This is my first blog post, even though I have been executive director of the Petfinder.com Foundation for over two years. You know how it goes: start but don't finish, something else to do, a fantastic staff who can actually blog. But no more excuses! I guess you can call this a resolution of sorts.

I love my job. In 2010, with the generous support of donors and sponsors/partners, we were able to give (literally) millions of dollars back to Petfinder.com shelter and rescue-group members to help further our mission of ending the euthanasia of adoptable pets. Sometimes I do get mired in the administrative minutia that is necessary
to run the foundation, but next week I'm busting out to help rebuild a shelter in need with a group of dedicated college students, professional staff, and colleagues.

To say I'm excited is an understatement. The idea of doing hands-on, down-and-dirty work at a shelter has a huge appeal to me (except for the 30-degree weather -- I am a Tucson girl, after all).

I'm leaving on New Year's Day to travel to Chester, SC, to participate in Animal Lifeline's Rescue University program. Animal Lifeline's amazing and dedicated staff will take college students who have volunteered(!) to give up their winter break (and New Year's Eve) to ride in a van from Pennsylvania to South Carolina and Chester County Animal Control.

The students and professional staff will spend a week rehabilitating the shelter facilities to improve the quality of life for pets waiting to find their forever homes; we'll also transport some dogs to the Northeast, where their chances of being adopted will be much higher.

Guest blogger Becky Robinson is the president and founder of Alley Cat Allies, a group dedicated to transforming and developing communities to protect and improve the lives of cats.

With much of the East Coast now buried in snow, you may be wondering how outdoor cats are surviving. In fact, even though stray and feral cats are at home outside, they can always use some extra help in cold or severe weather. Here's what you can do to help them stay safe, warm and healthy during the winter months.

Car Safety: Before starting your car, give the hood a tap and check between the tires -- cats will sometimes crawl into the engine or hide underneath the car for warmth. This is also the time of year for antifreeze, which often tastes irresistible to cats and other animals, but is toxic and deadly. Keep it out of reach and clean up any spills!

Shelter: Keep your feral cat colonies comfortable this winter by providing them with a shelter. Check out our list of cat shelter ideas sorted by ease of setup [see Petfinder staffer Sara's great homemade feral-cat shelters here]. Dog houses can also do the trick with a few modifications. After the jump: Some tips for making your feral-cat shelter safe, cozy and welcoming to your local cat(s).

As we do at the end of each year, we've taken a look at the 300,000+ pets posted on Petfinder and tallied up the most popular names for adoptable dogs and cats.

For the fourth year in a row, Buddy fetched the top spot as the most popular name for adoptable dogs. For cats, Lucy once again purred into first place, barely beating Midnight for the No. 1 ranking.

A name that continues to rise up the ranks
for both dogs and cats is Bella, probably due to the ubiquitous Twilight mania; the name jumped from No. 6 to the No. 4 spot for dogs, and from No. 4 to No. 3 for cats. Meanwhile, Rocky had a comeback, placing among the top 10 dog names after last making the cut in 2007, and Tiger also pounced into sixth place for cats.

Here are the full lists; after the jump, check out our top 10 celebrity-inspired pet names.

2010's Top 10 Most Popular Adoptable-Dog Names

1. Buddy
2. Max
3. Daisy
4. Bella
5. Lucy
6. Jack
7. Molly
8. Charlie
9. Sadie
10. Rocky

2010's Top 10 Most Popular Adoptable-Cat Names

1. Lucy
2. Midnight
3. Bella
4. Molly
5. Smokey
6. Tiger
7. Oreo
8. Max
9. Princess
10. Charlie

No one would suspect that the vibrant little rascal who loves to run and play and drag all his toys out of the toy basket was once a shy shelter dog. Jack (shown in front) was relinquished to animal control by his person and then, just before he was scheduled to be put to sleep, Partners for Pets in Troy, IL, saved him and posted his photo and description on Petfinder.

Rachael Heaton and her family in Collinsville, IL, had been looking on
Petfinder for a buddy for their other dog, a Pomeranian, so when she saw Jack's photo, she took note.

"I watched him on Petfinder for a few days until a friend of mine asked me to donate some cat beds to the shelter for her," she says. "I drove down to the shelter to drop off the cat beds and saw that Jack was in one of the outside enclosures. I decided, why not?"

This is it! It's the last week of the Twelve Days of Dewey campaign. If you've taken any of the suggestions we've offered so far, thank you on behalf of homeless pets! And don't forget to check out the new children's book, Dewey's Christmas at the Library.

The last two days of Dewey feature the most significant things you can do to make a difference in the lives of pets in need. We hope you'll make one or both of them your New Year's resolutions.

2) Sign up to volunteer for TWO hours a week with your local animal shelter or rescue group. You can do anything from playing with cats and walking dogs to driving pets to adoption events to answering phones. Remember, every hour you give makes a difference to the pets.

1) Pledge to foster or adopt ONE pet. You can change a pet's life by giving him or her a forever home -- but if you can't do that, you can have just as great an impact by fostering a pet for a shelter or rescue group. Read more about fostering a pet here -- or find organizations participating in our Foster a Lonely Pet for the Holidays program.

Each week this month we've shared stories of fostering pets and tips for becoming a foster parent in honor of our Foster a Lonely Pet for the Holidays program. (Read our past posts here.)

Want to foster a pet for the holidays? Find a participating organization near you.

One of the questions I'm most frequently asked as a pet foster parent is, "How do you let go?" Similarly, a lot of people tell me they don't foster pets because "I could never give them back."

That's why this week I'm sharing my top five tips for letting go at the end of a foster period. While they're not exactly foolproof (we just decided to adopt our last foster cat, Wes), these tips have helped me let go of well over 20 foster cats and dogs and place them in loving, happy homes -- that aren't my own.

This year we saw a ton of fabulous videos that spread the word about pet adoption. We've made our top 10 list here -- some of these will look familiar; others we're posting for the first time. (Oh, and they're in no particular order.) Enjoy!

(See the list -- and the videos -- after the jump.)

Tomorrow, another Jane -- one slightly furrier than me -- will ring the closing bell at the New York Stock Exchange. And Jane, a Vizsla mix adopted dog from Bideawee in New York, will be joined by homeless pets and representatives from the Iams Home 4 the Holidays campaign to raise awareness of pet adoption.

Jane was adopted in September by Jack Nazarian, who has been blogging about the experience as an "adoption angel" on IamsHome4theHolidays.com.

Jack and the other Iams H4TH adoption angel, Meaghan West, who adopted a Spaniel mix named Beryllium from the Saskatoon SPCA in Canada, have also been posting on Iams' Facebook page -- and each time you "like" one of their posts, Iams donates food to animal shelters (more than 4 million meals since the campaign kicked off in October!)

In honor of our Foster a Lonely Pet for the Holidays program, we've been posting about pet fostering each week this month. (Read the previous posts about pet fostering.)

Want to foster a pet for the holidays? Find a participating organization near you.

Fostering pets has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life and is something I encourage everyone I know to do. But I've learned some big lessons along the way.

For the experience to turn out well for the foster parent and the rescue organization (and, most of all, the pet), it's crucial that all parties communicate and be clear about their expectations and responsibilities.

Here are some questions to ask the rescue group or shelter before you sign up to foster (the group will most likely have you fill out a foster-home application as well). Don't be alarmed if the group doesn't have answers to all the questions you ask. Each organization has its own procedures.

Questions about the pet:

1. How did he come to be with the shelter or rescue group and how long has he been there?
2. Why does he need a foster home now?
3. Does he have any medical concerns or need medication?
4. Has he been neutered (or spayed, if the pet is female)? If not, when will he be?
5. Is he up to date on his vaccinations and has he been tested for diseases such as FELV and FIV (cats) or heartworm (dogs)?
6. Since conditions such as kennel cough and upper respiratory infections cannot be tested for, how long should I keep him separated from my own pets?
7. Does he have any behavioral issues or concerns? How are they dealt with?
8. Do you know how he is with kids, cats, dogs and/or strangers? Can my children or pets meet him before I commit to fostering him?
9. Do you know how he does when left alone? Is he crate trained (dogs)?
10. Is he housetrained (dogs)/litter box trained (cats)?

Read 10 important questions to ask about the fostering process after the jump.