Interview! Kelly Duer, Foster Program Consultant with Maddie’s Fund

“Foster is the most humane and cost-effective solution.”

Kelly Duer, Foster Program Consultant for Maddie’s Fund, has worked with many organizations over the years, including such big names as FEMA and Best Friends Animal Society. The goal of her work is to help groups increase live outcomes for animals through the implementation of robust foster programs.

Kelly came to this role after working on foster programs for children from Eastern Europe. A life-long cat lover, she got involved in animal welfare when her daughter became interested in working with animals and they decided to volunteer at an animal shelter together. They soon began fostering animals, and before long, the shelter staff asked Kelly to coordinate a foster care study that Maddie’s Fund wanted to run on their program.

In her interview with Stacy, Kelly, who is very passionate about behavioral foster care for cats, answers Stacy’s tough foster care questions, including: How do you choose who to focus on when your foster care resources are limited?; What is your gold standard of a foster care program for cats?; and If you had all the foster care coordinators in the country in one room, what tips and advice would you give them? (Hint: the answer to the last question has a lot to do with social media!)

Kelly’s own hope is that eventually, foster care will become the standard of care for homeless pets, and that shelters will become more like waystations for marketing pets than places where pets spend long periods of time.

If you’d like to learn more about Kelly’s work, or get access to Maddie’s Fund’s collection of foster care resources (including manuals, SOPs, sample agreements, etc.), email Kelly at duer@c.maddies.fund.org. You can also find and message her on Maddie’s Pet Forum.

Listen to Episode #269 Now