange for volunteer transport assistance. We can also provide food and supplies so you have everything you need to care for your foster.
Do I need to live in a certain geographic area to foster for you? Yes and no. Our only hard-and-fast requirement is that our fosters must reside in Georgia. However, for the sake of convenience, we would prefer fosters who live within reasonable driving range of our preferred vets. Our vets are located in the north-metro Atlanta area, including Duluth, Peachtree Corners, Roswell, and Doraville/Embry Hills.
What if the foster I've chosen doesn't work out? We'll do what needs to be done, as the situation warrants. This may mean returning the pet to its parent or guardian while we try to find another foster or, if needed, paying for short-term boarding. What we won't do is leave you hanging. You are vital to the success of our mission and we will do everything we can to make your foster experience fulfilling and rewarding.
What is Thanks Fur Everything? We absolutely love our fosters, as well as our volunteers, and we've created a unique way to show you how much you mean to us. Thanks Fur Everything is a point-based, rewards program. Every 250 points you earn will qualify you for your choice of a gift card valued at $25. Click our Thanks Fur Everything page for more information.