York Adopt-A-Pet: Grant Report
How did this grant help your organization and the pets in your care?
The AO grant money was used for vaccinations and behavioral assessment and training for dogs.
We were able to provide booster bordetella vaccinations for the dogs in our care and booster FVRCP vaccinations for the cats in our care. The extra FVRCP vaccinations were a great help in stopping a severe virus that was moving from cat to cat. We give an FVRCP vaccination to every cat when it enters our shelter and give kittens booster shots but had not been able to give additional vaccinations to the older cats. Since we are a no-kill shelter, we have several cats who have been with us for more than five years and many one to two years. By giving every cat an FVRCP booster, we have eliminated the horrible virus that was running its course in our adoption and isolation areas. We will continue to give every cat booster shots for as long as we can. The grant money also made it possible for us to provide off-site assessment and training to an English bulldog who has been in our care since September 2016. The training receiving will also help other dogs in our care now and in the future.
How many pets did this grant help?
Eight dogs and more than 130 cats to date
Please provide a story of one or more specific pets this grant helped.
Moose is a 2-year-old English bulldog who came to YAAP on Sept. 29, 2016. He had been living with a woman who had moved eight times in Moose’s short life. She had lived with several men and been evicted numerous times, and as a result, Moose had developed anxiety issues. The YAAP volunteers fell in love with Moose and each gave him as much attention as time allowed. He showed a little improvement, but not enough to move to the adoption area. One of the volunteers researched training programs and instructors that might be able to help. When we received notification that we would be receiving an Adoption Options in Action grant, we decided to use some of the money to send Moose and two volunteers to an Assessment & Training program. Since the training day, Moose’s anxiety has greatly improved and he has been moved to the adoption area, where he improves each day. He will soon be listed on Petfinder, where we will find him the home he so deserves. The grant money will continue to help other dogs, as we now have volunteers with advanced training, and they will be sharing what they have learned with others. At right is a photo of Moose (first photo) and one of Moose interacting calmly with Gabe, a volunteer’s dog (second photo), which would not have been possible prior to the training. The third and fourth photos show some of the cats in our community room. All of the cats in our care benefited from the grant, as will future cats.
