* § 432. Foster care provider requirements. 1. No person may operate
as a foster care provider in this state without first having signed a
written agreement with an animal shelter licensed pursuant to this
article stating that such person may operate as a foster care provider
with the approval and under the responsibility of such animal shelter.
Such agreement shall be renewed not less than once every two years, and
a copy of such agreement shall be kept by both the animal shelter and
foster care provider and made available for inspection by the
commissioner upon request. It shall be the responsibility of the animal
shelter entering into such agreement with any foster care provider
pursuant to this article to ensure that such foster care provider is
able to responsibly harbor and provide necessary sustenance for any
animal placed in their care by such animal shelter in a manner that
promotes the good health, safety and welfare of such animals. No animal
shelter shall knowingly enter into any agreement pursuant to this
subdivision with any person who has been previously convicted of a
violation of any provision of article twenty-six of this chapter or
regulations promulgated thereunder pertaining to humane treatment of
animals, cruelty to animals, endangering the life or health of an
animal, or violation of any federal, state, or local law pertaining to
the care, treatment, sale, possession, or handling of animals or any
regulation or rule relating to the endangerment of the life or health of
an animal.

2. Foster care providers may harbor animals owned by a licensed animal
shelter but shall not own such animals and shall keep a copy of the
current record of each animal harbored under any agreement established
pursuant to subdivision one of this section. Such record shall be
maintained at the physical premises where such foster care providers
harbor such animals. Animal shelters may, if appropriate to protect the
identity of the source of any animal, provide their foster care
providers with a partial animal record that excludes the name and
address of the organization or individual from whom such animal was
obtained and the date of receipt, so long as such animal shelters keep a
copy of the complete record at the location where it maintains such
records pursuant to section four hundred twenty-three of this article.
It is the responsibility of the animal shelter with which such foster
care provider has established an agreement pursuant to subdivision one
of this section to ensure compliance with this subdivision.

3. Any animal harbored by a foster care provider pursuant to this
section that is affected by an infectious or contagious disease shall be
handled in a manner that prevents the spread of such disease in
accordance with subdivision nine of section four hundred twenty-four of
this article. It shall be the responsibility of the animal shelter with
which such foster care provider has established an agreement pursuant to
subdivision one of this section to ensure compliance with this
subdivision.

* NB Effective December 15, 2025