Exit site

Foster a dog, help a whole family find freedom

By looking after a dog in your home, you can support a family on their journey to freedom from domestic abuse.

Apply here

Why volunteer with Freedom?

For dog owners experiencing domestic abuse, the idea of leaving their beloved pet behind is unthinkable. But, unfortunately, most refuges are unable to accept dogs. This means that people and their dogs often remain in dangerous situations.

By fostering with Freedom, you can help remove the barriers preventing someone from accessing safe accommodation, reassured in the knowledge that their dog is being loved and cared for until they can be safely reunited. As a Freedom foster carer, you’re not only helping a dog in their time of need, you're supporting a whole family on their journey towards freedom.

When you foster with Freedom, you get:

 All the benefits of sharing your home with a dog, typically for 6 to 9 months

 All expenses including food, equipment and veterinary care covered

 Full support from our experienced Freedom team

 Pride in knowing you’re helping somebody and their dog find Freedom

 

84% of our volunteers rated the support of the Freedom team 'excellent'.

 

96% of our volunteers said that fostering gives them a sense of satisfaction that they are helping others.

88% of Freedom volunteers said that fostering had a positive impact on their wellbeing and mental health.

86% of Freedom volunteers said that fostering increased their knowledge and understanding of dogs.

Welcoming a foster dog

Our experienced team work with the dog's owner to learn about their pet's health, behaviour and how they're cared for, so we can carefully match individual dogs with foster carers who will best fit their lifestyle. While the dog stays with you, the Freedom team will provide ongoing advice and support, plus we'll take photos so we can keep the dog's owner updated on how they're doing.

Benefits of fostering    How the service works 

A volunteer’s story

Find out more about becoming a foster carer from an existing Freedom volunteer.

Read Sue's volunteering story

Frequently asked questions

Read our answers to the most asked questions about volunteering to foster a dog.

Read the FAQs

Become a Freedom foster carer

Change the lives of a family working towards freedom from domestic abuse by becoming a Freedom foster carer today.

What we're looking for - our fostering criteria Apply now

Our cookies

We use cookies, which are small text files, to improve your experience on our website.
You can allow or reject non essential cookies or manage them individually.

Reject allAllow all

More options  •  Cookie policy

Our cookies

Allow all

We use cookies, which are small text files, to improve your experience on our website. You can allow all or manage them individually.

You can find out more on our cookie page at any time.

EssentialThese cookies are needed for essential functions such as logging in and making payments. Standard cookies can't be switched off and they don't store any of your information.
AnalyticsThese cookies help us collect information such as how many people are using our site or which pages are popular to help us improve customer experience. Switching off these cookies will reduce our ability to gather information to improve the experience.
FunctionalThese cookies are related to features that make your experience better. They enable basic functions such as social media sharing. Switching off these cookies will mean that areas of our website can't work properly.
AdvertisingThese cookies help us to learn what you're interested in so we can show you relevant adverts on other websites and track the effectiveness of our advertising.
PersonalisationThese cookies help us to learn what you're interested in so we can show you relevant content.

Save preferences