Can You Foster If You Have Pets?

If there is a dog asleep across your sofa or a cat who has claimed the warm spot by the radiator, you may have quietly assumed that rules you out. Almost certainly it doesn’t. For a child arriving somewhere unfamiliar, the animal is often the easiest thing in the house to talk to. There is one exception, about banned dog breeds rather than pets in general, and we have set it out plainly below. Otherwise, we just ask that you think about your pets as carefully as you would think about your spare room.

Please note: this is general information about fostering with pets, not personal legal or veterinary advice. The rules on banned dog types come from the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 and are correct at August 2026, including the change due on 1 November 2026. Check the current position on GOV.UK and talk to your own vet about your animals.

The short answer is yes, and it often helps

We get asked about pets more often than almost anything except spare bedrooms. Owning animals does not turn you away from GLF, with the single exception of the banned breeds covered below. A child who has learned that adults can be unpredictable will sometimes sit on the kitchen floor with a dog for half an hour before saying a word to any human in the house. Our carers have described the same thing happening with chickens, rabbits and one extremely patient cat, and some of them told us about it in their own words.

A pet is still a real consideration in matching. It shapes which children we can place with you, and how the first fortnight goes.

What actually gets assessed

Your pets are assessed alongside your home and everyone living in it. Your assessing social worker will want to meet the animal and watch what happens when the doorbell goes. Any pet already living with you is assessed before a child moves in, and looked at again for each new placement, because a confident nine year old and a frightened four year old are not the same proposition for a nervous terrier.

None of this is designed to catch you out, and it sits alongside the rest of what we check when you apply. In practice it covers:

• what kind of animal you have, and how long you have had them
• how the pet behaves around children and around strangers
• where the pet sleeps and where it can go to be left in peace
• vaccination and worming records, and who your vet is
• what you would do if a child turned out to be frightened or allergic

The rules of interaction you settle on go into your safer caring policy, the written household plan you build with your supervising social worker. It sounds formal. Mostly it is a page saying things like “the dog is not allowed upstairs” and “nobody goes near Bella while she is eating”. If you decide to take on a new animal later, that gets assessed too, so ask us before you mention the idea to a child.

The one exception: banned dog breeds

This is the part where our own factsheet has gone stale, and it matters if you have a dog. Five types of dog are banned in the UK under the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991: the Pit Bull Terrier, the Japanese Tosa, the Dogo Argentino, the Fila Brasileiro and the XL Bully. XL Bully types were added in 2024. Any guidance you find that still refers to four banned breeds, including older fostering guidance, was written before that. Whether a dog counts is judged on how it looks and measures, not on its papers or what the breeder called it.

If your dog is one of those types, you can only keep it with a Certificate of Exemption. The conditions are strict: the dog must be neutered and microchipped, and kept muzzled and on a lead whenever it is in public.

We would rather be blunt than let you get months into an assessment before anyone says it. GLF does not approve households keeping one of the five banned types, and a Certificate of Exemption does not change that. It is the only animal that rules an application out with us. If that is your situation, please still pick up the phone rather than assume there is nothing to discuss.

The law is moving the same way. From 1 November 2026 a further condition applies to every Certificate of Exemption: owners must not leave a child under 12 in close proximity to a banned breed dog in a domestic setting, or other private place, without adult supervision. Defra has said fuller guidance will follow before it starts, and breaching an exemption condition can lead to the dog being seized and to prosecution. In a busy household, “unsupervised” covers the two minutes you spend answering the front door.

Other agencies draw their own line, and some restrict breeds beyond the banned five. Ask before you commit to a particular dog rather than after.

The unglamorous bits: hygiene and allergies

The NHS advice worth knowing is about toxocariasis, caught from worm eggs in animal faeces that have sat in soil or sand for weeks or months. It isn’t caught from fresh mess, and young children are most at risk because of how much soil ends up in small hands and mouths. The answer is dull and effective:

• keep vaccinations up to date, and follow your vet’s advice on worming and fleas rather than a fixed schedule off the internet
• clear up dog mess in the garden promptly, and keep any sandpit covered
• teach the child to wash their hands after touching the pet or its bowls, and always before eating
• wash toys and clothing the pet has chewed or slept on at 60C, especially where a child has an allergy
• where a child is allergic or asthmatic, keep the pet out of bedrooms and off upholstered furniture, and keep their medication with them

If you are caring for a baby or a toddler, the bedroom door stays shut and the cot goes somewhere the animal cannot reach. Pet-proof the windows as well. That one is not negotiable.

Introducing a child to your pet

Slowly. You might send an excitable dog to a friend’s house for the first night or two while a newly placed child works out where the bathroom is and whether they are safe. Introduce them outdoors or in a large room, dog on a lead. Have the child sit still, then let the animal come over and sniff a closed fist. Stroking goes under the ear or on the neck, not the top of the head or the paws.

If either of them is uneasy, stop, and try again tomorrow. Nobody has failed anything.

Teach the child what your pet does not like. No disturbing it while it eats or sleeps, and no taking its toys away. A hard stare counts too, because most dogs read it as a threat. Your pet needs a bed or crate somewhere quiet, and the child needs to know that spot is off limits.

When it isn’t straightforward

Some children are frightened of animals, and sometimes a placement has to start before anyone finds that out. If a child shows real distress, separate them and talk to the child rather than pushing on. Reintroduce the pet slowly, and only if the child wants that. Where the fear is a phobia, a counsellor may be needed, which is a conversation for your supervising social worker and the child’s social worker rather than something to carry alone.

Faith matters here too. Some children, including some Muslim children, may not want a dog in the room where they pray or sleep. Ask early and take the answer seriously. It is a matching question, and being clear about it protects the child and the placement.

Then the harder one. If a child hurts an animal, or threatens to, that is not something to sort out privately. Tell your supervising social worker the same day. There is usually something underneath it, and what happens next is for the agency and the child’s social worker to decide, not for you at the kitchen table.

You won’t have to do this alone

The pet assessment is done with you, not to you. Your supervising social worker visits regularly and knows your animals by name, and our out of hours line is answered by someone who knows the agency rather than a call centre. If a much-loved pet dies during a placement and you are holding a grieving child while grieving yourself, the Blue Cross pet bereavement line is free on 0800 096 6606, 8.30am to 8.30pm every day.

On money we are straightforward. GLF pays £479.50 a week for a child under 11 and £507.50 for a child aged 11 or over, per child, for as long as they are placed with you. Higher-needs placements attract an enhanced fee, usually £100 to £200 a week more. It is one fixed weekly payment covering allowance and reward, with no separate one-off payments for birthdays or Christmas. Ofsted inspected us from 21 to 25 July 2025 and rated us Outstanding in all three judgements. Plenty of our carers hold down a job too, which we cover in can you foster if you work.

Frequently asked questions

Can I foster if I have a dog?

Yes, with one exception. Dogs are common in foster homes and GLF has plenty of carers with them. Your dog is assessed before a child is placed, and again for each new placement. The exception is the five banned types under the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991, which GLF cannot accept in a fostering household.

I have an XL Bully with a Certificate of Exemption. Can I foster with GLF?

No. GLF does not approve households keeping any of the five banned types, and an exemption certificate does not change our position. We know that is a hard answer to read. Do still ring us if you want to talk about it.

Will I have to rehome my pet to foster?

Setting the banned breeds aside, almost never. It only comes up in rare cases, such as a severe allergy or a phobia that cannot be worked through, and it would be a conversation with your supervising social worker rather than something sprung on you. Far more often the answer is a change to the household routine.

What if a child is allergic to my cat?

Tell your supervising social worker straight away. Keeping the cat out of bedrooms and off soft furnishings, and making sure the child has their medication to hand, deals with most mild allergies. A severe allergy is a matching issue, which is why we ask about pets before a placement rather than after.