Volunteer: 🐾 Build Our Foster Program

About the role

Legacy Paws Rescue is seeking a volunteer foster program consultant to design a complete foster program in partnership with the Executive Director, then hand it off fully operational. The rescue operates on five acres without kennels; every dog decompresses in a home environment. This program will expand capacity by enabling more dogs to heal in foster homes rather than on-site.

Responsibilities

• Design an application and screening process: simple application form, home check guide, and criteria for matching fosters with dogs.
• Create a foster handbook covering decompression, house rules, veterinary procedures, and ongoing support for fosters on difficult days.
• Build a foster tracking system (single source of truth) to monitor which dogs are placed where, schedule check-ins, track medical needs, and log behavior updates.
• Develop a recruitment plan identifying where to find suitable foster homes and messaging to attract them.

Deliverables & definition of done

• All four components built, documented, and walked through with the Legacy Paws team.
• Tools simple enough for a volunteer to operate without a separate training manual.
• Team equipped to recruit and approve the first foster homes using the new system.

Timeline

8 to 10 weeks.

Tools & platforms

• Google Workspace
• Fit Check matching quiz (existing online tool)

Qualifications

• Experience in foster coordination or animal rescue operations.
• Understanding that fostering dogs with trauma or behavioral challenges can be difficult and unpredictable.
• Behavior or reactive dog experience is a strong plus.
• Belief that the right home can transform a dog's life; motivation to build a meaningful, lasting program.

About Legacy Paws Rescue

Mission: At Legacy Paws, our mission is to create a community of kindness through education, prevention, and rescue. We believe the best way to change the lives of dogs is not only to rescue them when they are in crisis, but to help prevent that crisis whenever possible. We educate people about how dogs think, communicate, learn, and experience the world, while providing practical support and resources to help people and dogs succeed together. When rescue is needed, we step in for the dogs who have nowhere else to turn—especially those who are overlooked because of age, medical needs, trauma, or circumstances beyond their control. Everything we do comes back to one belief: Healing and learning happens on both ends of the leash. Rescue isn't where we end. It's where we begin.