You are now subscribed
Your newsletter sign-up was successful
Want to add more newsletters?
Delivered daily
Kiplinger Today
Profit and prosper with the best of Kiplinger's advice on investing, taxes, retirement, personal finance and much more delivered daily. Smart money moves start here.
Sent five days a week
Kiplinger A Step Ahead
Get practical help to make better financial decisions in your everyday life, from spending to savings on top deals.
Delivered daily
Kiplinger Closing Bell
Get today's biggest financial and investing headlines delivered to your inbox every day the U.S. stock market is open.
Sent twice a week
Kiplinger Adviser Intel
Financial pros across the country share best practices and fresh tactics to preserve and grow your wealth.
Delivered weekly
Kiplinger Tax Tips
Trim your federal and state tax bills with practical tax-planning and tax-cutting strategies.
Sent twice a week
Kiplinger Retirement Tips
Your twice-a-week guide to planning and enjoying a financially secure and richly rewarding retirement
Sent bimonthly.
Kiplinger Adviser Angle
Insights for advisers, wealth managers and other financial professionals.
Sent twice a week
Kiplinger Investing Weekly
Your twice-a-week roundup of promising stocks, funds, companies and industries you should consider, ones you should avoid, and why.
Sent weekly for six weeks
Kiplinger Invest for Retirement
Your step-by-step six-part series on how to invest for retirement, from devising a successful strategy to exactly which investments to choose.
Sue Warne always had dogs as pets. Three years ago, Warne and her husband, Don Squires, took their love of canines to the next level when they began fostering dogs from a local animal protection organization. "I get the satisfaction of seeing a dog recover from whatever the problem is and go to a new home," says Warne, a Boston book editor in her sixties who works from home.
Warne and Squires have cared for a wide range of dogs, including pit bulls, beagles, Shih Tzus, Chihuahuas and a German shepherd. They take one dog at a time, usually for a month. Their own dog, Lilly, a flat-coated retriever, helps the foster dogs get acclimated.
Fostering dogs and cats is a growing volunteer activity among seniors and retirees. They have the time to give foster animals the attention they need without making a years-long commitment. "Seniors and retirees are a critical piece of the puzzle for shelters," says Kirsten Theisen, director of pet care issues at the Humane Society of the United States, in Washington, D.C.
From just $107.88 $24.99 for Kiplinger Personal Finance
Become a smarter, better informed investor. Subscribe from just $107.88 $24.99, plus get up to 4 Special Issues
Sign up for Kiplinger’s Free Newsletters
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice on investing, taxes, retirement, personal finance and more - straight to your e-mail.
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice - straight to your e-mail.
Foster "parents" provide temporary homes for animals who have been abused or neglected or whose owners can no longer care for them. They prepare pets for permanent homes. Dogs, in particular, need to "experience the kinds of things they will be exposed to when adopted," Warne says. "They need to experience everyday life, ride in a car or be walked downtown."
The biggest reason that dogs wind up in shelters is because their owners are moving to a new home that doesn't allow dogs, such as an assisted-living facility, says Rob Halpin, spokesman for the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, in Boston. Halpin says his group places more than 2,000 pets in foster homes each year, including Warne's foster animals.
Halpin's group provides behavior consultants if the animal is having a problem adjusting to a foster home. "A puppy comes with its own set of challenges. If you're worrying about your furniture, you shouldn't foster a dog," he says. The animals are screened by shelters before being placed and are removed if there's a problem, which rarely happens, Halpin says.
It's often easier to place kittens or cats than dogs in foster homes, because they require less energy, says Gail Buchwald, senior vice-president of the ASPCA Adoption Center. Some older individuals "are interested in caring for older, sickly cats, especially if they have had an older cat with medical issues," she says.
Saving More Than Nine Lives
Kerry Anderschott, 66, of South Tampa, Fla., a retired systems engineer for Verizon, has five cats of her own and has been caring for foster kittens for five years. The felines, who come from her local Humane Society, usually spend eight weeks with her, until they reach two pounds and are ready for adoption. "I love knowing that I am helping these animals instead of sending them to the shelter where they will be put down," Anderschott says.
Lisa Knight, the foster organizer for the Humane Society of Tampa Bay where Anderschott gets her foster kittens, says many foster pets develop upper respiratory illnesses, which makes caring for them more difficult. "It's a huge investment in time," Knight says.
A foster assignment usually lasts between one and three months. The animal shelter will investigate your living arrangements and check your references before you sign an agreement to care for the animal. Volunteers typically go through an orientation before they can bring an animal home.
Ask about any costs: The Massachusetts group provides food and medical care with no charge to the volunteer. Also find out about any extra care you must provide if you have a "special needs" animal. If you're interested in taking care of a foster pet, contact your local Humane Society chapter.
-
5 Vince Lombardi Quotes Retirees Should Live ByThe iconic football coach's philosophy can help retirees win at the game of life.
-
The $200,000 Olympic 'Pension' is a Retirement Game-Changer for Team USAThe donation by financier Ross Stevens is meant to be a "retirement program" for Team USA Olympic and Paralympic athletes.
-
10 Cheapest Places to Live in ColoradoProperty Tax Looking for a cozy cabin near the slopes? These Colorado counties combine reasonable house prices with the state's lowest property tax bills.
-
What Does Medicare Not Cover? Eight Things You Should KnowMedicare Part A and Part B leave gaps in your healthcare coverage. But Medicare Advantage has problems, too.
-
15 Reasons You'll Regret an RV in RetirementMaking Your Money Last Here's why you might regret an RV in retirement. RV-savvy retirees talk about the downsides of spending retirement in a motorhome, travel trailer, fifth wheel, or other recreational vehicle.
-
457 Plan Contribution Limits for 2026Retirement plans There are higher 457 plan contribution limits in 2026. That's good news for state and local government employees.
-
Estate Planning Checklist: 13 Smart Movesretirement Follow this estate planning checklist for you (and your heirs) to hold on to more of your hard-earned money.
-
Medicare Basics: 12 Things You Need to KnowMedicare There's Medicare Part A, Part B, Part D, Medigap plans, Medicare Advantage plans and so on. We sort out the confusion about signing up for Medicare — and much more.
-
The Seven Worst Assets to Leave Your Kids or Grandkidsinheritance Leaving these assets to your loved ones may be more trouble than it’s worth. Here's how to avoid adding to their grief after you're gone.
-
SEP IRA Contribution Limits for 2026SEP IRA A good option for small business owners, SEP IRAs allow individual annual contributions of as much as $70,000 in 2025, and up to $72,000 in 2026.
-
Roth IRA Contribution Limits for 2026Roth IRAs Roth IRAs allow you to save for retirement with after-tax dollars while you're working, and then withdraw those contributions and earnings tax-free when you retire. Here's a look at 2026 limits and income-based phaseouts.
