Fostering/Volunteering

To become a foster home requires a dedicated person and an understanding family. It should NOT be taken on lightly. Birds that are fostered are potentially disturbed by the ch​anges to their environment and may require extra effort to ensure they remain healthy and happy. They will also require a veterinarian visit with a local avian vet, which is covered by SNPERRS. As a foster parent, you may need to take the bird to this initial visit as well as any follow-up visits required.

Before you make the decision to foster, also consider the space the bird will need in your home, the time you will need to spend in the care, feeding cleaning and socialization of the parrot in addition to your current responsibilities. Those who foster need to have the time, space and desire to interact and socialize the bird dailly. Some birds are donated by owners whose lives have changed and the are simply not able to care for their loved bird in a way the would like. Sometimes the birds that come to the rescue have been neglected or left on their own in dirty cages day in and day out for months or even years. We don't want them in the same situation while they're waiting for their permanent new home. Please make sure you have sufficient time and resources to devote to a foster bird!

Fostering is a temporary situation and the bird will eventually be moved to a permanent new owner. This can affect you and your family members, especially young children who may become emotionally attached to the bird. You must be able to nurture and care without becoming seriously attached. Some of the best of us have "Failed at Fostering" and ended up falling in love with one or more of our fosters - going on to adopt them ourselves. As a foster 'parent' you must remember that you can't keep them all - that's not what we're about. We're about finding the best possible new permanent home for every parrot that we rescue; one that will provide them with as loving (or better) home than they were before the came into SNPERRS. If you are considering fostering, please keep these things in mind.

WE WILL HELP....
Experienced and knowledgable volunteers in the rescue will be there to help should you have any trouble or questions regarding anything to do with the foster bird you are caring for; you won't be alone!

So you want to help, but you can't take birds into your home? There are plenty of things that you can do! We can always use transportation to pick up donated items, take birds to vet visits, pick up birds that are being donated, the list goes on. Many times donated cages need cleaning and refubishing. To get the word out, we participate in community outreach events and can always use volunteers to staff a booth. Download the Volunteer Form here.

If you decide that you have the skills and patience to help us with new birds that are donated to the Rescue, you will first need to be a member of SNPERRS. If you haven't already done so, fill out a membership application ​here. After your membership is completed, you will also need to fill out an application to foster. This may be done by downloading the form in WORD or PDF. Please fill in the form completely - if you need more room, feel free to send a followup email or use extra pages.