The Joy of Fostering Together

How Volunteers Team Up to Train Future Assistance Animals

“You feel a sense of awe and pride knowing you’ve helped prepare a dog for life-changing work.”

What if you didn’t have to foster a future service dog alone? Joybound’s Shelter to Service program has launched an innovative Cohort Training model that gives volunteers the chance to share the journey of fostering together.

Instead of shouldering the responsibility by themselves, volunteers can team up with friends, neighbors, or family members to form a foster group. Working as a team, they coordinate care and training, exposing the dog to different homes, people, and routines while easing the day-to-day commitment for each volunteer.

Michelle, Carissa, and Connie were the first to take part in this new approach. For Michelle, curiosity and compassion sparked her involvement. “I wanted to build on my prior shelter dog training experiences and help someone who needed a service dog,” she explained.

Her cohort’s foster dog, Murphy, quickly became the highlight of the experience. “The best part was witnessing how much more confident and affectionate Murphy became every week,” Michelle shared.

Balancing city traffic, work, and training classes for 12 weeks would have been hard to manage on her own; by sharing the responsibilities with her cohort members, Michelle was able to be a part of Murphy’s path to becoming a service dog. Together they laughed through challenges, stayed patient, and embraced the joy of being part of something bigger than themselves. “You feel a sense of awe and pride knowing you’ve helped prepare a dog for life-changing work.”

Be Part of the Story!

Join the movement that rescues not just one life, but two — bound by compassion, not just a leash.

Note: This article was featured in the Fall 2025 issue of Joy Magazine. With a gift of just $25 to Joybound, you can be added to our mailing list and receive Joy in your mailbox for one year!