Tech Meets Tails: Allyson Taylor on Fostering Dogs

In this inspiring episode of 'Dog Friendly,' host Brandon Bennett chats with Allyson Taylor, a dedicated tech professional who balances her career from home with the heartfelt commitment of fostering dogs for the Humane Society. Allyson’s story is a wonderful reminder of how we can integrate our passion for animals into our everyday lives.

Her passion for fostering shines through as she recounts the joy and fulfillment she finds in helping these animals transition to forever homes.

Throughout the episode, Allyson shares heartwarming anecdotes about the dogs she has fostered, including the challenges and rewards of opening her home to these furry friends. She discusses the importance of socializing and preparing the dogs for adoption, emphasizing the significant impact foster families have on the lives of shelter animals.

Join us for this uplifting episode that celebrates the bond between humans and dogs, the transformative power of fostering, and how Allyson beautifully blends her tech career with her love for animals. Tune in and discover how one person can make a difference in the lives of dogs in need while pursuing their professional passions!

Longmont Humane Society - View all animals available for adoption. Ways to Give Programs Resources Dog Training Volunteer With Us Foster Program Donate Events Event Sponsorship

Colaseeme Glowing Dog Collar - Colaseeme LED Dog Collar Light Up Dog Collars 1 Count USB Rechargeable TPU Glow Safety Basic Dog Collars, Please Do Not Use Fast Charging

Alpinehowl.com for your Handcrafted apparel for dogs and matching hats for their best friends.

Info@alpinehowl.com

IG: @alpinehowl

Check out Bixbipet.com for dog and cat food.

Dog Friendly Podcast TM

Transcript

  Good morning, dog lovers. Welcome to Dog Friendly, the podcast where we celebrate the joy of dogs and the adventures we share with them. I'm your host, Brandon Bennett from Alpine Howl.  Each week, I take you to dog friendly locations to chat with passionate dog owners about their furry companions and the unforgettable experiences  We'll also hear from experts who share valuable insights on training, health, and making the most out of our time with our canine pals.

All while enjoying the great outdoors.  So whether you're a seasoned pup parent, or just a dog lover, grab your leash, maybe a libation, and join us as we enjoy the world of dogs and incredible adventures that await. Let's dive in to today's episode. 

And we're back. Happy Tuesday morning here in January. We are a day away from my birthday. Big ol 41. Thank you, thank you, everybody who's listening. But I just had to  put that out there into the universe. Birthdays are special to me. Not necessarily mine, but everyone's birthday. Because it's about them.  And that's kind of how I, you know, thought about this podcast.

We think about so much going on in our lives, but when we have dogs and we talk about our dogs, that's something on a different level. So, uh, happy birthday to me, Brandon Bennett, your host. I'm excited to still be here producing podcasts. We have a fantastic, uh, episode this week. Allison Taylor, uh, we're dialing it back to October.

of 2024. We had a few good interviews there, which was awesome at, uh, the Pot toberfest, an Oktoberfest in Longmont, Colorado, brought to you by the Humane Society. And, uh, Emmy deals is so much fun. You and the support team there. Uh, Clay as well, uh, big shout out to the Humane Society.  So without further ado, here we go.

Allison, take her away. Woo hoo! 

Have you been on a podcast before? Can you hear me? All right. I can hear you. No, I've never been on a podcast. Um, so pretty straightforward. Uh, 

first name, last name. What do you do? And then we'll get into it. Sure. I'm Allison Taylor, uh, from Philly. Moved to Colorado a year ago. Um, and I am in financial tech.

I work in investment, so like operations type of stuff. Okay. Uh, you work from home? I do. 100 percent remote, 630 to 230. Yeah. I'm loving the fact that market hours out here end so much earlier. Yeah, yeah. So then, um, you get to hang out with how many dogs do you have? I have two dogs. Okay, so there we go. So that opens it up.

So what kind of dogs do you have? I have a miniature Labrador. She's three. Her name's Honey. And I have a two year old poodle, a red poodle. It's like apricot in color. And that's Ivy. Okay. And, uh, uh, what, what, why those dogs? What, any story or what happened? Yeah, when I was living back in Philly, uh, me and my fiance Kevin, I, it was mostly my idea, but I started fostering dogs.

So I had a bunch of puppies coming from a little local shelter that were coming in and out. And a lot of them were adopted from. Uh, out in Lancaster, there's a lot of, uh, breeders out there. Okay. And once the puppies would reach, like, 12 weeks, or even 8 weeks, and they can't sell them, they would send them off to pill shelters.

So we would kind of intervene. Oh, man. And then I ended up with a ton of puppies. Okay. So, Honey was probably my fifth puppy. Okay. Her name was Melanie. Okay. At the time. And she was just so well  temperamented. Only about, like, 10 weeks at the time. So, uh, my fiancé fell in love with her, and I did too. So I ended up keeping her.

Okay. And we, of course, needed a friend. So we kept fostering. Always.  And about three puppies later, I got two poodles, uh, sisters. And I named them Ivy and Willow. I adopted Ivy.  Love the names.  Your name, like, Honey. Yeah, I love Honey. That's so cool. That was easy for her. She's the sweetest of them all. Yeah, oh that's awesome.

I can't wait to meet them. I should have brought them. I should have had them out tonight. That's okay. Would have loved going around the park. Oh yeah, the dogs are just having fun here. Um, yes. I ended up keeping Ivy. Ivy. Okay. Oh, the Willow. Okay. Parents kept the other dog, we named her Peaches. Oh, oh, cool.

But she's around . Yeah. Yeah. And, uh, so, uh, fostering 'em. And so how much, how much work was involved in, you know, just because  were you technically a business fostering or were you just doing it as just a help or explain that? Yeah, I was just a volunteer in the process. Basically. I kind of fell in front of the shelter on face.

They had a page on there, and a bunch of people looking, they had an influx of puppies, especially it was at the time where all the beagles were coming in, um, and they didn't have a place for them to go, so I kind of just volunteered my time, and ended up having a bunch of puppies come into the house, and it was, it's tough, I mean they give you bare minimum things, I don't really ask for much from them, maybe a bag of food, a few puppy pads, and like that's it.

Okay. But, they were all very young for the most part, so the hardest Okay, and so you would typically get them eight to twelve weeks. Is that what you're saying? Eight to twelve weeks. I've had some, like, living out here. I had a few through the Humane Society and they were about three years old. Oh, you're still doing it?

I do it once in a while. Okay. For the holidays to help out. And do your house is okay? Like, big size?  No. Oh, really? Oh, you're just You are just trying to help out? Yeah. We have a small two bed apartment. Okay. Um, not even a backyard. So anytime we have them, we actually introduce our two dogs and the cats to the foster.

Okay. And as long as we get approved through them Sure. And they don't get along, then we bring 'em into the house. That's good. Yeah. And then, you know, just the rituals of walks and things like that, so. Well that's really cool. I, I, you know, there's so many things you learn about and you meeting people like you that, that. 

What was, uh, when you were doing this, you know, with puppies and, you know, eight months, twelve months, what was the hardest thing about it?  Definitely the potty training and separating them. Uh, especially with the Humane Society out here knowing that, oh, I'm only going to have you for a few days. The turnaround is so quick on the younger dogs.

I had one over Christmas last year and I had him for three days. Okay.  Let him go. I was in love with him. I begged my fiancee, I was like, can we please, can we please keep this dog? And he said, we don't, we can't have three dogs. We have a three bedroom apartment, four pets already. So I just bawled my eyes out and we had to give him back.

And honestly, that's the hardest part. Even rehoming them and knowing that they're going to good places. I had a husky back in Philly that I had to, um, give to someone who adopted them. They're very nice people, but at the same time, it just breaks my heart to see them go. Because we bond with them so quickly.

Do you ever, uh, uh,  Keep in contact, or, or,  is there any sort of communication back with people that, you know, you've had special connections with, or with the dogs, or anything like that? Do you do any of that? Yeah, I do, I do. At least twice a year, I follow up with them, and I get some pictures. Cool. It's awesome.

Yeah, that, ah, there's nothing better, like, you know, that unconditional love, and, you know, knowing that you went through the process to help that, and So, with that, is it, is it all out of your own pocket of, like, the food and, and anything? Are those things, like, what about vet bills and stuff like that? Like, how does that work?

Do you pay for it all? Food and stuff is gonna be on me. Okay. Um, when it comes to vet bills through the old shelter that I used to do. And I think the Humane Society as well. I haven't had that issue, but Okay. The vet bills will be covered by them. I had a few fosters who had carbovirus when they were young, so.

And one of my, my dog included had it. So it was, they would go to the hospital and they would reimburse the cost for that. And obviously once you adopt, you don't get the privilege of getting reimbursed. Yeah. Unless you have the insurance. Sure. While fostering, yes. They will cover that stuff. But food, treats, if you want to go take them out and do something special, that's out of your pocket.

I guess it depends on how much you love them at that point. Wow, yeah. And so. How does one get into something like this? Is there a process? Do you just have to go to your local Maine Society? What were the steps you took to  spark your curiosity and get into it? What did you do? There were a few different things. 

Each experience different than the other. So the first place that I did it out of, and I'm like blanking on the name because it's been a year and I haven't been back here in so long. But through them, it was basically just, you know, we're on, um, they're on Facebook, and they didn't have a physical location, so I went through them, I found a foster application, I met with someone, and then as long as they felt that we were, like, a fitting environment to bring dogs into the home, then they would go ahead and approve you, you'd have one dog to start, and then if that went well, like, maybe the next batch of puppies, they'd give you, like, three.

So you have, like,  very different ways to do it. And then, uh, Humane Society, in order to get approved, to bring a dog in your home. You kind of go through orientation processes. So I did, uh, the dog TLC. So come in, I was walking dogs for like six months. Oh, wow. A long time. I loved it there. That's great. Yeah.

And, uh, and then over the holidays. So I guess I wasn't an official foster with them, but during holidays is when you can like volunteer your time. Okay. And they will approve you to bring the animals back. into your home. And even if it's just, you know, this dog's not with you until they get adopted, but the shelter's closed.

For Thanksgiving, for Christmas, for Easter. Okay, well, you're giving them a place to actually, like, have that one on one time to play, to get a little bit of attention. So, yeah, it was really rewarding. That's so cool. Like, I mean, anybody can get involved in stuff like this. And, you know, I'll get some more information from you.

We'll plug it when we put it online. So, back to your dogs, though. Um, we gotta get a little more on that. Training wise, have they gone through training? I mean, after the fostering, or is it just you, you and your fiancé? How's that? Just us, for the most part. Yeah, I would have loved to put him through training.

It's a little expensive. It's not something that I would afford personally.  But, um, I mean, I've had a lot of experience with some people who are really good caretakers. And I grew up with dogs as well, and I'm sure you've done the same. Yeah. So it was kind of just a one on one time with them. I will say training two dogs is a lot harder than one.

Like, having a young puppy and then bringing another one into the home and trying to go train is Yeah. It's very tricky, because they are not perfect dogs, I'll say this. Yeah, I mean, and two different breeds, right? Yes, yes, one is very stubborn, and the lab in the other is incredibly playful and eager to learn.

Yeah, yeah, I have a healer and a pity, and the pity is like, Oh, there you go. Dumber than a box of rocks, he's not, but he's super friendly and like, but he doesn't listen, the healer doesn't care, she wants to learn. And she's just right there all the time. So I get it. They're drilled in. Yeah, yeah, definitely.

That's crazy. Um, and do they know any tricks? They know basic tricks. Okay. Very, very basic. I wish I could have taught them more, but they do not want to figure them out.  It's going to be your sit, lay down,  cough sometimes. And that is all they're going to listen to. Yeah, I gotta ask the question, because sometimes people are like, Oh, they do this one little cool thing that they do.

Oh, some people are so good with their dogs. Or it's just like a little thing, like working from home, like you don't know what your dog is going to pick up on. See, and that's what I was getting to when I opened up the question, because we're working full time from home.  What, what does that look like? Are they under your desk?

Are you taking, uh, breaks and going to walk in them? What, what does the workday look like for them, for them and you? Both. Um, some days when I'm super, super busy, cause I, cause I do work in finance, and that does happen. Yeah. Um, a lot of times they're just kind of laying with me in the office, but other times I'll take, and every day, I mean, I do it anyway.

We take three walks a day, so we'll go like on a mile each walk. Nice. We live right on the same brain, so we walk around the trail. Um, so they love doing that. And they do a lot of like the lick pads. Okay. And like the Kong treats and stuff like that. So they keep themselves entertained mentally. Brain is good too.

Yeah. Yeah, it's more, that and, you know, the, the, the piece of, uh, physical is, is equally important. Yes, yes. And keeping each other busy, as I'm sure you know, having two dogs too. Like they just constantly play with each other. And I like that. Yeah, exactly. I mean, it's fun that you can just let them go together and they're just  Yeah, you can take a break once in a while and know that they're still having a good time with each other.

Yeah. Or sometimes they even forget that there's two of them and then they'll randomly start playing. And I'm like, did you not, did you forget? Yeah. That you were both here? Yeah. That's cool. That's cool. Okay. Um, thanks for being on the podcast. Last thing we asked. Um, we, it's me, but I, I asked this question, if your dogs could say anything, like, like words coming out,  what would one of them say?

So my dog, Hazel, I give this example on every episode, maybe I should switch it up. I think Rue would probably be just like, just feed me everything that's in your hand. Um, or I'm going to go get that squirrel right now. But Hazel just looks at me with these eyes and goes, dad. Dad. Dad. What would your dog say? 

Honey is a love bug, so honestly she would just look up to us and be like, I love you so much, pay me attention. That's what would come out of her mouth for sure.  And Ivy, she's a side eye kind of poodle. So I think she'd be going like, bitch. If that's okay to say. Yes, absolutely. Yeah, we're definitely like, uh, flexible.

It's a dog friendly, we go to places with booze and beer like here. That's great. So, side eye. That's awesome. Yep. A very big side eye kind of girl. She's a judgy poodle. Yeah, that's awesome. Well, cool. Thanks for sitting down and talking with me. This is great. Oktoberfest. Um, it's a little rainy, but it's, you know, everything's all in stride.

Thanks so much for hanging out and talking. Thank you. Absolutely.  Thank you so much, Allison. That was a pleasure to speak with ya, and I hope you enjoyed the interview. Uh, it was a great show. Thank you, again, Longmont Humane Society, Oktoberfest, Pawtoberfest. Had a great time, good music, got a little bit of, uh, weather, but, and all in all,  all in all, we had a great time, so, thank you. 

On to reviews. Today we are reviewing Colasomy. Yes, I do believe that's how you pronounce it, but  In short, it is an LED dog collar. So, it lights up for those night time walks, plays in the park, adventures in a scary alley, which I hope you're not going down too many of those, but uh, yeah, I've got these for both of my pups.

It's easy to fit, they come in a collar form, as well as this small, kind of, little bit bigger than a, maybe a twizzler size, uh, loop that you put around your dog's neck, push a button,  connect it in the other end of the light, and it glows. It comes in  up to nine colors. I have a green and Pink so I went with maybe a male dominant and a female so I could tell them apart but Really cool feature with this is the rechargeable Charge time is about two hours They have a couple features.

I say a few A few features. One is a quick flash, one is a slow flash, and the other is for a steady glow. Now, as you know, the quick flash will probably last a little bit longer than the slow flash, and the steady glow even shorter. The steady glow is what I prefer because I don't want to go into shock seeing that around my dog's neck flashing.

So, steady glow, they say, three hours. I've had mine for about a year now. It's getting a little bit shorter on time. Uh, may, maybe an hour, but, uh, I'm not using them a ton during the summer because we're walking and still light out, but if I get those late night walks, I definitely use them.  Uh, it's one size fits all, which is really cool.

So they come in 27 inches and then you just cut it down according to your dog's neck size. So make sure you don't. Put them too too tight, but you want it so it doesn't fall off as well. I did notice a little bit that My dog, Roo, uh, he seems to wobble all over the place and sometimes it falls off, so you gotta, you know, make sure you don't,  if it's dark, you, you won't lose sight of it, but it, uh, it fell off a couple times, but just pushed it back on, seems to be fine, uh, great all around product, uh, there's no website, I did follow him on Instagram, 

I also, uh, will put the link to Amazon in the notes because there's no official website that I could find, which is fine, you know, sometimes it is what it is. Um, but they do have a leash and another collar. The collar apparently is unavailable right now. Yeah, all in all a great feature. I think it's smart to have your dog on the light Or with a you know something you can see him and other people can see him as well So if you're in a neighborhood and there's you know cars or bikers things like that So very cool feature very cool product definitely give it a four out of five, but love it big shout out  Thanks, everybody.

Hope to hear from you next week. Bye bye. This week's episode was written and produced by me, Brandon Bennett, the owner of Alpine Howl. Check us out at alpinehowl. com to get your pups some  great handcrafted gear.  And a matching hat for yourself. AlpineHowl. com  Hit the subscribe button so you can listen to us every week so you don't miss an episode of Dog Friendly.

That's right, we are coming at you every week on Tuesday mornings with all the special guests. and going around the country to stop at dog friendly locations. If you have any inquiries or questions, please email us at info at alpine howell. com or DM us through Instagram at alpine howell. com  pet those dogs and itch behind the ears.

See you later.