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Word on the Street with Kelly Furnas
Deep thoughts, good advice and tough talk on hot topics
Inspired by the recent insights on foster volunteers shared in Hill’s Pet Nutrition’s 2024 State of Shelter Adoption Report, we checked in with Operation Kindness to find out about the strategies they used to increase their foster program by 35% in just one year.
One of the most effective strategies? While we regularly hear about barriers to adoption, we don’t often talk as much about barriers to fostering. Here’s what Chief Operating Officer Kelly Furnas has to say about that.

Really take a step back and look at your foster program in the same way that you should be looking at your adoptions program. What barriers do you have in place? We had all of this training that fosters had to take—to make sure they were perfect, they were ready, that they knew everything, and they couldn’t mess up.
And that’s not the way life works.
There’s a different way to approach it. What about starting from the idea that people are coming from a good place, versus feeling like we have to be the ultimate protectors? Yes, we do that—but there are a lot of people who want to help you. And if you’re getting in the way of that, you’re preventing the amount of lifesaving that you could be doing. Always ask, what barriers are you putting in your own way?
– Kelly Furnas, Chief Operating Officer, Operation Kindness
Learn More
Podcast: Grow Your Foster Program, Texas-Style
Blog: Texas-Sized Growth for Your Foster Program
Tip of the Week: 2024 State of Shelter Adoption Report