Don't worry if you asked a question during the presentation, we are answering them now!
Are the dogs at your puppy yoga event rescues?
Yes! Sometimes we have moms and puppies at our municipal shelter at the right time when we have a puppy yoga event. Thankfully the partners we have understand that "puppy yoga" is a flexible term--we've sent litters that were perfectly 8-10 weeks old, we've sent two littermates who were 8 months old, we've sent a couple 6-months olds who did well in playgroup together...it just depends on our "inventory." One of our favorite partners, a salon called Mint Haircrafting, hosted a puppy yoga event with a "senior savasana" session where we sent a lumpy 8 year old sugar face.
How is it for the dogs who are behaviourally shy or fearful when going to the new environments like Lowes etc? Do you have a system that can help people go to environments that are not fearful for these dogs?
Dogs that pass our evaluation process are generally not too terribly fearful, but honestly Lowe's and Home Depot seems to be less overstimulating than a pet store since there are fewer people, wider aisles, and fewer dog smells. We have encouraged people who take out shy dogs/fearful dogs to just go to Starbucks and get them a pup cup or take them home to hang out in their backyard **without meeting their personal dog. We try to pair dogs for Dogventures with people who give us an idea of what they want to do for the afternoon when possible.
What kind of vetting do you do to "qualify" people for the Dogventure? Do you limit where they can go with the dog?
Over 18 with a valid ID. Same qualifications as our adoption protocol. We have suggestions for locations to go to but we tell them they can take the dog anywhere dog-friendly but no off-leash areas like dog parks.
How do you address a shelter that will not allow volunteers to take our certain dogs because they are afraid that if something happens, the county/city will be sued?
Friends of DACC is in a very unique position at the moment because we are named in a wrongful death lawsuit (along with the city and the shelter) because a resident got attacked by dogs and ended up losing his life. One of the dogs had been previously impounded by the city/shelter and subsequently released with a dangerous dog determination. Unfortunately, you can't prevent people from suing you--no matter how serious or frivolous--and that shouldn't dictate your policy. Have a waiver/volunteer/foster contract that has been approved by your City's legal team and/or a nonprofit expert attorney, have sufficient liability insurance, and then evaluate your Asilomar. Does trying to place a single questionable dog jeopardize your whole program? Treat every dog as an individual but understand that your entire future could be put at risk if you send out a dangerous dog. Friends of DACC lost their liability insurance just rom being named in this lawsuit and they are now paying $50k+ a year for shitty catastrophic insurance. They are working through the court proceedings, but it's slow going. But they have no responsibility or accountability for dogs the City of Detroit chose to release or not. Like I said, you can't stop people from suing you, so we have to just do the best we can and make the best decisions we can with the information we have about the dogs in our possession. But I would advise against breaking your rules for a single dog when all of them could end up at risk.
Should you have a foster coordinator meet with foster and go over their handbook or do you give them info and wait for questions. I feel not a lot of places have people to sit with new fosters?
We do counseling with folks before they take a dog home to foster--sometimes it's a staff member, sometimes it's a volunteer that has been trained in "adoption counseling." We hit the majors--decompression, not introducing this dog to other dogs or extended family right away, if the dog has medication to go home with and how to administer it, who to reach out to with questions and the approximate time we will respond it, what to expect behaviorally with a change in environment (going into foster/getting adopted is good stress, but it's still stress for the dog!). They are given a folder, given the medical history, offered to attend the new foster/adoption webinar with K9 Turbo Training, given digital access to all our handouts (bit.ly/FosterPacket and bit.ly/AdoptionPacket), but we end every counseling session with if you have issues, you can always bring the dog back and these are the shelter's hours. The last thing we want is for someone who doesn't want a dog to feel like they need to hang onto it. Yes, we've had dogs returned within hours. Yes, we have people who don't listen to anything. Yes, we have successful placements! You can't let a couple bad apples spoil the bunch. Most people are good people and trying to do the right thing.
If your organization is strictly foster based and does not have a kennel or building to return the dog to, any ideas on how to successfully implement short term fostering?
This is tough, but having a couple foster homes that don't have fosters is helpful just in case. But I would ask/advertise to the general public to still participate in short term fostering like slumber parties or weekends away from their main foster. Calling it a "date night" for the long-term foster parents to have a night off or advertising that you need a new family to "babysit" a dog for a night or two are a couple ways to advertise it. The "end" is the important part. As long as the new foster and the long-term foster are both on the same page about when the dog will return, it can be done. It's also super helpful when fosters have events like a wedding or need to take a weekend away for vacation, etc. Multiple perspectives on the dog are also helpful for placement!
What is a good plan for when a dog is in foster a few hours away and are now not willing to bring the animal to events?
Setting your expectations ahead of time is key here. "That's fantastic you are willing to foster a dog from Detroit, but I see you live in Grand Rapids a couple hours away--you will need to be willing to meet potential adopters in the Detroit area or attend events. If that's not going to work, I recommend fostering through XYZ rescue located in Grand Rapids and seeing if they will pull the dog into their program and have you be a foster for them." The other thing you can do it let them know if XYZ number of events go by that they cannot/they refuse to attend, you will send them the adoption paperwork and the dog will become their to rehome or keep without your assistance. Trying to prevent this ahead of time is your best bet, but communicating transparently is the second best thing. It could also be worth checking with their local animal control about what length of time they consider enough to pass for default ownership . For instance, in Detroit, harboring a dog for 30 days legally counts as ownership over that animal. If a foster ghosted us for more than 30 days, we would send them adoption paperwork and let them know the dog is now legally theirs and we are no longer responsible for its care/placement. Make sure you cross all your Ts and dot your Is legally and note everything in your records.
I do the social media posts for the shelter where I volunteer and I have found that reels about our dogs in foster homes don't track nearly as well as the reels about our dogs in the shelter. I am thinking it might be because the dogs in foster homes don't look at sad or needy or urgent as the dogs in the shelter. Any advice for how to best promote dogs in foster homes?
I love this question because it's so real. Those dogs in foster are "safe" and the public doesn't respond as well to a dog "behind bars" in the shelter potentially at risk of euthanasia. I would suggest highlighting all the attributes you know about the dog since it's in a foster home--is it potty trained, good with kids, good with cats, walks well on a leash, likes to sunbathe in the yard instead of trying to escape--and create urgency by saying "if you adopt this dog, our foster can take home another dog from the shelter and save them." There is still urgency, you just have to spin it. Highlight that you only know those thing thanks to them being in foster. Hype up that the transition from home to home is so much easier than shelter to home. Make sure you have videos and photos of the dog with people in them and other animals if applicable. Being able to picture a dog in their life is a quicker sell if they can see that the dog would lay on their couch instead of the foster's hanging out with their kids instead of the foster's kids and swimming in their pool instead of the foster's pool. Encourage them to see an easier transition and picture that dog in their home and focus on how it's already decompressed from the shelter and adopters can "save a step" if they choose a dog in foster.
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dana eldred
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