December always seems to be a bit of a blur, so in case you missed them, here were our top stories of the month from Chew on This, along with a few other headlines.

6 guidelines for marketing your foster pet
Foster caregivers are realizing the power they have to get pets adopted through marketing. Photographs, video, text and other materials created in foster care are especially valuable in helping potential adopters picture a pet in their own home and conveying information about a pet’s behavior outside the shelter.

Study: Audiobooks outperform music at reducing stress in shelter dogs
This story from 2017 got a new life this year. Why not try an audiobook (or maybe a podcast) for your shelter?

5 ways to get dogs out of the shelter faster
This post on proven strategies to get dogs adopted more quickly was the final post in a three-part lifesaving series written by Kristen Auerbach, Director of Animal Services at Pima Animal Control Center in Tucson, AZ.

Innovative lifesaving ideas to be awarded up to $400,000
You have until January 15 to enter Petco’s Innovation Showdown.

Study: Do shelter dogs benefit from short-term foster sleepovers?
Can a dog in your shelter benefit from just one sleepover with a foster? You bet, and we’ve got the research to back it up!

Less than one month to go until the American Pets Alive! Conference! 
Register today and receive 15% off with the code THANKSTOMADDIE.

Update your 2018 data with Shelter Animals Count before time runs out! 
Over $20,000 in grants will be given away! Update your January – December 2018 data now and enter to win. New registrants can also qualify! Deadline is January 31, 2019.