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Guides and short videos for running a foster program.
Watch
Under a minute eachGuides
Running your foster program
Coordinating homes, onboarding fosters, care sheets and health schedules.
Adoptions
Contracts, applications and taking adoption fees online.
Choosing software
What to look for, what it costs, and when a spreadsheet is enough.
Thinking about fostering
For anyone wondering whether they could foster an animal.
Questions about Second Tail
What is Second Tail?
Second Tail is foster coordination software for animal rescues. The rescue team gets one home page for every animal in foster care, with updates, health schedules, supply requests, messages and adoptions in one place. Fosters get a free app on their phone for posting updates with photos, asking for supplies and messaging the rescue.
How much does Second Tail cost?
It is priced per active foster home, not per animal. Starter is $39 a month for up to 25 foster homes at a time, and Growth is $89 a month for up to 100 foster homes at a time. Staff seats, animals and fosters on the roster are unlimited, fosters never pay, and there is a 30-day free trial.
Do fosters have to pay or download an app?
No. Fosters use Second Tail free on every plan. It runs in the phone's browser and can be added to the home screen with notifications, with no app store involved.
Can adopters apply, sign the contract and pay online?
Yes. Every rescue gets a free public adoption page. Adopters apply on an animal's page, the rescue reviews and schedules meet and greets, adopters sign the rescue's own adoption contract from a link, and approved adopters pay the adoption fee by card straight into the rescue's own Stripe account.
Does Second Tail work for cat rescues with litters?
Yes. Because pricing counts foster homes rather than animals, a home with a litter of six kittens counts the same as a home with one dog, so the bill does not jump in kitten season. Each kitten still gets its own record, health schedule and adoption profile.
Can we keep using Shelterluv?
Yes. Rescues on Shelterluv can connect it with their own API key. Animals come over with their photos and new intakes appear daily, and Shelterluv stays the system for everything else.
Is Second Tail a shelter management system?
No. It is built for foster-based rescues, where animals live in homes rather than a building. It does not handle kennels, intake queues or vet billing.
Try it with your own fosters.
30 days free, everything on. Fosters always use it free.