The Events Team is looking for volunteers to join us going into the New Year!

All the members of the Events Team will help with planning and executing events, not simply limited to your chosen responsibilities. You can make the position as big, or as little as you want, committing as much time as you have room for! There is always opportunity for growth, especially with fundraising.

We are looking for help in the following areas:

Marketing Coordinator (1 position)
2-5 hours/week

Help events team by advertising events to the Zoe’s Family, liaising with Web Team and Events Coordinator to advertise on social media, and getting posters made (no experience needed) and e-mailed. 

Volunteer Coordinator (1 position)
1-2 hours/week

Liaise with our Facebook Guru Holly Foisy, Events Team, and the Zoe’s Family to advertise for, and keep track of, volunteers and fosters for adoption events and other events, remind the Zoe’s Family of any upcoming commitments. 

Fundraising Administrator (2 positions)
3-5 hours/week

Up for a challenge? Become a middle man to the Zoe’s Family by helping bring new ideas to the attention of the board, keeping an updated list of fundraisers the Family is putting on, and liaising with Events Team and Web Team to keep our fundraisers in the spotlight. This is NOT a position to be responsible for putting on fundraisers (unless you want to), as that is a Family effort that should not be left to one individual. 

Corporate Donations (1 position)
1-5 hours/week

Liaising with Events Team, Web Team, and Zoe’s Family, this role will reach out to businesses for donations (such as for silent auctions), drop off letters, flyers, or aid in responding to inquiries from our business partners. You may also be asked to liaise with the other teams to coordinate pick ups of donations from businesses and offices. 1 volunteer needed, 1-5 hours a week.

Fill out a volunteer application and note which position you are interested in to apply.

Today’s post is the story of fostering and family. Mari Sasano tells us about how she, and her Boston Terrier Henry, got into fostering.

You can follow Henry on Instagram @henrysasano!

About two years ago, I decided that I would get involved with rescue. Because my Boston terrier, Henry, has given me so much joy since I brought him home, I decided to volunteer for Boston Terrier Rescue Canada. I’d been lurking on their Facebook page for years and they posted something about a senior Boston who needed an Alberta foster home right away. I had space. My first foster!

Well, it was a false alarm. This particular rescue fellow found a place right away. I can’t say I wasn’t disappointed. But what happened next changed my life. Boston Terrier Rescue called again a week later, asking me if I’d be willing to take in a French Bulldog who was surrendered to French Bulldog Rescue Network. Well, of course!

Emerson just barely escaped euthanasia before he found his way into rescue. Over the summer, he had started to show some paralysis in his hind legs. This was likely a problem with his spine, and the cure would be complicated and expensive. Rather than have him put to sleep, his owners gave him up to French Bulldog rescue who did some fundraising for his surgery. Volunteers stepped up to find the money. He got his surgery, and was confined to crate rest. But his foster parent’s mother broke her leg, so he had to find another foster home ASAP.  And that’s where I came in.

And in a couple of weeks, I found myself in a parking lot in Calgary meeting up with a woman who handed over a 10-month old pied Frenchie named Emerson (his real name is Emmett, but all FBRN dogs have a temporary foster name). He was obviously loved and cared for: house-trained, crate-trained, and obviously started with some manners (sit, stay, come). Just your typical confident, clownish Frenchie. My job was to rehab him after so much time in his crate, balancing him on three legs, gently stretching to improve flexibility.

As for my existing dog, Henry is very particular about his friends, so we needed to be careful about introductions; thankfully, FBRN provided many resources for first-time foster homes and they had some good advice about slow intros. Henry’s first impression: he hated Emmett. They barked and growled at each other, and lived in separate rooms. It was an accident that brought them together — somehow one of them managed to muscle his way past the door while the other was in the backyard. Luckily, enough time had passed that they started to play.

It wasn’t too long before they were cuddling and wrestling together. It became pretty clear that Henry wanted to keep him, and that was that. Now I can’t imagine life without Emmett. He just fits with our little pack, and nothing makes me happier than seeing those two playing together or licking each other’s faces. They so obviously love each other.

For the record, we went on to foster a lovely Boston/pug mix, and he went on to a very loving home, so I’m no longer worried that fostering means adopting every dog that comes through the door!

If you’ve considered fostering, I highly recommend it. If your family loves animals but is not ready for the full commitment of a ownership, foster. If you are ready for a dog, foster. It’s a great way to try out a dog and see how it fits into your family. If that particular dog isn’t going to work, it’ll go on to a forever home. Volunteering for rescue is one of the best experiences I’ve ever had, and Henry and Emmett too! I love that chunky meatball!

Have questions about fostering? Or want to apply? Visit the Foster section of our website.

CTV news helped us out by doing a short story on Missy last night. Missy has been looking for a home for years now, but has been unsuccessful because she can only go to a home with no other pets.

http://edmonton.ctvnews.ca/video?clipId=492005&binId=1.1717076&playlistPageNum=1

Please share her story, or, if you think you might be the one for Missy, view her profile and apply to adopt!

Zoe’s Animal Rescue has some wonderful supporters, and Mama and Co.’s Jennifer is one of them! Not only has our rescue (and our sweet Missy who is looking for her furever home) been featured on her website, but she’s put her craftiness and creativity to work for our rescue animals!

Do you love Christmas…? Wiener dogs…? Of course you do! How adorable are these watercolour-style downloadable holiday tags?

For just $3.00 you’ll receive a downloadable sheet of 6 Little Wienie Christmas tags that will brighten up your Christmas packaging while helping Zoe’s animals! Every cent will directly go to our rescue.

Mama and Co.’s website promotes community, collaboration, and connection, and we see those vary things in Jennifer’s efforts to help raise awareness about rescue in our city and much-needed funds for our dogs and cats. We are so thankful to have such a creative, caring person as a part of our rescue community.

Now, swing by Mama and Co. and snag some tags!