New Hope Animal Rescue: Orvis Dog Enrichment Grant Report
How did this grant help your organization and the pets in your care?
1. Kennel cards for each dog kennel
2. Treat pouches and treats for each dog kennel
3. Pop-up tents for adoption events
4. Cage muzzles to help test dogs to see who they are compatible with
The kennel-card holders have helped New Hope make it easier for potential adopters to get a lot of information quickly on each dog. Occasionally we have volunteers show our dogs and sometimes they might not know the age or name of a new dog. The kennel cards have totally changed this for us.
The treat pouches and treats are helping us work with our dogs when adopters come in. Volunteers regularly walk up to a kennel, pull a treat from the pouch and ask the dog for a basic command. When the dog sits/lies down/etc., they receive a reward. This helps teach basic obedience and it's much easier for potential adopters to come meet calm, quiet dogs.
Our pop-up tents have been used at adoption events in our community. They have allowed us to take more dogs to events because they provide the shade needed on sunny/rainy days.
The cage muzzles were our final purchase and something we thought long and hard about. We have dogs come in from all different situations and wanted a safe, kind way to test them with cats, children and other dogs. They are still able to drink and take treats and are not confined in these special muzzles, and we have tested several dogs and found out their preference in other animals and people. This helps us better match dogs to potential families.
How many pets did this grant help?
74 in the last three months, and it will continue to help more dogs in the future.
Please provide a story of one or more specific pets this grant helped.
Gracie was a beautiful black Lab mix who had been consistently overlooked for more than six months. She was just a puppy at 11 months old, and we were stumped that no one had come to adopt this awesome girl. We began working with Gracie on basic commands thanks to the treat pouches, gave her a kennel card and did several tests with her with the cage muzzles. She quickly learned how to sit and we discovered she was great with other dogs and kids. After months of waiting, Gracie finally found her perfect family in July. They have another dog and lots of love to give, but wanted to make sure their new addition was good with other dogs and children. We were able to tell them with full confidence that Gracie was wonderful with both because we were able to safely test her.
