Hay River (Sep 04/06) - In the absence of an animal shelter, some Hay River residents are opening their homes to animals in need.

A fostering program, operated by the Hay River SPCA, offers a caring environment for cats and dogs until permanent homes can be found.

As of last week, Bev Gibb was fostering four kittens in her home.

The kittens were born underneath a trailer home, and the homeowner - who didn't own the animals - called the SPCA.

Gibb coaxed two of the kittens out from under the trailer, but had to crawl underneath to get the other two.

"I'm glad there was no one there to watch that," she joked.

Gibb has fostered two or three other cats over the last few months.

She enjoys caring for the animals, "Just to give them a good start."

One of the kittens is going to a home in Inuvik, while the others hadn't been spoken for as of last week.

"I'm actually looking at keeping one of them myself," Gibb added.

Karla Carter has fostered animals for about nine months. "I wanted to show my children how to care for animals." She has taken in six cats and four dogs for up to two weeks at a time.

"It's sort of like a revolving door," she said.

Carter added it is sometimes difficult to part with the animals, but she knows they will go to good homes through the SPCA. "So it's fairly easy to have that transition."

Sandy Whitteker, the president of the Hay River SPCA, said six homes, and sometimes more, foster animals in the community. Most of the fostered animals are cats and puppies, while adult dogs usually go to the municipal pound.

"I like the fostering system because animals are put into a home setting, instead of being stuck in a shelter," she said.

"If we don't provide homes for them, they're going to die - it's as simple as that."

Whitteker said the SPCA is "desperately" looking for more foster homes.

The group will subsidize expenses such as food, litter and veterinary care.