By now you know that this week is doggie week here on My Diary of Us and I just had to spotlight my new favorite app and how it and you can help local animal shelters just by walking your dog! My old man of a dog, Rutledge is from a shelter and so this topic is near and dear to me! It's so easy, and honestly a genius way for all of us to be a part of helping shelters and the dogs who end up there on a daily basis! Along with sharing the app, I'm going to give you a behind the scenes look at the adoption organization that I linked my app to, Friends of the Animals!

First let's talk about the Walk For a Dog program. It's a program that encourages us to get out and walk, bike, or run with our pups ( just more encouragement to be active and keep our pets active)! You can pick which shelter you would like to donate to by simply selecting it when you set up your app, which is actually called the WoofTrax App. All you have to do is bring your phone with you and turn on the app every time that you walk, bike, or run and just like that you are helping a shelter! How amazing is that?

If you have always wanted to help but feel like you don't know how or don't have the extra time, here is your chance to help out! The program donates to each shelter three times a year and the amount is based upon how many people are linked up to each organization and how many times they are walking for that particular shelter, which is just another reason to share this with your friends!

For my link up, I decided I wanted to donate to Friends of the Animals, which is located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. FOTA is an organization that's "mission is to rescue, re-home, or otherwise save as many dogs and puppies from euthanasia at the municipal shelter and in the parish of East Baton Rouge." They have an amazing adoption house where potential adopters can come meet and hang out with whichever dog they are interested in. This gives the potential owners a feel of how the dog is in a normal home environment and not inside of the shelter walls. In return, the doggies are more relaxed and the adopters are too!

Dogs from the shelter along with dogs who are being fostered come to the house each day from 11:30 am - 6:00 pm and hang out with the staff and volunteers who help socialize the dogs, give them a break from the shelter life, and hopefully get them adopted!

What they are doing is so amazing, and I just love that they are on a mission to give as many dogs as they can another shot at life! That is why I decided to choose to donate my Walk For a Dog walks to this particular organization.

The adoption house is just that...a house, where the three rooms are dedicated to large, medium, and small size dogs! Outside, they have four different play areas, where each dog depending on their size gets to run around with volunteers and staff members and play with toys, swim in baby pools, and just be dogs for the afternoon!

If you are thinking about getting a new pup, even if you want a purebred, try Friends of the Animals and see if there is a special pup there who you are meant to be with! If you are local, dog adoptions occur at The Adoption House, Orvis at Perkins Rowe, and at The Baton Rouge Arts Market!

If you aren't looking for a new pup, but want to help out, download the WoofTrax App today and starting Walking For a Dog! Let's spread the word and get some money donated to these shelters that most of the time work on donations alone and need any help they can get!

If you want to help out in other ways, FOTA accepts the following donations: monetary (they are one of the few programs that pay for medical expenses including heartworm treatments), cleaning supplies (Clorox wipes, hand sanitizer, paper towels etc.), chew toys such as Kongs, smooth peanut butter, and of course you can always volunteer or become a foster! I am sure that this goes for any of the shelters out there who need some help!

Download the App (it's free), help a shelter, and stay active! Sounds pretty good to me!

"Woof woof", the doggies thank you and so do I!

Walk For a Dog and Friends of the Animals