Anderson Animal Shelter: Build-A-Bear Youth Humane Education Grant Report
How did this grant help your organization and the pets in your care?
Through the generous funding from the Build-A-Bear Humane Education Grant from the Petfinder Foundation, our shelter was able to accomplish a great deal. We were able to continue providing programming to children at a residential facility. Anderson Animal Shelter was able to increase the reach of humane-education programs by providing more school visits free of charge to schools in our community. Because of the support of this grant, we were able to increase the amount of programming we provide to children who attend Title 1 schools. Supplies for our various programs, such as our camps and classes, were also able to be purchased. Crucial office supplies were purchased to support the operations of the humane-education department.
This grant helped our organization and the pets in our care in a variety of ways. By increasing our reach in the community, messages of responsible pet ownership were able to be shared with many people, both firsthand and secondhand. This can only help by decreasing pet returns and unwanted litters in the long run. The programming we were able to provide at the residential facility for children in need also included socializing puppies. This resulted in puppies who became well-rounded and acclimated to children during their critical socialization period.
How many pets did this grant help?
It is impossible to quantify. This year the shelter is on track to complete close to 5,000 adoptions, which is a considerable increase from the prior year. By reaching well over 5,000 children in the community, we estimate that many thousands of pets were helped by this grant either directly or indirectly.
Please provide a story of one or more specific pets this grant helped.
Tara (first photo) was the last of her littermates to get adopted. While her brothers and sisters enjoyed their forever homes, Tara waited in the shelter for someone to adopt her. While she was waiting, Tara accompanied the humane education manager on a school visit. While the humane education manager was checking out at the front office at the school, a parent arrived to pick up her sick child. As it so often seems, everything happens for a reason. This mother fell instantly head-over-heels in love with Tara and adopted her the same day. Now Tara lives a comfortable life with her new family, which includes several adoring children.
