Testimonials

There are people who say they want to help rescue, and then there are people like David, who quietly become part of it.

When David first came into my world, he knew technology. Rescue was another matter. But rather than standing on the outside looking in, he wanted to understand it.

And over time, he has probably learned more about the real Rovers Return than most people ever will.

He has seen the bits I love.

He’s seen the bits I hate.

He’s seen the things I desperately want to spend my time doing, but never seem to have enough hours for.

He’s also seen the things I don’t want to do at all, but have to do because somebody has to.

He’s seen the good days when everything comes together and I remember exactly why I started.

And he’s seen the days that break my heart.

David hasn’t been given the polished, fluffy version of rescue that is easy to put on social media.

He’s seen the raw version.

He’s seen the worry behind a dog I can’t immediately help. The frustration when there aren’t enough fosters, enough money, enough space or enough hours in the day. He’s seen the decisions I don’t want to make. He’s seen the exhaustion, the tears, the anger and the heartbreak.

But he’s also seen the absolute joy when a frightened dog finally trusts me, when a trap finally closes after days or weeks of trying, when a dog gets the medical care they desperately needed, or when one of them finally goes home.

He’s seen a very honest side of me too.

David knows what I love about rescue and what I hate about it. He knows where I wish I could concentrate my time and how often the realities of running a rescue pull me somewhere completely different.

There isn’t much pretence left when somebody has been beside you through all of that.

And I think that’s one of the reasons 4leggedIT means something different.

David didn’t sit behind a computer and decide he wanted to build websites for animal rescues.

He learned rescue first.

He fostered dogs. He experienced the attachment and the goodbye. He watched what happens behind the scenes. He saw how much time gets swallowed by administration and technology when all I really want to be doing is helping the dogs.

He saw the problems because he was standing beside me while I was dealing with them.

And then he started using what he was good at to help.

And believe me, I have tested his patience.

I still call David almost daily.

“David, can you change this?”
“Can we add this?”
“Actually, can we take that off?”
“I’ve changed my mind.”
“I’ve had another idea…”

And then, quite often, I’ll change my mind again.

Yet he never complains.

He listens, he changes it, he adds it, he removes it, and somehow he still answers the phone the next day when I inevitably have another idea.

But what makes David different is that he doesn’t just understand what I’m asking him to do anymore.

He understands why I’m asking.

That’s something you can’t buy from a web designer.

David has given Rovers Return his technical knowledge, but he’s also given me his time, patience, friendship and support. He has helped make the things I don’t want to spend my limited rescue time doing easier, so I can put more of myself into the things that brought me into rescue in the first place.

And somewhere along the way, the dogs got him too.

That’s what I love about the story of 4leggedIT.

It didn’t begin with somebody spotting a business opportunity in animal rescue.

It grew from somebody being allowed behind the curtain, seeing rescue without the filter, and deciding:

I have skills that could make this easier. Maybe this is how I can help.

David, you’ve seen Rovers Return at its best, its worst and probably its most chaotic.

You’ve seen me happy, frustrated, determined, exhausted and heartbroken.

You’ve seen the dogs I saved and the ones that stayed with me long after they were gone.

You’ve seen the side of rescue that most people never see.

And you stayed.

You didn’t just build Rovers Return a website.

You became part of Rovers Return.

And now you’re taking everything you’ve learned from being down here in the trenches and using it to help other rescues too.

I couldn’t be prouder of what you’ve created, and I’m incredibly grateful that a little piece of Rovers Return will always be part of the story of 4leggedIT.

And David, I can’t promise I’m going to stop calling you with changes.

In fact, we both know I’m probably going to call you tomorrow.

From Overwhelmed to Excited: Building Our Scouts Unit 51 Website

When the idea of creating a website for Scouts Unit 51 first came up, I thought it sounded like a great idea. Having a place on the internet where people could learn about our Unit, our programs, and everything we do seemed exciting.

But, if I am being honest, the idea was also a little overwhelming.

I knew some of the things I wanted the website to have, but I had absolutely no idea how I was supposed to provide all that information to someone who was going to build it.

At first, I thought, Do we even have enough information online?

We had a Facebook page that was not updated very often and an Instagram page that is more active, but still does not contain a lot of detailed information. So I wondered how I was going to explain everything about our Unit and somehow turn it into a complete website.

That is when I talked to David.

I explained my problem: I had ideas, I knew what I wanted, but I did not know how to organize the information or how to give it to him in a useful way.

I told him about our Unit and our three programs: the Troop, the Pack, and the Crew. I shared some of the things I thought I would like to see on the website.

And apparently, while we were talking, David was already doing some homework!

He started suggesting ideas that I had not even thought about. Some of them were simple details, but they made so much sense. For example, he suggested creating separate pages for each of the three programs and using the colors of each program’s uniform throughout those pages. Small details like that helped give the entire website a cohesive look.

Using the information I gave him during our phone conversation, along with information he found online, David started creating the basic structure of the website.

Not long after, he sent me a link to a draft.

And honestly… I was amazed.

I never would have imagined that, with the little information I had given him over the phone, he could create something that already looked so spectacular.

Along with the draft, David also sent me a link with questions. He wanted me to confirm some of the information I had given him and also verify whether some of the information he had found online was correct.

And once again, I found myself feeling a little overwhelmed.

There were a lot of questions!

Was I supposed to answer everything in one document? How detailed should my answers be? What was the best way to send him the information so it would actually be useful?

So… I called David again.

And that is when I realized that working with him was going to be much easier than I had expected.

He told me to simply send him text messages with the information he needed. I did not have to write complete sentences. I did not even have to refer to the specific question. I could just send him the information, and he would take care of the rest.

Perfect!

So I started answering the questions one by one through text messages.

I am pretty sure I sent him way too many messages. 😅

Some questions had more than one answer. Others were difficult for me to explain through a text message. Sometimes I wasn’t even sure if I was explaining something in a way that he would understand.

So… yes, I called him again.

With a lot of patience, David listened to me and understood exactly what I was trying to explain. He told me he had it figured out.

And he really did.

I checked the website again, and the information had already been corrected. During one of our conversations, he even made a change while we were still talking!

That was pretty amazing. Super cool!

As we continued working on the website, I also started wondering if other Scout Troops had websites. So I did a little searching and found several.

I looked through them and found different ideas and types of content that I thought we could adapt for our own website.

I sent David the links through text messages and simply told him what I liked about each one.

Once again, it was that easy.

In a short time, David found ways to incorporate those ideas into our website while keeping it unique to Unit 51.

One of the things I appreciate the most about working with David is how open he is to ideas, suggestions, criticism, and comments. He listens and looks for ways to include what you are asking for.

In the end, what initially seemed like a complicated and overwhelming project turned out to be much easier than I expected.

Creating a website is still a big project, but having someone who is accessible, patient, creative, and willing to guide you through the process makes a huge difference.

So, if you have ever thought about creating a website but felt overwhelmed because you did not know where to start or how to organize all your information, I completely understand how you feel.

That was me at the beginning.

But my experience working with David showed me that you do not need to have everything perfectly organized before you begin. Sometimes, all you need is an idea, a few conversations, a lot of text messages… and the right person to help turn it all into something amazing.

And for me, building the Unit 51 website went from being “How are we ever going to do this?” to “Wow, look at what we created!”

🐾 COMEBACK COMMUNITY: OUR SECRET WEAPON — DAVID SOLTERO 🐾

Some people in rescue are front and center. And then there are the people quietly working behind the scenes, making everything work better.

Meet one of our secret weapons: David Soltero. ❤️

David does a little bit of everything. He fosters. He transports. He donates. He shows up at events. He helps wherever he's needed.

But what many people may not know is that David also uses his professional skills to help rescues through 4leggedit.com — providing free technology support to animal rescues and animal-serving organizations. His philosophy is pretty simple: rescues already have enough hard work to do; technology should make their jobs easier, not harder.

And we are incredibly lucky to be one of the rescues he supports.

David built our fabulous website — if we do say so ourselves 😂 — but what he does for The Comeback Pack goes WAY beyond web design.

We talk to David literally every day.

He knows about practically every rescue, adoption, event and crazy idea before anyone else does. 😂 He listens. He troubleshoots. He encourages us. He believes in what we're building. And somehow, whenever we need something, David seems to quietly figure out how to make it happen.

His own organization describes its approach as technology that works quietly in the background, and that's actually a pretty perfect description of David himself.

He's one of those people whose name may not appear on every post, but whose fingerprints are all over the good things happening behind the scenes.

David is an enormous blessing to The Comeback Pack — and to so many other rescues he helps without asking for recognition in return.

Which is exactly why we know he is probably going to hate this post. 😂

Sorry, David. We're doing it anyway.

People should know how much you do, how much you care, and what a huge part of this Pack you have become.

Thank you, David. For all of it. We truly couldn't imagine doing this without you. ❤️🐾

This is what the Comeback Community is all about.