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If you’ve dreamed about parenting a furbaby but have cold feet on the long-term commitment, this season you can help out your local shelter while filling your home with the fun of a four-legged friend. PetFinder.com is offering a holiday fostering program to assist abandoned animals -- and give deserving future fur-parents an opportunity to test-drive the responsibility of full-time ownership.

During the hectic holidays, many understaffed shelters overflow with pets and lack the resources to provide adequate care. And with jobless rates up, more pet owners than ever need a bit of a break from pet-care duties while they get back on their feet. Inspired by Greg Kincaid’s book A Dog Named Christmas, the story of a disabled child who involves his whole community in fostering a pet for the holidays, Pet Finder is pairing with local shelters and rescues around the country to offer temporary homes for homeless animals. Participating shelters match you with a pet for a few months…with the hope that you’ll eventually fall in love with your boarder and keep him for good.

But before you fluff the bed and fill the doggy dish, mull over the most important considerations: Do you and your significant other have the time to care for an animal, even if it’s temporary? The resources and space? Could you give up the pet, if necessary, once your stint is up? Check with your local shelter; they can help you make the best decision for your scenario.

Local shelters and branches of the ASPCA and Humane Society also offer temporary fostering programs year-round to serve other purposes: Extra-special care for very young animals or those recovering from surgery that are unable to live in a shelter, temporary homes for pets whose military owners are deployed, and care for animals whose owners are living short-term in battered women’s or homeless shelters.

Search online to find temporary foster programs in your area. Depending on the program’s purpose, most shelters request that you house your furry friend for 8 to 12 weeks. Fostering a furball is super-rewarding; just remember that it can be hard to give him back!

-- Colleen Canney

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