Downtown Dog Rescue: Dogs Playing for Life Mentorship Grant Report

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

Dogs Playing for Life mentorship at Austin Pets Alive! in Austin, TX.

As the kennel manager, I socialize our adoptable dogs. I lacked the skills and confidence to do this properly. I'm now able to successfully conduct playgroups on a daily basis. This reduces the anxiety and stress of our dogs. They are able to play and socialize while I learn more about their personalities. This gives me the knowledge to properly place them in forever homes and save more dogs from our city shelters.

How many pets did this grant help?

Dozens, and counting

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

LuLu is a black, adult pit bull who had a slim chance of making it out of the shelter. We rescued her and brought her to our kennel. I had a hard time reading her body language and was nervous about placing her in playgroups. Once I was able to learn from Dogs Playing for Life, I had the confidence and skills to get her socializing. LuLu is a wonderful dog and is now playing with dogs and less stressed in her kennel. I’m able to observe her interacting with different dogs, so I’ll be able to successfully adopt her out to the right home. She is still up for adoption; here is her link: www.petfinder.com/petdetail/40034936