Social media and sharing your foster

   I am not old, let me just start off with that.  lol

  But growing up, my parents didn't have a computer in the home and we didn't have one when I was a kid until I was in the 6th grade or so. So social media wasn't even a "thing" back then.

  But NOW.....

   Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, (is MySpace still even around?).... it's everywhere! But you, as a foster, can use this and should use this for your rescue animals!

So, what can you do to help your fosters?

**Post, post, POST!! 

One of our fosters was a black lab mix puppy who ended up being adopted by a friend of mine through Facebook. I posted some pictures when we got them, included how old they were and their sex and then just kept posting small updates here and there. Turns out she was looking for a puppy for her daughter and she scooped her right up. Now I get to see updates as she grows and becomes a part of their family!

**Share adoption times/events

If your shelter or rescue is holding a special adoption event, open certain hours or extended hours or running specials on adoption fees, let your people know! Sometimes community members know there's a shelter in your area..... and that's about it. For instance our local shelter came under new management the past couple of years and has done a complete turn-around as far as how it's run, how animals are pictured and presented for adoption and how their events are advertised. Their Facebook page is run by an amazing volunteer and photographer but not many people know about it. Let your community know where the adoption events will be happening and that YOUR foster will be there!!

**Show and share the moments

Nothing, and I will swear by this, will ever sell a dog better (besides actually interacting with the dog personally) than personal candid photos. It's one of the reason the above volunteer at our shelter is so highly praised - she captures a real spirit, and sometimes goofiness, of the shelter dogs. Take photos of your foster playing with your kids, running wild in your backyard, cuddled up on your couch in the evenings. Take shots of you training him or her and how it's going. Then share the hell out of it!

**Selfies!

Now, I hate this word, I really do, but if you're a part of Instagram then a selfie or two is probably a part of your life as well. Round up your foster (or fosters if you're like me) and snap one or two right before your morning walk or maybe evening training session. Add some #foster  #adoptdontshop  #animalrescue  hashtags and spread the word. 

**Community Groups

Whether Facebook groups or Yahoo or the like, online community groups can also be a great newsboard for your animals. If you have a Pets for Sale group you can share pictures and updates on your fosters, letting them know the details on who you have available. Please, PLEASE be careful, however, and if you do have a potential adopter let them know that if they are indeed interested that they still need to go through your shelter or rescue and pay their fees and complete their paperwork.

  Now I'm sure there are more pages, groups, and websites available than what I have listed here, so use this as a starting point and go from there! Use what you know to your advantage to spread the word about your amazing foster animals and help get them into their forever homes.  :)

An unusual situation

   It's been a crazy  months around here! We took in 6 pit bull puppies to foster over a month ago, then we brought 5 of them back to be adopted out (We foster failed with the last one.... I know, I know, but she fit in so well with our mutts!)

Merida, our second foster failure.

  Then I brought home 4 more black lab puppies who ended up going back a few days later and were adopted very quickly. Next up was Jasmine, a 5 year old female pointer mix. She is still with us and is an amazing dog. A gentle giant.  :)  She loves our kids, long walks in the backyard and a good snuggle on the couch. She was adopted at the shelter's 3 day adopt-athon event held at our local PetSmart, even with her being heartworm positive!









Which brings me to my latest foster, Georgio.

From what we were told, he was brought into the shelter by a man who told them Georgio was actually the pet of a friend of his, who is a Marine..... who is overseas at the moment.


You read that right - his owner is gone. And apparently this guy just "didn't want him anymore" and decided to bring him to the shelter.

*crickets chirp*

I'm still on the fence about whether this guy is telling the truth or Georgio is actually his and he's just making stories up to get rid of him. Either way, poor Georgio is now paying the price.

He will be our first long term foster until the shelter figures out the truth and either finds the owner or Georgio is unfortunately put up for adoption. The only good thing is, he's such a great dog that if it does come to adoption he will go quick.