The Kauai Humane Society: Orvis Dog Enrichment Grant Report

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

We were able to purchase a bathing station to improve our animal-care program, especially in regards to our Field Trip program.

We removed our old tub that had rust holes and was ill-suited for so many large dogs, and were able to put the new one in its place and immediately put it to use! Some of our larger dogs who are too heavy to safely lift and had to be bathed outside were able to use the tub, making bath time much more efficient and effective. We saw a rapid decline in the number of skin issues from sand and salt-water irritation, as well as an increased bath-time enjoyment from several of our dogs. The staff is also very pleased with the ease of using the new tub, as are our volunteers.

How many pets did this grant help?

58

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

Elinor came to us filthy, underweight, and very shy. She wouldn’t let us come anywhere near her to try to brush her or even consider lifting her up to try bathing her. After a few days, she finally started to trust some of our staff members and they were able to brush out some of her fur, but that just showed some of her skin issues.

A few days later (within two weeks of her arrival) we were finally able to entice her into the new tub with some tasty treats and lots of verbal praise, and she got her first bath in a very long time. We were all pleasantly surprised to see her white fur and pink skin under all of that dirt!

Once she was clean, her personality emerged and she quickly became a staff favorite, running and engaging as much as possible. Her photos enticed one of our mainland shelter partners to request her for a transfer and she was able to quickly find her new home once there.