HELP The Animals, Inc.: Orvis Dog Enrichment Grant Report
How did this grant help your organization and the pets in your care?
To purchase new Kuranda beds, as well as new martingale collars and leashes, for the approximately 45 dogs we have on the premises each day.
It helped immensely with the comfort and safety of the pets in our care. We have been patching and repairing Kuranda beds for a long time, but eventually each has to be retired and used for parts. Kuranda beds provide a bit of comfort that no number of blankets on a cement floor can match, and dogs love them.
New leashes and martingale collars allow for safer handling and transport of animals in and out of kennels as well as on walks and trips to the vet or other destinations. Our staff and volunteers are especially grateful for these.
How many pets did this grant help?
About 50 so far, though it will continue to help many of the dogs who will pass through our doors for years to come.
Please provide a story of one or more specific pets this grant helped.
Dixie is one of our older dogs (she’s about 7-8 years old), and our longest-term canine resident. She needs a home without children or other pets, as well as an attentive and experienced dog handler, so placement of her has proven very difficult and she has already been returned a couple of times.
She is a staff favorite, though, and got one of the very first new Kuranda beds we assembled. The one previously in her kennel had been repaired many times and really should have been retired previously, but we had nothing to replace it with.
A long-term resident with behavioral challenges like Dixie may not sound like a great success story, but every shelter has long-term residents with whom we form very strong bonds and who deserve to live as comfortably as possible. We love and remember them long after we may have forgotten the easier ones who pass through quickly, and a new bed means more to her (and to us) than we can express. Thank you for supporting us with this grant. You can meet Dixie here.
