Fostering and the Human-Animal Bond: A Guide for Companion Animal Foster Care Providers and Shelters examines the human-animal bond in the context of animal fostering. Animal shelters are often challenged by capacity issues, risking animal health, welfare decline, and euthanasia. The ability of animal shelters to provide critical care through fostering depends on volunteers who are willing to temporarily take animals under their care. This book uses a research lens to provide information on improving recruitment and retention of foster volunteers and enhancing the overall experience for volunteers and fostered animals. Written by an animal welfare expert, this book is driven by interconnected questions about the nature of the human-animal bond, the factors of success for fostering volunteers, and best self-care and stress reduction practices to improve animal experiences and volunteer retention. To address these questions, the book draws on an interdisciplinary body of research incorporating animal behavior and welfare, volunteerism and sheltering, social work, and psychology. For researchers and students, these methodologies, measures, and analyses will inform future study on human-animal interactions. Intended to be accessible to researchers, students, and professional audiences, Fostering and the Human-Animal Bond is a pivotal and comprehensive source of information on how to support the emotional needs of foster volunteers, enhance their coping skills, and improve both the welfare of the humans and the animals in their care. This is the first book of its kind to unpack a novel application of the human-animal bond in the critical area of animal welfare. It is an indispensable resource for animal shelter professionals, foster coordinators, academic researchers, and students in the fields of animal science, animal welfare, psychology, and social work.
