Since becoming the official laundry partner of Best Friends Animal Society (BFAS), we’ve met many passionate animal advocates. But these heroes exist in a variety of organizations, many affiliated with BFAS. To honor them for their efforts, Speed Queen gifted several of these special foster parents a TR7/DR7 set to help simplify laundry day and enable them to focus on providing the best possible care for their furry foster friends. And today, we want to introduce you to Matt and Megan in Kanab, Utah.

A hard dog’s life

Logan’s full history wasn’t known, but it was pretty clear to his foster parents, Megan and Matt Claflin, that he hadn’t had a normal dog’s life. After all, what kind of dog gets confused by seeing his food in a dish? The poor dog didn’t know how to eat out of a dish.

The couple definitely had a big project in front of them, literally, as Logan was a large boy. Even by Great Pyrenees standards, he was larger than most.

But Megan and Matt were committed.

Professionally and personally dedicated

As employees of Best Friends Animal Society—Megan works in the CEO’s office and Matt in fundraising—the pair are supporters of the organization’s cause. About five years ago, they decided they wanted to do more and began fostering. However, a move to Kanab, Utah escalated their commitment to animals.

“We really may have to stop now … we may be I think two [animals] past hoarding,” Megan jokes of their ever-growing list of adopted animals.

Among their self-described mini sanctuary are five dogs, five cats, five sheep, and two bunnies. But ask who’s the softy behind their foster fails and let the finger pointing begin. “We are good at fails,” Megan says proudly. A major accomplishment given their love of the Great Pyrenees breed, Logan is one of the couple’s many success stories. They now have four Great Pyrenees.

The importance of fostering

It’s an established fact that if an adopted dog gets returned, it’s likely going to be in the first couple weeks. This is why fostering is so vital.

“These animals just are not exposed to daily home life,” Matt says when speaking about the importance of getting animals out of the shelter and acclimated to what life after adoption will be like. Additionally (as in the case of Logan) fosters who chronicle their journey can help dispel the misinformation about large-breed dogs as difficult, mean, too challenging, or not adoptable.

“It gives an opportunity to tell the story of why [people should] adopt a Great Pyrenees, Great Dane … there’s still so much education to be done in animal welfare,” Matt says.

Advice for fosters

Megan and Matt are passionate about opening their home to fosters and proudly embrace their foster fails with a laugh that’s as infectious as it honest. If they believe they can give a good home to an animal, they will. It’s that simple.

But they are also overjoyed when a foster finds a forever home that is not with them. Megan hopes others will do the same and try fostering. Her advice: your home doesn’t have to be perfect to start animals on the path to developing home skills. She also recommends foster parents be patient and prepared for lots of laundry (which Speed Queen is here to help with, we’ll get to that later).

Matt adds that there are so many things that shelter animals can be taught, but only through the attention that they can get through a foster. And there’s plenty of online support to help them train their animals.

The rest of the story

So, what happened to Logan? Did this big guy learn to eat out of a bowl? Did Matt and Megan add him to their pack? Their expressions tell the story, but not the one you’d expect of parents so fond of the Great Pyrenees breed.

They loved Logan—and still do. After all, he learned how to be a dog with them and, yes, even eat out of a dish. Logan was adopted by a family in Scottsdale, AZ.

“They treat him like he’s the king of all dogs,” Matt says with just a hint of pride. Meanwhile, Megan joyfully shares photos of Logan lounging around the pool and living his best life. But most importantly, he has thrived and developed house and social skills that make Matt and Megan proud.

Because at the end of the day, that’s what fostering is all about.

To learn more about Best Friends Animal Society visit, visit bestfriends.org.

Speed Queen experience

Pet hair woes are a bit of a sliding scale. When you think you have issues with a little dog or cat hair on your couch or favorite pair of pants ask yourself, “do I have a battery powered leaf blower stowed away in my living room specifically for pet hair mitigation?”

For some, that’s exactly what it’s like. Imagine cleaning up the aftermath of the five dogs (most of them Great Pyrenees) and five cats that Matt and Megan deal with. And that leaf blower detail? That wasn’t made up for shock value—they really do have one for that purpose. That’s why the TR7/DR7 washer and dryer pair Speed Queen sent them was in for a definite workout at the couple’s mini sanctuary, which houses 17 animals. The Pet Hair remover cycle has seen plenty of action and delivered results.

Megan says it’s especially useful for laundering bunny items. She jokes about how the items are so loaded with hair and straw that they “sometimes require a two lint-trapper dry operation,” referring to needing to empty the lint screen twice during the cycle. They’ve also been impressed by the wash results. Though items are definitely cleaner than what they were with previous equipment, Matt says that the smell is radically different.

“I noticed the smell … it just smells fresher,” he says of items not having a detergent smell but just a fresh clean scent.

Learn how a TR7/DR7 washer and dryer set can change your pet hair situation by visiting www.speedqueen.com