Volunteer Information for Dogs

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What is this page?

The information on this page helps MLAR volunteers see which animals on the website need additional information added to their profiles. If you are interested in becoming a MLAR volunteer, please check the www.mlar.org/volunteer web page. Thanks!

Meet Sojourner

All about Sojourner

Sojourner is a 1 year, 5 months old female Cane Corso who weighs 80 pounds.

Sojourner (or SoJo to her favorite people) is such a lovely big girl. She grew up in the shelter system while waiting for her (and her other friends) case to clear the court system, so she is still learning about the big world outside the kennel walls.
She has come SO FAR in a short period with us at MLAR (she was transferred to us from Philly location), and she now readily greets the volunteers and LOVES to play in the fenced in play yards with staff and vols, running like a puppy (despite her size she is FAST) and enjoying her life. She may take a minute to get used to new people and places but she does learn to trust pretty quickly, she just needs someone with some patience to let her learn about this big world at her own pace.

She greets other dogs playfully through the fence, even doing cute play bows and butt wiggles, but can be a bit more reactive on leash, so it might take a couple meets for her to get comfortable with your resident dog.
SoJo deserves to find a safe, loving forever home!

Note that many dogs do not reach full size until they are about a year and a half old. The weight listed here is the dog's current weight.

Photos (click for full-size)
Sojourner 1
Sojourner 2
Sojourner 3
Additional Information

Site: MLAR

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Photography tips

Having photos for each of our animals is a priority! It is difficult to get a prospective adopter who is sitting at home surfing the web to get enthusiastic about a new pet that they can’t even see, so we want to get photos on the website as early as possible. Sometimes, though, the photos available are photos of the animals in their prior shelter homes (lots of chain link and concrete) or from a clinic setting (lots of hands wearing blue gloves). We want to replace these with happy photos of the animals as quickly as we can!

The following is some guidance about how to create the best photos

  • No photos of dogs in their runs. Preferably, no photos of dogs indoors at all. We want green grass and blue skies! When outside, think about background objects (trash cans, etc) and frame your photo to keep the distractions to a minimum.
  • Photos you submit do not have to be square, however the photo will appear square (cropped, not stretched) in many places on the website(s). Therefore, make sure that if your photo isn’t square that the animal is centered in the photo so that important details aren’t lost if the photo is shown cropped.
  • We can put three photos on the website for each animal*. At least one of those photos should be a “full-body” photo so that prospective adopters can get an idea of the size and shape of the animal.
  • Preferably, the animal is off-leash for the photo, but if that’s not possible, at least ensure that the leash is slack. Think about the prospective adopter, who has no idea how the animal is being treated, and make sure that the photos do not give them the wrong impression that a particular animal is difficult to control or that they are not being treated gently.
  • Get low! You’ll get a better photo if you’re down at the animal’s level than if you’re shooting down on them from five feet above.
  • It is better to have the sun behind you than behind the animal. Your color fidelity will be better if you can avoid shadows or shaded areas.

* PetFinder supports six photos (or five photos and a video), so we can post additional photos there.