IamA Volunteer who is currently watching 3 dogs from two different service women for the non-profit Dogs on Deployment organization AMA!

For those looking for more info, Dogs on Deployment was just named Foster Organization of the Year by Fox's All-Star Dog Rescue! The founders are both active duty military too.

http://www.dogsondeployment.org/

https://www.facebook.com/DogsonDeployment/photos_stream

Required question: Would your recommend fostering through DoD to others?

Yea I would recommend fostering through DoD to others. It's a good program and easy to be involved. You're helping out service mem and women just by taking care of their animals.

What do you expect the dog's reaction will be when they finally see their owners again?

I expect them all to be really happy to see the ones who have raised them since they were itty bitty. What's funny though is the first time we did this, when we returned the dogs to their owner they weren't so excited to see the owner lol my mom felt so bad they reacted like that haha. But we give the dogs a lot lot lottle of attention. We got my dad, mom, brother, and myself always loving on a dog. However, these dogs I think we'll be absolutely thrilled to see their owners.

How did you get started with this? What's the longest you have ever pup sat? Have you ever gotten so attached and struggled when it was time for them to go home?

They're adorable!

About two years ago my mom found out about it while watching something on facebook so she went on their and we watched two other dogs for about 5 months while the guy was stationed. So 5 months is the longest so far. All these dogs are supposed to stay with us for about 9 months but could be a bit longer especially for the great dane. The first time we did it it was kind of sad but it's nice to give healthy pups back to their hardworking owner. We still send them gifts for holidays and want to visit them again. We had a good experience so we're doing it again.

What are the qualifications? Can you have a dog already?

Im not sure if there are any legal qualifications but obviously you have to commit to the animal, terms and agreement etc. Yes! you can have a dog already. I have two rabbits as my own. They have profiles so you can see if they're dog gets along with others and other stuff like that.

What do you feed the dogs ? do they get along okay ? What sort of housing do they have ? did the housing cost you any out of pocket money ?

How hard is it to get to know them and then release them?

We feed the dogs 4health dry dog food and milkbones regularly along with little treats sometimes. Yes they all get along fine :) They're all puppies still. They do get a little out of control but other than they're golden. We have a house with a big yard. If that's not what you meant then maybe you could be more specific?..Housing hasn't cost us anything, but there may be some expenses later for the yard being put back together lol. Since it was our second time doing this getting to know the dogs was pretty easy, they're all really sweet and just want attention, food, and playtime. Honestly, it's been such a handful with these guys that releasing them will be a relief lol Yes sad such cuties are leaving but they're a constant responsibility. Plus the owners will be so so so happy to see their babies anyway.

Do you get paid for the time? Reimbursed for expenses?

No you do not get paid, its volunteer work and you're not allowed to ask for money. However, yes you can get reimbursed for expenses such as food, vet bills etc. You can work it out with the owners. Batman's mommy supplied us with food but we went through it all already so we bought more and we keep receipts.

Thank you for keeping Batman, Bruce Wayne, and Clark Kent safe while their owners keep us safe. Is this superdog trio difficult?

Haha yea its a bit of a challenge really. They're all still puppies and are constantly playing then crashing, repeat. They're not trained very well but have gotten better since we got them at the beginning of October. They really are like superheros...they're really strong lol I have some nice bruises on my arms and legs all the time now. Its difficult but worth it.

Are you just trying to toot your own horn on this one? I mean, no offense, and I'm happy for what you're doing, but there's not really much to ask.

No I'm not doing trying to toot my own horn. I'm honestly bored right now so I figured why not. It's a great program anyway, so if this were to maybe blow up (lol it won't) then it gives the site more publicity and more people to help out service men and women.

Anything to support men and women of the armed services is worth tooting. I didn't know this was a service, but I'm certainly going to tell my dog loving friends about it.

Awesome!