--- description: People in the "fospice" movement—short for "foster hospice"—specifically set out to adopt older, often sick animals. title: 'Fospice' Movement Aims to Give Pets a Loving, Final Homes image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3f44c453f80ea411/698a14ef096a946b2b6a8e35/fospice.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # The 'Fospice' Movement Aims to Give Pets a Loving Home for Their Final Days by [TIME Staff](/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Dec 9, 2020 4:00 PM CUT  A Beagle is seen in a private garden on July 27, 2020 in Pfullendorf, Germany. A Beagle is seen in a private garden on July 27, 2020 in Pfullendorf, Germany.Harry Langer—DeFodi Images/Getty Images by [TIME Staff](/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Dec 9, 2020 4:00 PM CUT Go to any animal shelter, and you’re likely to find at least a few dogs, cats or other pets who’ve lived out most of their days. These older pets are often less likely to be adopted, as fewer people are willing to open their homes—and their hearts—to a companion who may not be around for much longer, and who may have health issues to navigate. But people in the “fospice” movement—that’s short for “foster hospice”—specifically set out to adopt older, often sick animals to give them a loving home for their final days, weeks or months. Above, see the story of Shelly Rogers and her husband, who have fostered over 100 animals since 2012, including many older animals, like their dog Tinkerbell. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5918575/fospice-adoption/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5918575/fospice-adoption/"},"headline":"The 'Fospice' Movement Aims to Give Pets a Loving Home for Their Final Days","datePublished":"2020-12-09T16:00:24.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-24T09:30:10.818Z","description":"People are adopting older, often sick animals in the foster hospice movement","url":"https://time.com/5918575/fospice-adoption/","keywords":[],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3f44c453f80ea411/698a14ef096a946b2b6a8e35/fospice.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3f44c453f80ea411/698a14ef096a946b2b6a8e35/fospice.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Fospice Dog","caption":"Fospice Dog","creditText":"Harry Langer—DeFodi Images/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5918575/fospice-adoption/","name":"The 'Fospice' Movement Aims to Give Pets a Loving Home for Their Final Days"}}]}] ```