The Tiny Camera I Use to Spy on My Foster Dog

I currently have a foster dog, Kevin, in my house. I’m convinced he’s going to get adopted immediately because, I mean, just look at this guy:

But until he gets listed for adoption and we find his Forever Family, he’s chilling with me. I’m new to fostering, and there are so many rules and procedures that I never imagined. The main one being decompression.

You can’t just bring a foster dog into your house and say, “Ok, that’s it. Fit in now, please.” These dogs have been through quite a bit (Kevin started his day in California in a shelter and ended it in Seattle, getting microchipped in a parking lot and being carted off by a stranger), and they need time to just CHILL. I have the urge to shower him with pets and give him treats and see if he knows any tricks, but what he needs is to be left alone for at least three full days. Literally, you’re supposed ot be super boring and ignore your foster for 3-7 days. But I’m nosy and I want ot make sure he’s safe and happy… so I spy on him.

I got this Eufy Security Camera right before I had my first foster, and now I consider it essential. You can keep an eye on what’s going on with your dog, without disrupting them. It can rotate 360° and tilt 96° up and down, so you can get a really good view of what’s going on. I’ve only used it pointed at a crate, so I don’t really need such a wide visual field, but I’m happy to have it. The videos are stored locally on a microSD card (which you have to buy separately) but you only need it if you want to save videos - live view doesn’t require a card.

A view from the camera in daytime (this is zoomed in)

And a night-vision view. When the video is in landscape mode, the controls/details appear for a few seconds and then disappear (just tap the screen to bring them back)

I have a Eufy Doorbell (reviewed here), so I already had the app on my phone, and adding a camera took seconds. It’s easy to open the app and see what’s up with the pup, and there’s little to no lag tapping into the live camera feed. I will say, if you are very concerned about security, this is maybe not the option for you. There are reviews on the Amazon page from people who are deeply concerned about their video security, and if you are connecting this to Alexa or another whole-home panopticon type thing, maybe you should be concerned. I, however, don’t have any kind of smart home devices, and I’m just pointing this camera at a crate and spying on a dog. But as long as you don’t have some kind of Hal 9000 in your house, for a doggie decompression spy camera that costs $40? It’s perfect.