Friends of the Palm Springs Animal Shelter: Play Group Training Grant Report

How did this grant help your organization and the pets in your care?

The resources provided by the Petfinder Foundation to the Palm Springs Animal Shelter covered the costs for a member of our behavior team to attend a DPFL mentorship program at Austin Pets Alive! in Austin, Texas.

This grant enabled one of our behavior-team members to become more proficient in organizing and staffing dog playgroups at our shelter. She has not only been able to re-establish small (for now) playgroups, she has also begun to build a volunteer team to help run playgroups, as well as train staff to do the same. She is currently working on more enhanced kennel routines for dogs and helping staff and volunteers to increase their skills in this area. We are truly grateful!

How many pets did this grant help?

Our January adoptions increased by more than 100 percent, for a total of 63 dogs. I'm comfortable assuming that at least 25 percent of these dogs - nearly 16 dogs - were rendered more adoptable due to playgroup activities.

Please provide a story of one or more specific pets this grant helped.

The following dogs have been trained specifically by Vanessa Marin, who attended the Dogs Playing for Life mentorship program at Austin Pets Alive! in Austin, Texas. She has seen a significant reduction in stress in all of them, and several have gone on to forever homes. Many had been returned due to issues in the home and are currently with pet owners who are committed.
Duncan – high-energy, returned multiple times
Timon – high-energy, 441 days at the shelter
Cinnamon – good with humans, dog-reactive
Ripley – high-energy, ADOPTED after two returns
Paige – slow to bond with humans, reactive with other dogs, ADOPTED after one return
Anton – high-energy, good with other dogs, difficult for some humans to physically manage, ADOPTED after three returns