Pet foster parents are needed in this community.

Helping Animals of Warren County (HAWC) and Warren County Animal Control and Adoption Center would like to begin a foster family program for pets who need a little extra care prior to being adopted.

“By being a foster home, individuals and families can provide temporary care for an animal prior to adoption,” said Jan Saylors, who is a HAWC member and pet foster parent. “Fostering animals is one way to contribute to saving homeless pets. It’s very rewarding. I’ve been fostering for Warren County Animal Control and Adoption Center through AARF for about eight years, and I’ve helped 20 or so dogs.”

AARF, or All About Rescue and Fixin’, will take the pets once they are adoptable. AARF is a nonprofit organization specializing in animal rescue, rehabilitation, spay/ neuter and re-homing dogs and cats. AARF can be reached at www.aarf-tn.com.

HAWC is a nonprofit organization that works closely with the county’s animal shelter to provide financial and volunteer support.

Most recently, Saylors fostered a black Labrador named Liv. The puppy was approximately 5 weeks old when she was picked up by Animal Control as a stray.

“I went into animal control and when I saw her, I said ‘I’m taking her home with me.’ She had mange really bad and was way too young to be without her mother. Liv is now about 12 weeks old and ready for adoption. She was spayed yesterday.”

There are several reasons why an animal needs to be fostered before adoption, including those that don’t do well in a shelter environment, newborns that need to be nursed or bottle-fed, expectant females, and animals that need to recover from an illness or injury. Whatever the reason, all the animals need a little extra love and care that fostering can provide.

If taking a pet into your house is not an option, other volunteers are needed.

“HAWC is trying to work closely with Animal Control to get them some more volunteers,” said Saylors. “We need people who will go help clean, but more than that is needed. We need people who can make the grounds more appealing. We need people with creative skills to do some painting. We need a fenced in area where the dogs can get some exercise. We need someone to come take pictures of the animals to put online. There are a variety of different needs.”

Toward filling those needs, HAWC is holding a volunteer sign-up event on Thursday, Nov. 8, at 6 p.m. at Warren County Administrative Offices on Locust Street in its Dogwood Room.