A meeting to encourage dog and cat fostering was held Monday night at Holmes Beach City Hall on Anna Maria Island.

The meeting was attended by about 20 people, including representatives of rescue groups and shelters. County Commissioners John Chappie and Carol Whitmore also attended.

Whitmore talked to the group about the goal of creating a no-kill community in Manatee County. It is clear that a major part of the route to becoming no-kill is by greatly increasing foster homes and adoptions.

The reason perfectly healthy dogs and cats are euthanized at Manatee County Animal Services is that there is nowhere for them to go.

Several people fostering dogs and cats spoke about the benefits of doing so. Fostering is like having a pet without the full responsibility of having a pet. There is no cost to foster parents to foster dogs or cats; all vet bills are covered by the rescue groups, who also provide collars, leashes and crates.

Questions were asked about fostering and each rescue group described its particular mission, e.g., to cats, or small dogs, or old dogs.

Several people indicated interest in fostering.

Some of the ideas brought forth for increasing fosters were:

n Contact all area news outlets to promote either regular “foster a dog” spots on the locally produced shows, or a “foster stories” column in a local newspaper.

n Contact local groups that meet regularly such as women’s clubs, Kiwanis, etc., to offer speakers on fostering.

n Contact churches to ask for notices in church bulletins about fostering.

n Find a volunteer expert in media strategies to help create a multi-level foster/adopt campaign.

The Animal Network, a Manatee County umbrella group, and Jean Peelen co-hosted the meeting. The group wants to have meetings such as this one in various areas of Manatee County, and the next one may be in downtown Bradenton within the next month.