Heart of Idaho Animal Sanctuary: KONG Toys Grant Report

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

Kong donated a selection of dog toys for our shelter dogs to play with while they are waiting to be adopted. We let the dogs select one they like that they can play with outside or in their kennels. Periodically, we fill them with peanut butter for a treat.

We like Kong toys because they are very sturdy and the dogs can't chew them up and don't end up swallowing pieces. Many of them become attached to their toys and we like to send the toy home with them as a transitional object when the dogs are adopted. If we do that, then we need to replace the toys. This grant will keep us in Kongs for some time to come, freeing up that money for other things.

How many pets did this grant help?

Eight so far and more to come

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

Apollo, a husky/German shepherd mix (first three photos), is still waiting to be adopted. He was surrendered by a family whose circumstances changed and they could no longer take care of him. He is very high-energy and is timid around people until he gets to know them. He was given first choice of the Kong toys and, as you can see in the pictures, once he made his choice, he was attached. He shows his toy to anyone who comes to the shelter. Meet Apollo here.

Grady (fourth and fifth photos) is still at the shelter but has some health problems resulting in incontinence that we are working with the local vet to address before putting him back up for adoption. In the meantime, he is enjoying his Kong bone.

Fava (sixth and seventh photos), who came to the shelter as a stray puppy, showed a clear preference for the traditional Kong toy. She has since been adopted.