Salisbury woman inspired to paint again after fostering over 100 dogs
Jo Heather has been helping the Dogs Trust since 2017
A woman from Salisbury has told us how fostering dogs with the Dogs Trust has led to her rekindling her passion for art.
Jo Heather has fostered almost a hundred pups with the Newton Tony rehoming centre since starting the role in 2017, helping prepare them for life with new owners.
When the dogs find their forever homes, the new owners get a hand crafted piece of art from Jo.
She spoke to Greatest Hits Radio and told us how it all started.
"I've always enjoyed artistic and painting, but with a busy working full time, busy lifestyle, kids, it just kind of wasn't happening.
"Then I noticed when we had a foster, there's a lovely little point in the evening, where everything goes quiet at home and the dog would just be asleep next to me.
"I thought, I'd get some pencils out and start doing some of sketches," Jo told us.
Jo tries to capture some of the dogs personality in the art by including their favourite toy or drawing them in a particular way they lay.
"Long dogs really like sort of end up laying with their legs out the front and out the back and then you get other little dogs that roll up into a little ball. So it's just trying to capture some of that really."
A good luck gift for new owners
But Jo's artist efforts aren't confined to her own home, as some new owners already have a pooch-pal in their home.
"If they already had a dog, I'd take a couple of snapshots of the two dogs meeting for the first time, and then I'll do a little sketch of their current dog and the new dog," Jo explained.
She told us her work have been warmly received by new owners, saying: "People have always seemed very grateful."
Jo is one of the Dogs Trust's 500 fosterers across the UK, and their need has never been greater. In 2023, over 450,000 handover calls were made to the charity, but kennel spaces are at a premium.
"This is just a great way to do something really valuable and really wonderful for the dog," Jo told us.
Fosterers are supported by the Dogs Trust and a dog can be with a fosterer for a few days or a few weeks before moving to their new home.
More information on fostering with the Dogs Trust can be found here.