After a tornado struck Joplin, MO, where we live, we donated a portable kennel our dog had outgrown to our local shelter, which was taking care of many displaced pets. It started us thinking about cleaning out closets and basements -- spring cleaning, in fact -- to donate other items we no longer needed.

So in our March newsletter, we asked what you shared with your shelter or rescue group. The No. 1 answer was your time. We are always awed that so many of you give so many of your precious hours to help homeless pets.

Dee cleans kennels and donates lap time to kitties. She admits it's hard to get over wanting to take them all home but has resigned herself to the idea that her job "is to help each and every kitty over that hump of losing its home and helping it to feel loved again."

Carol, who says she's mostly a dog person, volunteers once a week at her shelter and says it's the best "job" she has ever had. She also helps out at adoption events and, like others of you, donates things the shelter needs.

Read more responses after the jump!

Last week we asked our Facebook community to vote on the topic of our next live Q&A -- and you wanted to learn more about helping pets during the holidays. So on Tuesday, Dec. 13 from 3-4 p.m. ET, Petfinder shelter outreach director Sara Kent will be answering your questions live.

But if you want to start helping pets NOW, don't wait. Find an adoption group near you that's participating in our Foster a Lonely Pet for the Holidays program and sign up to get an adoptable pet out of a shelter. (Not sure you're ready? Check out our gallery of pets in need of foster homes and you may change your mind!)

But don't forget to log in to Facebook (and make sure you've "liked" Petfinder's Facebook page) and join us on Tuesday, Dec. 13 from 3-4 p.m. ET so we can answer your questions.

PS: Here are 13 more easy ways to help homeless pets!

All this week we've been talking about the many great less-adoptable pets in shelters and rescue groups. But the truth is, any pet is less-adoptable if potential adopters can't see his or her wonderful qualities.

And the easiest way to show off a pet's sparkling personality is with a great photo. That's why one of the best ways you can volunteer is by taking photos of homeless pets for their Petfinder profiles.

Gizmodo has the story of (and a video about) Teresa Berg, a professional photographer who volunteers with Dallas-Fort Worth Dachshund Rescue Foundation. Berg's photos helped the organization double its adoption rate.

"We would cut foster care from three to six months down to eight weeks," Berg told CBS Dallas-Fort Worth. "That made me feel good." She now trains others in the art of photographing shelter pets.

Pets who especially benefit from thoughtful photographs include cats and black dogs. After the jump: Some of our favorite blog posts with tips on photographing shelter pets.

If you've got a skill -- or even just an idea -- you can use it to help homeless pets. Whether you hold a bake sale fundraiser or create a Facebook page for a shelter or rescue group, you can make a difference! But the key to your success is having a good relationship with the organization (and their blessing on your project) before you start.

Maybe you already volunteer for an adoption group. But if you don't, and you're not sure how to develop a relationship with one, here are some important steps:

Do your research. If you don't know of a group near you, you can search for shelters on Petfinder by state or zip code. Look at an organization's Petfinder homepage to learn about its mission, its structure (are its pets in a shelter or a network of foster homes? Is it run by volunteers or does it have a staff?) and its needs, and to find out how to contact its organizers.

Be patient. Many nonprofits are volunteer-run, and those volunteers usually have full-time jobs during the day, so they make take a while to respond to your inquiry. Don't give up! Contact a few different organizations about your idea. If your idea needs to happen at a specific time (for example, if you want to photograph pets with Santa around Christmastime), get started early so this type of delay won't throw you off schedule.

Talk to the right person. Find out who runs the kind of project you want to do -- it might be the volunteer coordinator, the director of development or, in a small organization, the founder or executive director. Ask for his or her advice and make it clear that you'll use it. Plus, the person's experience and connections might provide some fabulous ways to improve your idea.

A new ruling could save volunteers some hard-earned cash. A California woman who fosters cats for a rescue group went to tax court when the IRS wouldn't let her deduct the expenses she'd racked up caring for the cats -- and the judge ruled in her favor. (Read the Wall Street Journal article about the case.)

Jan Van Dusen, who fosters cats for Berkeley, CA-based Fix Our Ferals, had tried to write off $12,068 she'd spent on cat food, veterinary care, litter, paper towels and other items. Early this month, U.S. Tax Court judge Richard Morrison ruled in her favor.

This is great news for pet foster parents everywhere. The Wall Street Journal reports:

The decision ... paves the way for volunteers of animal-rescue groups like the ASPCA and Humane Society of the U.S. to
deduct unreimbursed expenses
that further the groups' missions, such as fostering stray animals.

But there are three very important criteria you must meet if you want to write off your expenses:

1. The organization you volunteer with must have 501(c)3 status.
2. You must be able to show that your contribution furthers the group's mission.
3. You need a letter from the group acknowledging your donations if they are worth more than $250 (less than $250 and receipts or canceled checks should be enough).

Tell us: What charitable expenses do you write off?

It's time for spring cleaning, and now there's even more reason to clean out those closets: Petfinder is teaming up with BlogPaws Be the Change for Pets for the Sell Your Stuff, Save a Life challenge, the world's biggest online garage sale to benefit homeless pets.

The Sell Your Stuff, Save a Life challenge
From May 18-25, we're asking pet parents everywhere to sell the stuff you don't need and donate the proceeds to the animal charity of your choice. You can sell your stuff online or off, just tell us how you much you raked in so we can track our collective impact.

We'll have more details on how to participate in the Sell Your Stuff, Save a Life challenge, so stay tuned! (And in the meantime, start thinking about all the stuff you want to sell, or visit the Be the Change for Pets Facebook page and ask any questions in the Discussion Tab.

It's National Volunteer Appreciation Week (April 10-16)! In our March newsletter we asked you to tell us about your volunteer experiences. You inspired us with all that you do.

Some of you have started all-volunteer rescue groups that consume most of your time, and your hearts. Thousands of you volunteer full-time for shelter pets.

Mariana, for instance, is the volunteer director of the largest shelter in the state of Morelos in Mexico. Others of you make it possible for animal-welfare organizations
to exist with traditionally low budgets and limited staff.

You socialize cats and dogs, you help with meet-and-greet days at local pet stores, you foster pets in your homes. Ten-year-old Kaitlyn and her mom sell bottled water and pink lemonade in front of stores and donate the proceeds to animal-welfare groups. Marion takes photos and writes descriptions for her local shelter's Petfinder postings.

Bridget Evans is a volunteer trainer for the MidAmerica Service Dogs' Foundation and started the University of Illinois Service Dog Project. Together with her service dog Coal, she has helped train more than 15 service dogs. Today, she shares why being a volunteer with a service-dog organization is special to her.

I am a student with a disability at the University of Illinois, and thanks to my service dog, Coal, I lead the independent, fast-paced life of a typical college student.

Coal is an 11-year-old black Labrador retriever who knows more than 35 commands. He inspired me to start the U of I Service Dog Project, a partnership between the MidAmerica Service Dog Foundation and the Applied Health Sciences Student Council at the University of Illinois, where students now have the opportunity to foster and train service dogs on campus.

Right now is a great time to get involved with your local service-dog organization. Here are the top five reasons you should:

1. You love dogs!
Volunteers come from all walks of life, but the one thing they have in common is their love of dogs. This is the only requirement to get involved. Your local service-dog organization will teach you how to train a dog, how to interact with people with all types of disabilities, and even what a service-dog organization does.

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.

We've already covered six great ways to help homeless pets in the Twelve Days of Dewey countdown.

Here are two more easy, fun things you can do to help shelter pets and spread the word about pet adoption.

6) Donate SIX towels or blankets to your local animal shelter. Shelters always need towels and blankets to make the animals more comfortable in their cages -- and don't you deserve to treat yourself to some new linens?

5) Read and share FIVE books about rescue animals including Dewey: There's a Cat in the Library and Dewey's Christmas in the Library, both from Little, Brown Books for Young Readers.